Walls, is a town located in northwest
DeSoto County, MississippiDeSoto County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. DeSoto County is part of the Metropolitan Memphis Statistical Area. Its county seat is Hernando. As of 2000, the population was 107,199. By 2008 the county grew to an estimated population of 154,748...
near the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
, part of the larger region known as "
The DeltaThe Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. Technically not a delta but part of an alluvial plain, it has been said that the Delta "begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel and ends on Catfish Row in...
", and known for its rich, dark soil.
A relatively young community, Walls was originally named Alpika, an old
ChickasawThe Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States . They are of the Muskogean linguistic group....
Indian word. The name was changed to Walls in 1906.
Walls was named after Captain June Walls, who served in the
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. Captain Walls was an early settler and merchant of the region in the 1880s.
The historic trail of
Hernando de SotoHernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European to discover the Mississippi River....
leads through DeSoto County to Walls.
Today, Walls is a community rich in agriculture.
Walls, is a town located in northwest
DeSoto County, MississippiDeSoto County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. DeSoto County is part of the Metropolitan Memphis Statistical Area. Its county seat is Hernando. As of 2000, the population was 107,199. By 2008 the county grew to an estimated population of 154,748...
near the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
, part of the larger region known as "
The DeltaThe Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. Technically not a delta but part of an alluvial plain, it has been said that the Delta "begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel and ends on Catfish Row in...
", and known for its rich, dark soil.
History
A relatively young community, Walls was originally named Alpika, an old
ChickasawThe Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States . They are of the Muskogean linguistic group....
Indian word. The name was changed to Walls in 1906.
Walls was named after Captain June Walls, who served in the
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. Captain Walls was an early settler and merchant of the region in the 1880s.
The historic trail of
Hernando de SotoHernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European to discover the Mississippi River....
leads through DeSoto County to Walls.
Today, Walls is a community rich in agriculture. Cotton, soybeans, rice and corn are planted each spring. The railroad played a vital part in the growth of the area in the early to mid 1900s. The mechanical revolution of the 1950s and 60's changed Walls, as well as many other Delta communities.
The town was home to noted
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer
Memphis MinnieMemphis Minnie was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist who matched her male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist.-Career:...
, who came from
Algiers, LouisianaThe 15th Ward or Fifteenth Ward is a division of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans.Algiers is a community within the city of New Orleans...
to play the
MemphisMemphis is a city in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4
th Chickasaw Bluff just south of the mouth of the Wolf River....
Beale StreetBeale Street is a street in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are...
circuit in 1904. She won top female vocalist in the first
Blues Unlimited Readers' Poll in 1973. In 1980, she was elected to the Hall of Fame at the inaugural W.C. Handy Awards. Memphis Minnie died August 6, 1973, and is buried in New Hope Cemetery in Walls. Her headstone was made possible by contributions from
Bonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter, born in Burbank, California. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially accessible...
and
John FogertyJohn Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. He was born in Berkeley, California and is the younger brother of Tom Fogerty...
.
A significant part of the community is the Sacred Heart League, operator of the Sacred Heart School in Walls. The league raised funds through the sale of a famous statue of Jesus Christ. In the 1960s, the statue could be found on the dashboards of vehicles across America.
The town of Walls, which has been a community since the early 1900s, is connected to the tiny village of
MemphisMemphis is a village in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 87 at the 2000 census. The village of Memphis has officially become part of Walls, Mississippi.-Geography:Memphis is located at ....
which was incorporated in the early 1970s and is located just south of the Walls community. In 2003, the village of Memphis annexed a large portion of the Walls area, thereby giving the town of Walls the official status of a municipality. Today Walls is experiencing a population and economic resurgence under the leadership of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen.
Subdivisions
- Kaitlin Ridge
- Mallard Park
- Encore
- Holly Hills
- The Landing
- Lake Forest
- Twin Lakes
- Delta Bluffs
Neighboring Cities
- Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4
th Chickasaw Bluff just south of the mouth of the Wolf River....
- Horn Lake, Mississippi
Horn Lake is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. Horn Lake is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, which is located just a few miles to the north. As of the 2000 U.S...
- Robinsonville, Mississippi (Tunica)
- Lynchburg, Mississippi
Lynchburg is a census-designated place in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,959 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lynchburg is located at .-History:...
Secondary Schools
- Lake Cormorant Middle School
- Lake Cormorant High School (expected by 2009)
Riverbend Crossing Development
Planned to include a MGM entertainment district, three hotels, four golf courses, a lake, 6,750 single family houses and 2,750 multi-family housing units including townhouses, apartments and condominiums; and a technology/light industrial park.
Leatherman Development
The Leatherman family has begun to develop industrial, commercial and residential projects in the middle of Walls. The first industrial tenant, Sigma Supply Co. is moving into a new building off US 61 and Star Landing Road in the Leatherman industrial park. Sigma Supply is a distributor of industrial and packaging equipment and facilities supplies. The Leatherman Planned Unit Development in Walls also touts a new elementary school with 900 students, which is scheduled to open in August 2008, joining Lake Cormorant middle school that currently has 700 students. A high school is scheduled to open in 2009. A residential development of 117 single-family homes by Sweeney Bronze LLC , a joint venture between developers Jeff Bronze and Jeff Sweeney is under way and will be open in the fall of 2007. The homes will range in price from around $160,000 to $200,000 and will be located off Star Landing Road adjoining Lake Cormorant Elementary.
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External links