The river is mentioned in "Tallahatchie River Blues," recorded by Mattie Delaney in 1930. This blues song laments the devastation caused in the local African-American community by a flood on the normally shallow river. The river is 50 ft (15 m) deep with very sharp rocks.
The river has historical significance due to the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, an African-American boy visiting from Chicago, who was brutally murdered by white men in Money, Mississippi, for allegedly whistling at a white woman. In 2017, Till's accuser, Carolyn Bryant Donham, spoke to Timothy B. Tyson, a Duke University professor who has written a book, “The Blood of Emmett Till." In it, he wrote that Donham said of her long-ago allegations that Till grabbed her and was menacing and sexually crude toward her, “that part is not true.” Till was beaten, shot, and sunk in the river with a cotton gin fan tied around his neck by barbed wire.
This event is mentioned in the song, "Freedom Highway" by The Staple Singers, in the lines, "Found dead people in the forests, Tallahatchie River and lakes... whole world is wondering, what's wrong with the United States?"[10] Till’s badly mutilated body was found near the river by two boys who were fishing.
The eponymous wooden bridge over the river was popularized in Bobbie Gentry's 1967 hit song "Ode to Billie Joe," which has the refrain, "Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie bridge." A film was titled Ode to Billy Joe. The wooden bridge collapsed in 1972 after being set alight by vandals.[11] It crossed the Tallahatchie River at Money, about ten miles north of Greenwood, Mississippi. The bridge has since been replaced.
tallahatchie, river, river, mississippi, which, flows, miles, from, tippah, county, through, tallahatchie, county, leflore, county, where, joins, yalobusha, river, form, yazoo, river, which, ultimately, meets, mississippi, river, vicksburg, mississippi, river,. The Tallahatchie River is a river in Mississippi which flows 230 miles 370 km 1 from Tippah County through Tallahatchie County to Leflore County where it joins the Yalobusha River to form the Yazoo River 2 3 which ultimately meets the Mississippi River at Vicksburg Mississippi The river is navigable for about 100 miles 160 km 4 At Money Mississippi the river s flow measures approximately 7 861 cubic feet per second 5 Tallahatchie River south of Minter CityTallahatchie River north of GreenwoodTallahatchie is a Choctaw name meaning rock of waters 6 The sources of the Tallahatchie River have outcrops of iron sandstone 7 As part of the Flood Control Act of 1936 the federal government built an earth filled flood control dam on the Tallahatchie near the town of Sardis Mississippi creating Sardis Lake Contents 1 Tributaries 2 In popular culture 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksTributaries editColdwater River Old Yocona River Yocona River Canal 8 Little Tallahatchie River Old Little Tallahatchie River Panola Quitman Floodway 9 McIvor Drainage Canal Tippah River Cassidy Bayou Black Bayou Ascalmore Creek Tillatoba CreekIn popular culture editThe river is mentioned in Tallahatchie River Blues recorded by Mattie Delaney in 1930 This blues song laments the devastation caused in the local African American community by a flood on the normally shallow river The river is 50 ft 15 m deep with very sharp rocks The river has historical significance due to the 1955 murder of Emmett Till an African American boy visiting from Chicago who was brutally murdered by white men in Money Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman In 2017 Till s accuser Carolyn Bryant Donham spoke to Timothy B Tyson a Duke University professor who has written a book The Blood of Emmett Till In it he wrote that Donham said of her long ago allegations that Till grabbed her and was menacing and sexually crude toward her that part is not true Till was beaten shot and sunk in the river with a cotton gin fan tied around his neck by barbed wire This event is mentioned in the song Freedom Highway by The Staple Singers in the lines Found dead people in the forests Tallahatchie River and lakes whole world is wondering what s wrong with the United States 10 Till s badly mutilated body was found near the river by two boys who were fishing The eponymous wooden bridge over the river was popularized in Bobbie Gentry s 1967 hit song Ode to Billie Joe which has the refrain Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie bridge A film was titled Ode to Billy Joe The wooden bridge collapsed in 1972 after being set alight by vandals 11 It crossed the Tallahatchie River at Money about ten miles north of Greenwood Mississippi The bridge has since been replaced See also editList of rivers of MississippiReferences edit Hopkins Daniel J editor 1997 Merriam Webster s Geographical Dictionary Third Edition Springfield MA Merriam Webster Inc Publishers p 1155 ISBN 0 87779 546 0 The National Map U S Geological Survey Retrieved Feb 9 2011 Tallahatchie River Geographic Names Information System United States Geological Survey United States Department of the Interior Hopkins Merriam Webster s Geographical Dictionary USGS Surface Water data for Mississippi USGS Surface Water Annual Statistics Stafford James Douglas 16 November 1975 The Way of the River The Commercial Appeal Mid South Magazine Memphis Tennessee Rowland Dunbar 1925 History of Mississippi the Heart of the South 1 Chicago IL Jackson MS S J Clarke Publishing Co pp 38 39 Mississippi State Highway Department General Highway Map Panola County Mississippi Map 1981 Mississippi State Highway Department General Highway Map Tallahatchie County Mississippi Map 1979 Freedom Highway by The Staple Singers Our Daily Lyric Retrieved 2017 03 30 Tobler John 1992 NME Rock N Roll Years 1st ed London Reed International Books Ltd p 239 CN 5585 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tallahatchie River Tallahatchie a river of Mississippi The American Cyclopaedia 1879 33 33 06 N 90 10 52 W 33 55167 N 90 18111 W 33 55167 90 18111 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tallahatchie River amp oldid 1178264707, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
