Exploring DeSoto County Mississippi: History and Charm
November 26, 2024
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Happy November! Let me introduce you to DeSoto County, Mississippi, a rapidly growing suburban county just south of Memphis, Tennessee. The county seat is Hernando. This town’s population exploded by over 400% in 30 years. It grew from 3,000 residents in 1990 to over 17,000 today. I first visited Hernando in 1999. I returned in November 2021 to take pictures of the courthouse and explore the town.
Like many towns near the Mississippi River, Hernando’s architecture reflects the styles of the old French Quarter in New Orleans. Typical of many Southern towns, downtown sidewalks feature wrought iron railings beside the streets and along stairways onto the elevated porches of business buildings.
The town and county were named for the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, who was the first European to reach the Mississippi River.
Over the past 30 years, Hernando has evolved from a small Mississippi town into an upscale suburb of Memphis. This change is reflected in the downtown business climate, where more upscale shops predominate. These include a hot wings restaurant, a coffee and vegan shop, a dog grooming salon, and an Edward Jones investment office.
Hernando’s Courthouse Square is already decorated for Christmas and quite picturesque. In the photos below, the Christmas tree on the left stands on the street corner in front of the DeSoto County Courthouse. The buildings shown on the right and bottom are close by.
The trees surrounding the DeSoto County Courthouse (below) have lost enough leaves to create an orange carpet in front of the courthouse. Still, enough leaves remain to make for colorful photographs.
A historical sign near the courthouse entrance describes nine fascinating murals found inside the building. These murals depict the voyages of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in the southeastern United States, and they were initially created to be displayed at a luxury Memphis hotel. When the mayor of Hernando learned that the hotel was to be torn down, he purchased the murals and had them installed inside the courthouse.
I was able to photograph two of these murals without interfering with trials in progress inside the courthouse. These two are shown below.
Finally, I saw some words of wisdom on a plaque attached to the courthouse walls. They come from Mr. Walter Malone, a native of DeSoto County, Mississippi, and are well worth your consideration.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here. Photos in this post were taken by the author on November 18, 2021.
My hobby is traveling to America’s county courthouses. Each month, I post about a visit to a scenic or exciting county seat. It’s a hobby, and donations are greatly appreciated to help cover my costs.
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