Yazoo City: Architecture, History and Literature

Yazoo City tells its story through its buildings, museums and places connected with literature. In the Yazoo City Town Center Historic District, residential and commercial areas stand side by side as a cohesive, architecturally significant ensemble. It represents 150 years of small-scale urban development. If you’re looking for a vacation rental in Yazoo City, you might first consider whether architecture, exhibitions or literary landmarks should be the main focus of your explorations.

Architecture between Main Street and the historic district

The Triangle Cultural Center brings together architectural history and a collection of antique tools. The building was established in early 1904 as Yazoo’s Main Street School. Its Main Street façade is defined by a monumental portico with massive, modified Ionic columns. Inside is the William Duke Carter Collection of Antique Tools. Here, the school’s original history, a striking architectural feature and the collection come together in one place.

The Town Center Historic District can also be explored in different ways: its residential and commercial areas can be toured on foot or by car. The Sam Olden Historical Museum offers a different focus. Its exhibits cover the Civil War, the 1904 Yazoo City fire and the 1927 flood; they also explore the everyday lives of Yazoo’s early residents. These topics connect local stories with pivotal events, rather than limiting the city’s history to a single era.

Literary landmarks and local history

The B.S. Ricks Memorial Library is the oldest public library building in the state of Mississippi still in use. Because of its connection to author Willie Morris, it is designated a Mississippi Literary Landmark. The Henry Herschel Brickell Memorial Yazoo Literary Walkway offers another literary tribute: it honors more than 100 people from Yazoo who have contributed to the literary world. The library and the memorial take different approaches—the former is a building still in use that has received a literary designation, while the latter commemorates many contributors.

The Oakes House also connects a building with a long family history and a present-day cultural use. For more than a century, it was home to members of the Oakes family; today, it houses the Oakes African-American Cultural Center. Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church represents another aspect of African American heritage: it was the first brick church built by African Americans in the state of Mississippi.

Cemetery, legend and views

Glenwood Cemetery has been in existence since at least 1856. It is also home to the grave known as “The Witch’s Grave,” which is associated with a local legend: the story says that the witch burned Yazoo City in 1904. The legend became known through a book written by Willie Morris. The cemetery’s history and the legend offer two different ways into the same place: the cemetery’s long history and a tale that lives on in the city’s literary memory.

For a view of the cityscape, Broadway Hill drops more than 200 feet from Battle Road to Main Street. From there, you can look out over Yazoo City’s historic district and the Mississippi Delta. The historic business district also has several murals, and colorful guitar-shaped artworks line historic Main Street. These public art installations may change over time.

You can prioritize the different themes according to your interests: architecture and urban development take center stage in the Town Center Historic District, while museums, the library and memorial sites explore other chapters of history. When planning your stay, you can take these interests into account when choosing a vacation rental and putting together your itinerary, without reducing the city to a single attraction.

For the broader travel overview: Yazoo County.