Friars Point is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 896. Situated on the Mississippi River, Friars Point was once a busy port town, and remains the only place in Coahoma County with public access to the river's shore.
History
thumb|left|Friars Point from front of Levee,
thumb|left|View of the Mississippi River from the courthouse roof,
thumb|left|Looking north,
thumb|right|The Minie Ball House, the oldest house in Friars Point
thumb|right|Friars Point United Methodist Church
Friars Point is one of two hypothesized locations where Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto may have crossed the Mississippi River (the other is Commerce, Mississippi).
The town was founded in 1836 and originally called "Farrar's Point". When the town incorporated in 1852, its name was changed to "Friar's Point" to honor Robert Friar, an early settler, legislator, and businessman who sold fuel to passing steamboats. In 1850, the county seat was moved from the nearby town of Delta to Friars Point.
Strategically situated at a bend in the Mississippi River, Friars Point flourished before the Civil War as the largest shipping center for cotton south of Memphis.
During the Civil War, Union troops occupied and burned portions of the town. The Robinson-Slack-Marinelli House (now the Minie Ball House), which still stands and bears the mark of shelling from gunboats, was used as a headquarters by Union General Napoleon Bonaparte Buford. General William Tecumseh Sherman and Admiral David Dixon Porter used Friars Point as a rendezvous for 45 transport ships in December 1862, prior to attacking Vicksburg. Friars Point was also home to Confederate Brigadier General James L. Alcorn, whose grave and former plantation, Eagles Nest, are located a short distance east of the town. Alcorn turned from Whig to Republican after the war, and went on to become governor with the support of the large number of “carpetbaggers” who had settled in Friars Point.
The famous gunman and train robber Jesse James came to Friars Point one evening during the 1880s. He visited with the Methodist minister, then played poker and had some drinks at the local saloon. The next morning he was gone.
On April 26, 2011, a tornado—part of the 2011 Super Outbreak—hit Friars Point. The tornado was rated EF0, with estimated wind speeds of .
Time magazine wrote in 2013:
<blockquote>Once a thriving port town and the county seat, economic decline has left Friars Point with a lone elementary school, a few churches, a city hall, a post office, a small general store, a museum that opens only sporadically, a nightclub called Show T Boat where a man was shot to death in 2011, and a bank. The town no longer has a doctor or health clinic, a drug store, a sit-down restaurant, a recreational center, a library, or any businesses to speak of. Kids travel 15 miles to Clarksdale for junior and senior high school.</blockquote>
Delta blues
Muddy Waters said the only time he saw Robert Johnson play was on the front porch of Hirsberg's Drugstore in Friars Point. A crowd had gathered around Johnson, who was playing ferociously. "I stopped and peeked over," he said, "and then I left because he was a dangerous man." In a 1937 recording, Johnson sang, "Just come on back to Friars Point, mama, and barrelhouse all night long."
The Mississippi Blues Commission placed a Blues Trail marker in Friars Point in recognition of musician Robert Nighthawk, who at various times called Friars Point home. In 1940, Nighthawk recorded "Friars Point Blues", singing of "going back to Friars Point, down in sweet old Dixie Land." When dedicating the marker, Governor Haley Barbour proclaimed:<blockquote>This talented Mississippian made a huge contribution to development of that unique genre of music, the Mississippi blues. I am pleased Nighthawk's imprint on the blues scene, which is still heard through the tunes of modern-day blues artists, will be recognized with his inclusion on the Mississippi Blues Trail.</blockquote>
"Friar's Point" is a song on blues musician Susan Tedeschi's 1998 album Just Won't Burn.
Geography
Friars Point is located in northern Coahoma County, close to the Mississippi River, though the river's channel has moved north over time, away from the town. The town is west of highways 49 and 61, and north of Clarksdale, the county seat. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which , or 2.10%, is water.