Many fortunes all through the historical past of the USA have risen and receded with the railroads, which dominated practically each facet of financial life and journey through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. So it’s no marvel that the japanese Mississippi metropolis of Meridian, which grew on the busy junction of the Southern Railway and the Cellular and Ohio Railroad, was one of the dazzling hubs of commerce throughout that point. 

The most important metropolis within the state from 1890 to 1930, Meridian’s strategic location has all the time decided its destiny—for higher or worse. In 1864, Union Basic William Sherman boasted, “Meridian…now not exists,” after burning practically the entire buildings and destroying rail traces for miles in and across the metropolis, reducing off provide routes to the Confederates on his technique to Georgia.

The reemergence of its railroads throughout Reconstruction introduced wealth to city as soon as extra, although, fueling a Gilded Age constructing spree and provoking Meridian’s most well-known export—Jimmie Rodgers, often called the Singing Brakeman from the Nineteen Twenties till his passing in 1933, and now thought-about the Father of Nation Music.

In the present day, Meridian has not solely recaptured the glories of its storied previous, but additionally created a brand new slate of experiences for guests to take pleasure in. With a inhabitants slightly below 35,000 and a walkable downtown lined with retailers, historic eateries, and leisure, Meridian has recast the romance of the rails right into a low-key getaway vacation spot. Listed below are 5 methods to take pleasure in Meridian’s rebirth.

Overnighting

Driving into Meridian on twenty second Avenue—additionally known as Sela Ward Parkway in recognition of the Sisters and CSI actor who grew up right here—one construction dominates the skyline: the Threefoot Constructing, a sixteen-floor Artwork Deco tower that opened in 1929. After a interval of disuse and a prolonged renovation, it reopened in 2022 because the boutique Threefoot Lodge with a ground-level restaurant and bar, 6:01 Native, in addition to a rooftop lounge known as the Boxcar, the place diners can loosen up on the deck amid spectacular views of town. Unique marble wainscoting, flooring, lighting fixtures, and ornate, brass-etched elevator doorways have been preserved and polished for the reboot.

Threefoot Lodge in downtown Meridian.

A Tradition Membership

The contributions Mississippians have made to American tradition are in depth, and the Mississippi Arts & Leisure Expertise (The MAX) does a effective job of overlaying all of the bases. Literary luminaries William Faulkner and Eudora Welty are celebrated alongside actors Oprah Winfrey and Morgan Freeman within the Corridor of Fame, a towering rotunda anchoring two ranges of interactive reveals. Just a few blocks up twenty second Avenue, the Jimmie Rodgers Museum tells the “Blue Yodel” singer’s story by artifacts and memorabilia from his transient however influential time within the highlight.

Contained in the MAX’s Corridor of Fame.

Music Mecca

The musical legacy that Rodgers began has carried on over time: David Ruffin, the bespectacled ringer of the Temptations, grew up in close by Whynot and is now celebrated in a downtown mural, and fashionable stars together with  Todd Tilghman, 2020 winner of The Voice, in addition to Hayley Williams of Paramore additionally hail from Meridian, which continues to supply a haven the place music can thrive. The elegantly restored 1890 Grand Opera Home on the MSU Riley Middle is an intimate venue showcasing entertainers like St. Paul & the Damaged Bones (Feb. 4), Tanya Tucker (March 9), and the Seashore Boys (Might 16), and the annual Jimmie Rodgers Pageant will mark its seventieth 12 months in Might with performances throughout city. The town can be house to a few Mississippi Blues Path markers and 4 websites on the Mississippi Nation Music Path.

The Gin Blossoms at MSU’s Riley Middle.

Eating Previous and Current

In 1870, a lunch counter known as Weidmann’s opened in downtown Meridian to serve railroad vacationers. By the Forties, the restaurant was open twenty-four hours a day, daily besides Christmas, and had constructed a nationwide repute. Attributable to wartime rationing, tabletop butter was changed with crocks of peanut butter, an eccentricity that continues at present (and diners can purchase their very own memento crocks). The present menu combines long-standing favorites like black backside pie with refined Southern fare together with catfish belvedere and blackened redfish. Jean’s, one other downtown fixture, is a conventional Southern meat-and-three serving lunch on weekdays. And also you’ll discover loads of libations inside strolling distance, too. Threefoot Brewing, positioned a block away from its namesake resort, is house to twenty-one ales, IPAs, stouts, and sours brewed onsite, whereas Brickhaus affords sixty-three craft brews on faucet and, naturally, reside music.

Outdoors Threefoot Brewing.

A Stroll within the Woods

A quiet sojourn in nature can work wonders after a busy day (or night time), and close by Bonita Lakes Park delivers with 3,300 acres able to discover. The terrain is surprisingly steep, with an elevation acquire of greater than eight hundred ft over 7.6 miles of maintained trails—greater than sufficient to sweat out final night time’s enjoyable—in addition to three leisure lakes. Dunn’s Falls, positioned a brief drive southwest of city, contains a sixty-five-foot waterfall and an 1800s grist mill on a bluff overlooking the Chunky River.

On the water at Bonita Lakes.