A graveyard may not be the most obvious place for exploring, but Rose Hill Cemetery is unique because the Queen of the Gypsies is buried there. Tributes in the forms of fruits and adult beverages are still left on her gravesite. The various monuments have the names of many of the founding families and prominent citizens.
Continue to Highland Park with a visit to the Dentzel Park Carousel, in operation since 1909. This National Historic Landmark is the only two-row stationary Dentzel menagerie carousel in the world. Rides cost only 50 cents.
People drive from far and wide for the shopping scene to go to I Just Have To Have It in downtown. It is the flagship store for a burgeoning business with three locations – Meridian, Starkville, Oxford — and a growing online business. It is a contemporary boutique featuring the latest trends in clothing, jewelry, shoes, purses and accessories.
For a taste of generational family cooking, stop for lunch at New’s Restaurant, which began as a café in the back of a Shell Service station in 1942. Today, it is still a popular spot for fried dill pickles and cheeseburgers.
After lunch, check out the Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum. The museum is an ongoing project to restore the Soulé Steam Feed Works Industrial site. The turn-of-the-century factory complex built steam engines and included a blacksmith shop, foundry and belt-driven machine shop.
Must-see attractions are the Jimmie Rodgers Museum, with a look to the past. There is also The Max, The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience, a tribute to the state’s creative culture and artistic genius with a mission to fire up new generations’ imaginations. Meridian is also home to a new Children’s Museum.
Before leaving, stop by what is touted to be the oldest restaurant in Mississippi, Weidmann’s , which has been a staple since 1870. The downtown restaurant is famous for black bottom pie and peanut butter crocks on the table.
