Widener, Arkansas

Marianna has a real connection to the early days of recorded blues. Back in 1913 a rail line linked this town up to Memphis, and as the story goes around here, that muddy branch line earned the local nickname the Mud Line, or the Marianna cut-off. Whether or not that is exactly the line they meant, the name Marianna made it onto a record. In 1934 the Memphis Jug Band, one of the great jug-band groups of the era, recorded a tune called Mary Anna Cut Off, and the song references this very town out in the Arkansas Delta. Jug bands made music out of whatever was at hand, a jug for the bass, a harmonica, a guitar, a washboard, and they were a huge part of the Memphis sound that fed straight into the blues. So a little railroad running out of Marianna ended up tucked inside one of the songs of that whole tradition. (Sources: Encyclopedia of Arkansas; Document Records.)

Marianna gave the world an opera trailblazer. Robert McFerrin Sr. was born here in 1921, and in January of 1955 he became the first Black man ever to sing an operatic role on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, performing the role of Amonasro in Verdi's Aida. The great contralto Marian Anderson had broken the color line at the Met just twenty days earlier as the first Black singer of any kind, so McFerrin followed within the same few weeks, the first Black man, in one of the most storied opera houses in the world. He had a deep, warm baritone, and he spent his career singing on the biggest stages. And there is a good chance you already know his son's voice: Robert's boy is Bobby McFerrin, the singer behind Don't Worry, Be Happy. Not bad for one family with roots in this small Delta town. (Source: Encyclopedia of Arkansas.)

Wynne, Arkansas owes its existence to the railroad. Before the St. Louis-Southwestern Railway pushed through these flatlands in 1882, there was little reason for a town to coalesce here. Captain Jesse Wynne, a railroad official, lent his name to the new settlement, a place destined to become a crucial shipping point for the surrounding cotton and soybean fields. While the Great Depression hit Wynne hard, crippling its agricultural economy, the fertile soil ensured its eventual recovery. Some say that the blues grew up here, too, with the echoes of early Delta sounds reverberating through the cotton fields. Today, agriculture remains the backbone of Wynne, but the town also draws visitors intrigued by its history and the persistent rumor of a buried gold brick near the old cemetery. Others come seeking the authenticity of a small Southern town, a place where the pace is slower and the people are friendly. Ask a local why people really end up in Wynne, though, and they might shrug and say it's just a good place to be. Perhaps it's the proximity to Memphis, with the thrilling games of the Grizzlies NBA team, or maybe it's the quiet charm that distinguishes it from the slightly larger Forrest City just down the road. Whatever the reason, Wynne is a testament to the enduring power of place and the stories it holds.

Wynne, Arkansas, owes its existence to the railroad. When the St. Louis-Southwestern Railway laid its tracks here in 1882, a town sprang up, named in honor of Captain Jesse Wynne, a railroad official. But it's not trains that truly define Wynne; it's the land. The relatively flat terrain, sitting at 266 feet above sea level, proved ideal for farming. Soon, cotton fields stretched across the horizon, becoming the lifeblood of the local economy. Soybeans followed, adding to the agricultural bounty. Even the Great Depression, which devastated the cotton market, couldn't break Wynne's connection to the soil. Agriculture remains the driving force in Wynne. Generations have worked these fields, their livelihoods tied to the fertile ground. And though a local legend whispers of a buried gold brick near the old cemetery, the real treasure of Wynne lies not underground, but in the crops that rise from the earth each year.

Wynne, Arkansas exists because of the railroad. The St. Louis-Southwestern Railway carved its way through the flatlands, and where it stopped, Wynne began. At just 266 feet above sea level, the land rolls gently, almost imperceptibly. This flatness is crucial; it's what allows the seemingly endless fields of cotton and soybeans to stretch to the horizon. That rich, alluvial soil, deposited over millennia, is the lifeblood of the area, even if the fluctuations in cotton prices have always dictated the rhythm of life here, a cycle of boom and bust. The impact of the Great Depression hit hard, exposing the vulnerability of a single-crop economy. Yet, the land endures, and so do the people. The same soil that grows crops also nurtured a different kind of growth – the blues. Some say the early Delta blues found a haven here, echoing the struggles and resilience of the community. Even now, the excitement of a Memphis Grizzlies game provides a welcome distraction, a reminder that even in a small town, there's still room for big dreams.