Mississippi

7 Underappreciated Towns to Visit in the Southern United States

Published

2 years ago

May 19, 2024

7 Underappreciated Towns to Visit in the Southern United States

Many locals say that the entire American South is underappreciated, but big cities like New Orleans, Austin, Atlanta, and Jacksonville certainly get their due. This list is about small Southern communities that plenty of Americans, including some Southerners, have not even heard about. And yet, these places are percolating with beaches, parks, caves, springs, museums, restaurants, sea turtles, and spaceships. Here are seven such gems hidden deep in the Deep South.

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Editorial credit: clayton harrison / Shutterstock.com.

The forgotten coastal state of Mississippi has more than 60 miles of Gulf of Mexico coastline stuffed with scenic communities. The best of these is Bay St. Louis. Named for the adjoining Bay of St. Louis, this 9,000ish-person “city” has one of the state’s highest-rated beaches and many associated activities. Beachgoers who do not skip Mississippi in favor of Texas or Florida can enjoy swimming, sunbathing, kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding, boating, fishing, and beachcombing on the gorgeous Bay St. Louis waterfront. Then, they can head downtown for sights at the Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum and bites at The Blind Tiger. Lastly, if you thought Bay St. Louis could not be any less Mississippi-like, it sits about 20 minutes away from NASA’s Stennis Space Center. This astronomically amazing facility can be toured on certain days.

Port Royal, South Carolina

Considered the most underrated town in South Carolina, Port Royal makes Beaufort seem like Charleston. Though Port Royal and Beaufort have similar populations and sit side by side on the SC coast, the former gets less attention and respect, according to Port Royal town manager Van Willis. It also gets less respect than other Beaufort County neighbors like Hilton Head and Bluffton. This is despite Port Royal having a mix of aesthetic homes, excellent amenities, and beautiful nature. Visitors can tour the Old Village, dine at Fishcamp, glimpse birds and gators at the Port Royal Cypress Wetlands and Rookery, and then crash at Cabana Madrid. Port Royal’s downtown streets are elegantly named Madrid Avenue, Paris Avenue, and London Avenue.

Magnolia Springs, Alabama

Is there anything quainter than receiving your mail by motorboat? Magnolia Springs, a riverside town in Alabama, is the only residential community in America with year-round USPS water delivery. Between mailboxes lining the Magnolia River and sprawling oaks lining Magnolia Springs’ streets are lots of attractions for a town of approximately 800 people. Delectable eateries include The Mag: Dive Bar & Grill and Jesse’s Restaurant, while comforting inns comprise the Magnolia Springs Bed and Breakfast. That cozy retreat sits inside the Tunnel Of Trees, where the aforementioned oaks are so immense as to wrap their limbs around multi-story buildings. Appropriately, the tunnel is on Oak Street.

St. Francisville, Louisiana

Another Southern town enmeshed in Spanish moss-draped oak trees, St. Francisville, has some of Louisiana’s prettiest buildings in its verdant clutches. This 1,500ish-person community thrived during the Antebellum era, so when slavery ended, its prosperous plantations were preserved as historic sites or turned into bed & breakfasts. Visitors can tour the Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site and then stay at The Myrtles, an expansive 18th-century estate with a hotel, restaurant, cafe, and even a lake. Although underrated to most Americans, The Myrtles is perhaps overrated to ghost hunters since it has been named the most haunted house in America.

After a hauntingly scenic survey of St. Francisville, you can cleanse your mind at numerous nearby refuges like the Afton Villa Gardens, Tunica Hills Wildlife Management Area, Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Clark Creek Natural Area, the last of which is in Mississippi.

Wimberley, Texas

A true Texas oasis, Wimberley is home to the Blue Hole, a natural spring-fed swimming pool centering the scenic cypress forest of Blue Hole Regional Park. In addition to swimming, visitors can go hiking, biking, picnicking, sunbathing, and swinging from a rope to plunge into the blue-tinged water. But that is not the only colorful lagoon in the Wimberley area. Just north of town sits Jacob’s Well, another blue, spring-fed hole connected to an enormous underwater cave system. It, too, has its own nature preserve for recreation and sightseeing, but the well is closed for swimming.

Colorful in a much different way, Wimberley proper has around 2,800 residents, who join smatterings of tourists at the EmilyAnn Theatre, Pioneer Town, Creekside Vintage, and Lodge at Cypress Falls, all of which pay homage to different American eras.

