A history buff’s guide to DeSoto County

"You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been." - Maya Angelou

DeSoto County, Mississippi, exudes culture and charm, and we invite you to take a tour to discover the rich history of our area.

Music Markers
Drive along the Mississippi Blues Trail to learn about legends who made their mark on blues music and inspired generations across various genres. To honor the talented artists who spent significant time in the Magnolia State, the Mississippi Blues Commission created the trail in 2006. It features a collection of markers with a synopsis of the musicians’ contributions to the blues. DeSoto County is home to five markers honoring Big Walter Horton (Horn Lake), The Dickinson Family (Hernando), Memphis Minnie (Walls), Mississippi Joe Callicott (Nesbit), and Beale Town Bound, the group consisting of Jim Jackson, Gus Cannon and Robert “Tim” Wilkins (Hernando).

Shifting gears to rock ’n’ roll, let’s talk about the king – Elvis Presley. While he may have called Memphis home, Elvis relaxed in Horn Lake. In the late 1960s, Elvis purchased a ranch situated at the corner of Goodman Road and Highway 301 he named Circle G Ranch. It became his home away from Graceland with horses, cattle, stables and a cottage. Although Elvis would end up selling the farm in 1969, it served as a place of refuge for him, his wife Priscilla and his closest friends to enjoy time away from fans and paparazzi. Today, you’ll find a historical marker that pays homage to Elvis’ time spent there.

Friend of Elvis and fellow rock ’n’ roller, Jerry Lee Lewis, has called DeSoto County home for over five decades. Foraying into country music in the late 1960s and 1970s, Lewis is a fixture in the country scene and to date, has had 30 songs reach the top 10 on the Billboard Country and Western Chart. You can find a Mississippi Country Music Trail marker celebrating his contributions to the genre at his sprawling Lewis Ranch estate in Nesbit.

Civil Rights Movement
The Mississippi Freedom Trail recognizes the bravery and courage of the men and women who were a part of the Civil Rights Movement. In Hernando, you’ll find a marker that commemorates activist James Meredith who was shot on June 6, 1966, while leading the March Against Fear that encouraged African Americans to exercise voting rights. Prominent Civil Rights leaders converged in Hernando to finish his march, including Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Floyd McKissick, Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young. After recovering, Meredith rejoined the rally before it ended in Jackson, addressing an estimated 15,000 marchers. 

Museums and More
To learn more about the entire county, visit the DeSoto County Museum in Hernando. It operates out of an 1870s church building and houses a variety of artifacts and memorabilia. A restored log cabin built in the 1840s is also onsite and is used for educational opportunities.

Olive Branch’s Old Towne has a history dating back to the 1830s. Inside City Hall is a one-room museum dedicated to the area’s earliest settlers, with a dozen cases of documents, photographs and artifacts. Built in 1875, the Wesson House, home of Olive Branch’s first mayor Ben Wesson, is one of three Dedicated Mississippi Landmarks in the county. This historic property is best to visit during the summer and fall for free concerts and movies on its lawn.

Our mission is to give every DeSoto County visitor an immersive, beyond-the-ordinary experience. We hope a visit to these historic sites above provides you with just that. Hope to see you soon at the top of the Magnolia State!