Despite what the name suggests, “The Delta” is not part of the delta of the Mississippi River, but instead is part of an alluvial plain created by regular flooding of the Mississippi & Yazoo Rivers over many millennia. The very fertile Delta region is bounded to the north by Memphis, to the south by Vicksburg, to the east the bluffs beyond the Yazoo River and to the west by the Mississippi River. Greenville, Mississippi which prides itself on being the birthplace of the Blues, is situated on the banks of the river at the level of the Delta’s belly-button (or so one our delightful guides tells us).

The delightful guides/docents who greet us at every stop in the town aside, Greenville is frankly a rather sad, run down and depressing place. Our first stop is for a “Southern Party” as it’s described in what was once a school auditorium. This is the “home” now of “Steve Azar’s Mississippi” show. Steve Azar is a famous (at least that’s what he told us) hometown boy, country & western singer/songwriter with numerous (so he tells us) chart-busting hits to his name. The opening act of Steve’s show is a pretty good Blues performer; then it’s Steve and his group telling folksy stories and cycling through their “greatest hits” while we’re served up “typical” Delta food.

The rest of the day is a rather more fascinating, as in one location or another we get to learn more about Greenville and its glorious past. The original Greenville was totally destroyed during the Civil War and rebuilt on nearby land donated by a wealthy local widow. Cotton & timber saw the city thrive for a brief period, but the city was badly damaged again by the disastrous flood of 1927 - described as the worst natural disaster in US history - when the Mississippi burst through poorly built levees, flooding 25,000 sq miles ((67,000 sq km), destroying an entire crop year and forcing more than 600,000 people from their homes. The African-American population was largely left to fend for itself and and makeshift camps were set up on top of the damaged levees. That was the final straw for many of the community who subsequently migrated north to Chicago, taking with them the rich Blues tradition for which the city is now known.

Like Natchez and Vicksburg, Greenville also had a large thriving Jewish community. Today there are only around 50 families remaining but the city still boasts a large synagogue (and fascinating museum) dating from 1906 with services held every couple of weeks by a visiting rabbi.

The synagogue is maintained by a massive endowment, we’re guessing donated by the Stein family. Jake Stein, a Greenville native created what became Stein Mart, a chain of clothing stores. The first Stein Mart opened in Greenville (the site is soon to house a bank building). At its peak, the chain had more than 230 branches but didn’t keep up with changing times (rather like Greenville itself) and went bankrupt during the Covid pandemic.