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

New tariff on brand name drugs could impact Mississippi pharmacies

Published

5 hours ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A new federal tariff on imported, brand name prescription drugs could soon impact how much Mississippians pay at pharmacies.

President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday targeting imported brand name drugs with a 100 percent tariff, citing the U.S.’s “import reliance” as reason for the decision.

“We’re concerned about those patients not being able to afford their medications. When a patient cannot afford their medication, they tend to skip their medication. And so, a little problem can lead to a large problems with hospital visits,” said Dr. Andrew Clark, owner of Northtown Pharmacy.

Pharmacists are also worried about whether medications will be available at all.

“If their cost increase, those supply chains will be disrupted, which can lead to back order or medication shortage. And as a pharmacist, what we’re concerned about is adherence. If there’s a shortage in medication, then those patients are not adhering to those medications,” Clark said.

While the policy aims to lower drug costs by bringing more manufacturing to the U.S., pharmacists said that relief won’t happen overnight.

“I don’t see drug manufacturers moving next month. And so, you can’t go two and three months without getting medication or can’t afford those medications,” stated Clark.

Pharmacists encouraged anyone picking up prescriptions to ask about lower-cost alternatives, generics or patient assistance programs to help manage costs.

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Mississippi

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

Published

17 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

1 day 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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