Sam Chatmon
Sam Chatmon (c. 1899-1983), a celebrated singer and guitarist who spent most of his life in Hollandale, sometimes performed with his brothers in a renowned family string band billed as the Mississippi Sheiks. He embarked on a new solo career after coming out of musical retirement in the 1960s. Many local musicians have performed here on Simmons Street, known as “the Blue Front, ”once one of the most vibrant centers of blues activity in the Delta.
Hollandale Blues history dates back at least to the 1920s, when the Mississippi Sheiks, Sam Chatmon, Bo Chatmon (aka Bo Carter), Eugene Powell, Robert Nighthawk, and Houston Stackhouse performed at local drug stores, cafes, and other businesses, in addition to jukehouse parties and dances on nearby plantations. Most of the Mississippi Sheiks, a popular string band known for their hit recording “Sitting on Top of the World” (1930), were members of the Chatmon family, several of whom moved from their native Hinds County to the Hollandale area around 1928 and worked here as cotton farmers as well as musicians. In later years Sam Chatmon moved into town and took a job as a night watchman, while his brother Bo settled in Anguilla.
After blues enthusiasts began to seek Sam out in the 1960s, he traveled to play concerts and festivals around the country, most often in the San Diego area, and recorded several albums including Hollandale Blues and The Mississippi Sheik. He grew a long beard, as his fiddle-playing father had done, and endeared himself to new audiences who were entertained by his risqué double-entendre songs. In 2009 the city of Hollandale purchased Chatmon’s house at 818 Sherman Street to move it here to “Blue Front,” an area once famed for blues, liquor, and gambling. Chatmon sang about Blue Front in his song “Hollandale Blues,” but told friends he preferred less rowdy surroundings.
Author Kathy Starr, whose grandmother operated the Fair Deal café on Blue Front, wrote in The Soul of Southern Cooking: “Blue Front was a string of little cafes where everybody gathered on the weekend. It was the only place blacks had to go, to get rid of the blues after a week’s hard work in the cotton fields. Everybody lived for Saturday night to go to Blue Front. . . . if you wanted a half-pint or a pint of whiskey or corn liquor, you could get it at Fair Deal because Grandmama and the chief of police had an ‘understanding.’ . . . The Seabirds (Seeburg juke boxes) would be jammin’ all up and down Blue Front with Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and B. B. King. Sometimes they would be there in person over at the Day and Night Café. The great blues singer Sam Chatman [sic] came to Fair Deal often. People danced, ate, drank, and partied till the break of day. Saturday night without a fight was not known.”
Among other former Hollandale area residents, Eddie “Guitar Slim” Jones went on to the greatest fame in the 1950s after moving to New Orleans. Others include bluesmen William Warren, Willie Harris, Mott Willis, J. D. Short, James Earl “Blue” Franklin, and Joseph C. Moore (“J. C. Rico”); Eugene Powell’s wife Mississippi Matilda; the Buckhanna (Buchanan) Brothers string band; and soul singer Ruby Stackhouse, better known as Ruby Andrews
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.
The Mississippi River, which forms the western border of the state, is the longest river in North America.
In the 1820s, significant numbers of white settlers began to arrive in the region, establishing plantations and cultivating cotton as the primary cash crop. The county's fertile soil and proximity to the Mississippi River made it ideal for large-scale agriculture, leading to the rise of a plantation-based economy that relied heavily on enslaved African American labor.
During the Civil War, Washington County played a significant role as a strategic location along the Mississippi River. The city of Greenville, the county seat, served as a Confederate supply depot and became a target for Union forces. The Battle of Greenville in 1864 resulted in the Union's control over the city, leading to the end of slavery and the decline of the plantation system.
In the years following the Civil War, Washington County experienced economic and social changes. Reconstruction brought increased political participation for African Americans, and many former slaves became landowners and entrepreneurs. However, the county also faced challenges including racial tensions, economic instability, and the impact of natural disasters such as the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.
Today, Washington County continues to be an important agricultural region, with cotton, soybeans, and rice being major crops. The county also has a diverse cultural heritage, with a rich African American history and contributions to the blues music scene. While the challenges of the past still have an impact, Washington County remains a vital part of Mississippi's history and economy.
Washington County Timeline
This timeline provides a condensed summary of the historical journey of Washington County, Mississippi.
- 1800: Washington County, Mississippi, was established.
- 1827: Greenville, the county seat, was incorporated.
- 1837: The Mississippi River flood devastated the county, causing significant damage.
- 1844: The first county courthouse was built in Greenville.
- 1871: Major flooding occurred along the Mississippi River, causing a significant loss of property and life.
- 1892: The Mississippi Levee District was established to protect the county from flooding.
- 1927: Another devastating flood occurred along the Mississippi River, causing widespread damage.
- 1942: The United States Army Airfield, now known as the Mid-Delta Regional Airport, was constructed near Leland.
- 1940s-1950s: The county experienced a decline in agricultural production due to mechanization and a decrease in labor demand.
- 1960s: The Civil Rights Movement had a significant impact on Washington County, with several key events occurring in Greenville.
- 1998: The Washington County Convention Center was opened in Greenville.
- 2005: Hurricane Katrina caused some damage in Washington County, although it was not as severely affected as other coastal areas.