Riverside Hotel
Since 1944 the Riverside Hotel has provided lodging for traveling musicians. It was home to some, including Sonny Boy Williamson II, Ike Turner, and Robert Nighthawk. Before that, the building served African Americans of the Delta as the G.T. Thomas Hospital. Blues singer Bessie Smith died here in 1937 from injuries sustained in a car accident while traveling to Clarksdale for a performance.
On the morning of September 26, 1937, Bessie Smith, “the empress of the blues,” died here at the G.T. ThomasAfro American Hospital following an automobile accident on Highway 61 just outside of Clarksdale. Smith, known for her powerful voice and the raw emotion of her delivery, was the biggest star of the blues in the 1920s, and was in the process of making a comeback.
Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the early 1890s, Smith lost both parents by the time shewas nine, and she and her older sister were left caring for nine younger children. Smith and her brother Andrew began performing on the streets to earn money. She began her professional career in 1912 as a dancer with the Moses Stokes touring company, which also included Gertrude “Ma” Rainey (1886-1939), later dubbed the “mother of the blues.” Rainey served as a mentor to Smith, who soon became an established performer on the African-American vaudeville circuit.
In 1923 Bessie Smith made her first recording for the Columbia label, “Downhearted Blues / Gulf Coast Blues.” The single was the first in a string of hits, including “St. Louis Blues,” and Smith soon became the highest paid African-American performer of the 1920s. At the time of her fatal accident, Smith was in her Packard on her way from Memphis to Clarksdale to spend the night. She was to appear the following day with the traveling show Broadway Rastus in the community of Darling, about 20 miles northeast of here. It was widely rumored that Smith’s death resulted from her being refused admission to Clarksdale’s “white” hospital, but the facts suggest otherwise. The reality was that during that time local ambulance drivers would not have considered taking an African-American patient to a “white” hospital in the first place.
Like hospitals, housing accommodations were segregated prior to the 1970s, and some hotels catered to touring musicians. In 1944 the building was opened as the Riverside Hotel, andregular guests in the ’40s and ’50s included local blues artists Sonny Boy Williamson II, Robert Nighthawk, Raymond Hill, Ike Turner, Joe Willie Wilkins, James “Peck” Curtis, Johnny O’Neal, and Robert “Dudlow” Taylor. Another notable guest in the hotel was John F. Kennedy, Jr., who stayed here in 1991
The Mississippi Blues Trail markers tell stories through words and images of bluesmen and women and how the places where they lived and the times in which they existed–and continue to exist–influenced their music. The sites run the gamut from city streets to cotton fields, train depots to cemeteries, and clubs to churches. We have a lot to share, and it’s just down the Mississippi Blues Trail.
The Mississippi Blues Trail is an ongoing project of the Mississippi Blues Commission. Funding for this project has been made possible by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Mississippi Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, AT&T, and the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University plus additional support from the Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Division.
For more information visit msbluestrail.org.
Mississippi played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the most important events of the movement, including the Freedom Rides and the March Against Fear, took place in Mississippi.
The county was officially established in 1836 and was named after a Native American word meaning "red panther." In the decades that followed, Coahoma County saw a significant influx of settlers, mainly from the southern states, who were drawn to the fertile agricultural lands along the Mississippi Delta.
The economy of the county was heavily dependent on agriculture, with cotton being the primary cash crop. Plantations dominated the landscape, and the county's population grew rapidly due to the demand for labor. However, this growth came at the expense of the enslaved African Americans, who were forcibly brought to the region to work on the plantations.
Coahoma County played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. It was the birthplace of influential figures like Aaron Henry, who fought for racial equality and was a prominent leader in the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP. The county also witnessed the efforts of civil rights activists like Medgar Evers and Fannie Lou Hamer, who organized voter registration drives and challenged segregation.
Today, Coahoma County continues to reflect its rich history through its cultural heritage and music. The city of Clarksdale, located in the county, is known as the birthplace of the blues. It has been home to influential musicians such as Muddy Waters, Sam Cooke, and Ike Turner. The county also houses the Delta Blues Museum, providing visitors with a glimpse into the region's musical heritage and its impact on American culture.
Coahoma County Timeline
This timeline provides a concise overview of the key events in the history of Coahoma County, Mississippi.
- 1836 - Coahoma County is established as a county in the state of Mississippi.
- 1839 - The city of Friars Point is incorporated.
- 1841 - The town of Clarksdale is founded.
- 1882 - The Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee District is formed to control flooding.
- 1888 - The Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee Board is established to oversee levee construction.
- 1903 - The first railroad arrives in Clarksdale, boosting economic development.
- 1920s - Coahoma County becomes a major center for blues music.
- 1930s - The Great Depression and the boll weevil infestation severely impact Coahoma County's economy.
- 1942 - The Coahoma County Fair is first held.
- 1954 - The "Coahoma County Project" is initiated to promote economic development.
- 1980s - Coahoma County experiences a decline in population and economic activity.
- 2002 - The Delta Blues Museum is designated as a Mississippi Landmark.
- 2011 - The Mississippi Development Authority designates Coahoma County as a "Gulf Opportunity Zone," aimed at stimulating recovery after Hurricane Katrina.