Juno Beach, Florida

Still serene despite constant encroachment from its Krameresque neighbors, Juno Beach has roughly 4,000 residents and arguably the most pristine beach in Palm Beach County. The Loggerhead Marinelife Center is partly responsible for keeping West Palm Beach bums at bay since it protects a large portion of the waterfront for sea turtles, especially during the nesting season from March to October. Turtle walks and beach cleanups are available for environmentally conscious tourists, as are private hikes in the Juno Dunes Natural Area at the north end of town. For commercially inclined visitors, Juno Beach offers delicious restaurants like Captain Charlie’s Reef Grill and Cathy’s Beach Connection, plus recreation at Seminole Golf Club and Bert Winters Park.

Cave Spring, Georgia

Sure enough, Cave Spring has both a cave and a spring. Yet neither of those breathtaking attractions, which are located in Rolater Park, have turned the “city” into a tourist trap. Instead, Cave Spring is called “A Hidden Gem Off The Beaten Path.”

After spelunking in the 57-degree cave and collecting mineral-rich spring water, travelers who were lucky enough to find Cave Spring can mine more of its gems downtown. There, they can dine at Linde Marie’s Steakhouse on the Square, A&B Creekside Restaurant and Catering, Lee’s Donut Shop or Local Joe’s before they decide to shop at Evergreen on Broad or Cave Spring Market. Lastly, they would be wise to stop at the Vann Cherokee Cabin, which was built in 1810 by Avery Vann of the Cherokee Nation and is located on the Trail of Tears. This place in Georgia will definitely be on your mind.

The American South is a diverse and dynamic region that can be underappreciated, especially outside of urban centers. In those vast areas between cities lie small, scenic haunts perfect for a real deal getaway with real deal Southern charm. Bay St. Louis in Mississippi, Port Royal in South Carolina, Magnolia Springs in Alabama, St. Francisville in Louisiana, Wimberley in Texas, Juno Beach in Florida, and Cave Spring in Georgia can fill the holes in your wannabe Southerner’s heart.

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Mississippi

Desoto County native helps guide NASA’s Artemis II moon mission

Published

10 hours ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

Desoto County native helps guide NASA’s Artemis II moon mission

From Mississippi to the moon.

That’s one way to characterize the career trajectory of Matthew Ramsey, a DeSoto County native who is helping to guide Artemis II, the NASA space mission now on its way to Earth’s natural satellite.

A veteran aerospace engineer and 1993 Mississippi State graduate who pitched for the university’s “Diamond Dawgs” baseball team while studying the science and design principles that would prove invaluable to NASA, Ramsey, who hails from Hernando, is “mission manager” for the expedition that is taking astronauts around the moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Working largely out of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Ramsey was responsible for ensuring the safety and efficiency of the hardware and technology for the flight, while also helping to define the priorities of the mission.

Launched April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Artemis II mission consists of four astronauts inside an Orion rocket on a 10-day, 685,000-mile “flyby” around the moon. The crew will test life-support systems, engineering maneuverability and other aspects of space travel in preparation for the return of astronauts to the lunar surface — and beyond.

“For me, it’s all about the crew and ensuring their safety as they venture to the Moon and come home,” said Ramsey, in a statement released by NASA. “Sending people thousands of miles from home and doing it in a way that sets the stage for long-term exploration and scientific discovery is an incredibly complex task.”

Referencing his college career with the Mississippi State Bulldogs, or “Diamond Dawgs,” he said: “There are a lot of similarities between mission management and pitching. You control many aspects of the tempo, and there’s a lot of weight on your shoulders.”

Ramsey worked in both private and government sectors of the tech industry before joining the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 2002, working on the design of guidance, navigation and control systems for various rocket programs. For Artemis I, the uncrewed moon-orbiting mission of 2022, he coordinated the work of multiple engineering teams.

Ramsey and his colleagues already are preparing for Artemis III, which will conduct tests in Earth’s orbit, and Artemis IV, scheduled for the spring of 2028, which will return astronauts to the lunar surface.

As a NASA press release states, Ramsey is helping to get the space agency “primed for what lies ahead: sending humans back to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years and laying the foundation for future missions that will ultimately enable human exploration of Mars.”

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Mississippi

Mississippi judges could receive pay raises exceeding $10,000

Published

22 hours ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi judges could receive pay raises exceeding ,000

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – More than 100 judges could soon receive pay raises exceeding $10,000 under legislation now awaiting the governor’s signature.

In all, 128 judges would receive raises ranging from $11,404 to $13,877.

“We’re doing that for judges to retain good judges, to attract better lawyers to the bench to serve as judges,” said Rep. Robert Johnson, who voted in favor of the pay raise.

