Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Explore Mississippi's Iconic College Towns — Oxford, Starkville & Jackson: Literary Legends, Presidential History, Civil Rights & Southern Cuisine
Join Darley Newman on a road trip through Mississippi's most vibrant college towns — from the literary streets of Oxford and the presidential archives of Starkville to the Civil Rights landmarks and soul food of Jackson.
Follow the Mississippi Blues Trail through three cities home to Ole Miss, Mississippi State University, Jackson State University, Tougaloo College, Milsaps College, Belhaven University and more.
What You'll Experience in This Episode:
✅ Courthouse Square & Faulkner Alley, Oxford — Four Square Books locations, Nielson's (oldest department store in the South), and the alley William Faulkner used as his personal shortcut into town.
✅ The End of All Music, Oxford — Owner David Swider's vinyl shop in the historic Duval's Building celebrates Mississippi Hill Country blues. Listen to a rare Faulkner spoken word recording while you browse.
✅ Rowan Oak — William Faulkner's Home, Oxford — Assistant curator Rachel Hudson guides Darley through Faulkner's study, where his plot outline for A Fable is still written on the wall.
✅ Good Day Café & Saint Leo, Oxford — Joe Stinchcomb's smashburger uses beef from a local butchery 45 minutes away. Next door in prestige: a James Beard-nominated dining stop.
✅ Thacker Mountain Radio Hour — Born at Square Books 28 years ago, this beloved live radio show captures Oxford's deep storytelling tradition. Darley attends a live taping in Water Valley.
✅ Ole Miss Campus Tour — Student Julia Case leads Darley through The Grove, the Walk of Champions and the historic Lyceum — a Civil War hospital and later a landmark of the Civil Rights Movement.
✅ Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, MSU, Starkville — Dr. Anne Marshall showcases the largest Grant correspondence collection in existence — 15,000+ letters and Julia Grant's Paris opera cloak.
✅ Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana, MSU — Dr. Susannah Ural reveals 40,000+ Lincoln artifacts, including a piece of his nightshirt and the earliest known example of Lincoln's handwriting — a cheeky childhood poem.
✅ MSU Dairy Store, Starkville — Edam cheese, chocolate milk and muscadine ripple ice cream made on campus, in maroon and white.
✅ The Cotton District, Starkville — Robert Camp tours this unexpected European-style neighborhood inspired by Belgium's Bruges — cobblestone streets, balconies and cafés in the heart of Mississippi.
✅ Iron Horse Grill, Hal & Mal's & Museum Trail, Jackson — Brunch on the Mississippi Blues Trail, live music since 1985, tater tots with crystal hot hollandaise, and a run through Jackson's multi-use Museum Trail with Timothy Orey.
✅ Historic Fondren, Jackson — Campbell's Bakery (Jackson's oldest) and Brent's Drugs (est. 1940s) — famous for strawberry milkshakes.
✅ Two Mississippi Museums, Jackson — Hezekiah Watkins, the youngest Freedom Rider (arrested 109 times starting at age 13), shares his story in person. Dr. Jessie Sherrod — Tougaloo College alum, first Black student admitted to Harvard Medical School — recounts her sit-in experience.
✅ Hen & Egg at the Historic Sun-n-Sand, Jackson — Chef Nick Wallace (Food Network's Chopped) serves soul food rooted in grandmother's recipes, including a pickled pepper hot sauce that takes 20 days to make.
✅ Cathead Distillery, Jackson — Mississippi's first legal distillery (Prohibition wasn't repealed here until 1966). Maeve Bradley pours Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka at this blues-loving community institution.
📺 Watch "Travels with Darley: Mississippi College Towns" on PBS & Streaming: darley-newman.com/travels-with-darley
🔔 Subscribe for More Travel & History Videos: darley.link/youtubesubscribe
🎧 Listen to the "Travels with Darley" Podcast: iheart.com/podcast/53-travels-with-darley-123513653
📲 Follow Darley for Exclusive Travel Content:
Instagram: instagram.com/darleynewman
Facebook: facebook.com/travelswithdarley
TikTok: tiktok.com/@darleynewman
Twitter (X): https://x.com/DarleyNewman
Explore Mississippi's Iconic College Towns — Oxford, Starkville & Jackson: Literary Legends, Presidential History, Civil Rights & Southern Cuisine
Join Darley Newman on a road trip through Mississippi's most vibrant college towns — from the literary streets of Oxford and the presidential archives of Starkville to the Civil Rights landmarks and soul food of Jackson.
