Mile 652.0 - LBD Friars Point
652 LBD Friars Point
[CLICK HERE: Map of River Access Close to Friar's Point]
Friars Point was once the major population center and seat of Coahoma County. Friars Point was located right on the river, the downtown a levee landing where cotton was loaded onto steamboats, and gamblers might be seen strolling the streets looking for the next unwary victim. Clarksdale at the time was just a distant dream of a frontier woodcutter named John Clark. The unpredictable Mississippi ate the entire length of First Street one year. No problem, the resourceful citizens simply moved commerce back to Second Street and it became center of activity for its business district. Many a good story came from any puzzled visitor inspecting the signage and wondering why there wasn't any First Street and why Second Street was the center of activity.
But the big river got the last laugh when it decided to migrate westward and instead of commanding a good steamboat landing Friars Point was left with nothing but sandbars & mudbars, its downtown approachable only in high water. The river might as well have banished Friars Point to the middle of the Gobi Desert so dislocated it now found itself. When the railroad tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad were laid through Clarksdale, Friars Point rescinded its prominence as County Seat, and then lost the newspaper and major banks.
Still, the town is easily accessed at mile 652.5 by anyone paddling through the area using an unimproved & very primitive landing at the edge of town, directly below the Mississippi Limestone/ADM complex. There is an obvious open sandbar below all of the graineries and piles of gravel and docking facilities. The Yazoo-Mississippi Levee Board has made repeated attempts to improve the landing, but every high water the river re-takes command. Make your landing there for access to Friars Point, and also to get to Clarksdale. Paddlers, be sure to hide your vessel well, and remove any items of value. If you need to get to Clarksdale your best bet is to bring your canoe or kayak and all your gear with you. Remember, the unwritten rule of the river rat is if it's not locked it's fair game. You can camp here if necessary, but beware midnight visitors. Better option: visit town and then push off to camp further downstream.
Even within the shadow of its blues-tourism drenched neighbor, Clarksdale, there are many reasons to walk over the levee for a quick visit. Friars Point was the Childhood home of Conway Twitty and Aretha Franklin's Daddy, The Rev. C.L. Franklin. The postal packet the Kate Adams made regular landings here enroute Arkansas City and Memphis. Muddy Waters reported seeing Robert Johnson perform in front of Hirsberg Grocery. The bench that Robert Johnson performed on still sits in front of the grocery, now painted fire-engine red. Friars Point was the original ferry landing for access to Helena. All blues musicians in the area passed through to get to Helena's influential King Biscuit Time radio program. If you stop, be sure to visit the North Delta Museum and Icehouse Antiques. Paddlers can find a limited selection of groceries at a couple of markets, one of which has noteworthy take-out lunches quick fried on a gigantic iron wok. Friars Point also has a liquor store and a post office.