Proposed raises by position

Circuit and chancery court judges would receive a pay raise of $13,063, bringing their new salary to $171,063.

Presiding justices of the Supreme Court would receive a pay raise of $13,877, bringing their new salary to $190,614.

Associate justices of the Supreme Court would receive a pay raise of $13,825, bringing their new salary to $187,625.

The chief justice of the Supreme Court would receive a pay raise of $12,680, bringing the new salary to $194,171.

The chief judge of the Court of Appeals would receive a pay raise of $13,275, bringing the new salary to $182,624.

Associate judges of the Court of Appeals would receive a pay raise of $11,404, bringing their new salary to $179,871.

“We want the best people in those jobs. To attract them, you got to pay them,” Johnson said.

Teacher pay comparison

While Johnson supported the judicial pay raises, he said teachers should have also received a significant pay increase.

Lawmakers approved giving teachers and assistant teachers a $2,000 raise.

Special education teachers would get an additional $2,000, for a total raise of $4,000.

Mississippi ranks last in the country when it comes to teacher pay.

According to the National Education Association, the average teacher salary in Mississippi is $53,704.

Johnson said state leaders should find funding to give educators a thriving wage, the same way they did for judges.

“We ought to have that same philosophy, and I have that same philosophy, and I think most people do with teachers, we need to do the same thing,” Johnson said. “Now, arguably, a teacher pay raise I’m talking about would be 10 to 20 times larger because there are more teachers than there are judges. But the philosophy is the same. If you want to attract the best people, you’ve got to pay the best people.”

The bill now heads to the governor’s desk. If signed into law, the new raises would take effect July 1.

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Mississippi

Lawmakers look to “Strengthen Mississippi Homes” with new mitigation program

Published

1 day ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

Lawmakers look to “Strengthen Mississippi Homes” with new mitigation program

(Photo from Shutterstock)

Mitigation grants could soon be available for Mississippi homeowners looking to fortify their roofs. The grants are not to exceed $10,000 and awards will be made through a lottery.

The Legislature has sent a bill to the governor that establishes the “Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program” to aid homeowners across the state in retrofitting insurable property to resist loss due to hurricane, tornado, hail, or other catastrophic windstorm events.

Both the state Senate and House unanimously passed the conference report creating the mitigation program on Wednesday.

The program outlined in SB 2409 will be administered by the Mississippi Insurance Department. It will provide grants to retrofit dwellings to resist loss from windstorms. The retrofits must meet or exceed the FORTIFIED roof standard of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS).

While the program is being established for homeowners in all areas of the state, the Coast delegation was a driving force behind the measure authored by State Senator Walter Michel (R), chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee.

Jackson County State Senator Jeremy England (R) celebrated the legislation late Tuesday after it cleared his chamber, saying the goal of the bill is to lower insurance costs not only on the Coast, but for all of Mississippi.

“Today, we sent a bill to the Governor setting up a program that will allow incentives to homeowners to fortify to new requirements to ‘mitigate’ damage from wind storms (like stronger roofing and water protection),” England shared on social media. “Once enough homes on our coast and in our state take advantage of this program, we will see insurance rates start to drop.”

England added that the program is one “we all should be very proud of, and that we all should take advantage of.”

State Senator Scott DeLano (R) played a key role in getting the program through the Legislature. His Coast colleague England said DeLano “led the way” as he planned meetings with engineers and specialists in preparation for the legislation and setting up the grant program.

Eligible dwellings to be considered for a retrofit grant from the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program must be a single-family residence, not a condominium or manufactured home. The dwelling must be the applicant’s primary residence and it must be insured for windstorm loss, and if necessary, flood loss. In addition, the dwelling must be in “good repair” and has not previously been retrofitted to meet the IBHS FORTIFIED roof standard. An inspection will be performed to verify the application and condition of the dwelling.

Grants are not to exceed $10,000 per recipient and awards will be made “through a lottery or other allocation mechanism established by the Mississippi Department of Insurance for eligibility requirements by source of funds and subject to the availability of funds.”

The state Insurance Department is allowed to contract out the implementation and management of the program at a cost of no more than 5% of annual deposits into the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program Fund. An annual report on the program is to be submitted by the department to the governor and the Legislature each December 1.

Lawmakers also established an advisory council to meet three times a year “for the purpose of advising the Mississippi Department of Insurance in performance, efficiency, and operations of the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program.” The advisory council will consist of three state senators, three members of the state House of Representatives, and the Executive Director of the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriters Association.

“Lower insurance rates for homeowners are right around the corner,” Senator England said. “This is going to be one of the unheralded wins of the 2026 legislative session.”

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