Follow the Mississippi Blues Trail through three cities home to Ole Miss, Mississippi State University, Jackson State University, Tougaloo College, Milsaps College, Belhaven University and more.
What You'll Experience in This Episode:
✅ Courthouse Square & Faulkner Alley, Oxford — Four Square Books locations, Nielson's (oldest department store in the South), and the alley William Faulkner used as his personal shortcut into town.
✅ The End of All Music, Oxford — Owner David Swider's vinyl shop in the historic Duval's Building celebrates Mississippi Hill Country blues. Listen to a rare Faulkner spoken word recording while you browse.
✅ Rowan Oak — William Faulkner's Home, Oxford — Assistant curator Rachel Hudson guides Darley through Faulkner's study, where his plot outline for A Fable is still written on the wall.
✅ Good Day Café & Saint Leo, Oxford — Joe Stinchcomb's smashburger uses beef from a local butchery 45 minutes away. Next door in prestige: a James Beard-nominated dining stop.
✅ Thacker Mountain Radio Hour — Born at Square Books 28 years ago, this beloved live radio show captures Oxford's deep storytelling tradition. Darley attends a live taping in Water Valley.
✅ Ole Miss Campus Tour — Student Julia Case leads Darley through The Grove, the Walk of Champions and the historic Lyceum — a Civil War hospital and later a landmark of the Civil Rights Movement.
✅ Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, MSU, Starkville — Dr. Anne Marshall showcases the largest Grant correspondence collection in existence — 15,000+ letters and Julia Grant's Paris opera cloak.
✅ Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana, MSU — Dr. Susannah Ural reveals 40,000+ Lincoln artifacts, including a piece of his nightshirt and the earliest known example of Lincoln's handwriting — a cheeky childhood poem.
✅ MSU Dairy Store, Starkville — Edam cheese, chocolate milk and muscadine ripple ice cream made on campus, in maroon and white.
✅ The Cotton District, Starkville — Robert Camp tours this unexpected European-style neighborhood inspired by Belgium's Bruges — cobblestone streets, balconies and cafés in the heart of Mississippi.
✅ Iron Horse Grill, Hal & Mal's & Museum Trail, Jackson — Brunch on the Mississippi Blues Trail, live music since 1985, tater tots with crystal hot hollandaise, and a run through Jackson's multi-use Museum Trail with Timothy Orey.
✅ Historic Fondren, Jackson — Campbell's Bakery (Jackson's oldest) and Brent's Drugs (est. 1940s) — famous for strawberry milkshakes.
✅ Two Mississippi Museums, Jackson — Hezekiah Watkins, the youngest Freedom Rider (arrested 109 times starting at age 13), shares his story in person. Dr. Jessie Sherrod — Tougaloo College alum, first Black student admitted to Harvard Medical School — recounts her sit-in experience.
✅ Hen & Egg at the Historic Sun-n-Sand, Jackson — Chef Nick Wallace (Food Network's Chopped) serves soul food rooted in grandmother's recipes, including a pickled pepper hot sauce that takes 20 days to make.
✅ Cathead Distillery, Jackson — Mississippi's first legal distillery (Prohibition wasn't repealed here until 1966). Maeve Bradley pours Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka at this blues-loving community institution.
📺 Watch "Travels with Darley: Mississippi College Towns" on PBS & Streaming: darley-newman.com/travels-with-darley
🔔 Subscribe for More Travel & History Videos: darley.link/youtubesubscribe
🎧 Listen to the "Travels with Darley" Podcast: iheart.com/podcast/53-travels-with-darley-123513653
📲 Follow Darley for Exclusive Travel Content:
Instagram: instagram.com/darleynewman
Facebook: facebook.com/travelswithdarley
TikTok: tiktok.com/@darleynewman
Twitter (X): https://x.com/DarleyNewman
