Group Tour Escort Manual - Mississippi

GrEEnWood
Population: 18,425
Main Industry: Viking Range Corporation
Famous Natives: Morgan Freeman, Mississippi John Hurt, Admiral
Means Johnson, Marion Barry, Bobbie Gentry, Kent Hull,
Jim Gallagher, Jr., B.B. King (born in Berclair, MS in Leflore County)
Major Festivals/Events: River to the Rails, 300 Oaks Road Race, MS Blues Fest, Greenwood - “Cotton Captial of the World”
Stars and Stripes in the Park, Bikes, Blues
and Bayous, Delta Band Festival
Tourism Office Phone Number: 800-748-9064
l Greenwood’s Cotton Row is the second largest cotton exchange in the United States and is the “Cotton Capital of the World.”
l Greenwood was the inspiration for Stephen Foster’s “Way Down Upon the Swanee River.”
l Greenwood is one of the few places in the world where you can stand between two rivers flowing in opposite directions.
l Greenwood’s Confederate Memorial Building is one of only two remaining in the United States.
l There are 33 churches within the Greenwood city limits.
l Greenwood has been the movie location for “The Rievers,” “The Chamber,” “Crossroads,” “Mississippi Masala,” “Ode to Billy Joe,”
“Nightmare in Badam County” and “The Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag.”
l The state Garden Club headquarters is in Greenwood.
l The song and movie “Ode to Billy Joe” is about Greenwood.
l Martin Luther King, Jr. made a speech in Broad Street Park.
For more information about Greenwood, visit www.greenwoodms.org