 
Yocona River Inn — 842 Highway 334 East • Cozy and informal, in an old country house eight miles out of town. Beautifully prepared dishes with a Southern accent. Remember, it’s B.Y.O.A.B.B. (Bring Your Own Anything But Beer!). Square Books — On the Square • Coffee, homemade baked goods, two floors of books, and a balcony overlooking both the courthouse and South Lamar. Nearby are Square Books Jr. and Off-Square Books, from which Thacker Mountain Radio is broadcast. Rowan Oak — Old Taylor Road • An avenue of old cedars leads to the front door of Rowan Oak, the house Faulkner lived in from 1930 to 1962. Well-informed curator Bill Griffith makes visits lively and friendly. Look for Faulkner’s outline for A Fable, written on his study walls, and his old typewriter, which practically glows with a holy light. The house is haunted. Of course. Barnard Observatory — Sorority Row, between Grove Loop and Student Union Drive, University of Mississippi campus • Designed by F.A.P. Barnard, the beautiful, classic observatory (completed in 1859 and restored in 1992) is now the home of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. Center projects include the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Living Blues magazine, the gospel music magazine Rejoice, the annual Faulkner Conference, and the Southern Foodways Alliance. Ventress Hall — University Avenue, university campus • Look for the gorgeous, poignant stained glass window by Tiffany commemorating the University Greys, the Ole Miss students who went off to war in 1861. All of the boys were killed or wounded at Gettysburg. James Meredith Memorial — Between the Library and Lyceum, university campus • A life-size bronze likeness of James Meredith appears to stride toward a seventeen-foot limestone portal. Erected in 2006, the memorial commemorates Meredith’s struggle, in 1962, to be the first African American to enroll in the University of Mississippi. University of Mississippi Archives and Special Collections — J.D. Williams Library, university campus • Permanent exhibits of William Faulkner items, including the Nobel Prize. Look for important civil rights papers and the recently added special collection of Larry Brown’s letters and work. The Seymour Lawrence Room, honoring this important old-school publisher, includes writers such as Jim Harrison, Kurt Vonnegut, and Tom McGuane. Ajax Diner — On the Square • Home cooking, meat-and-three with New Orleans specialties such as po’boys and gumbo. Good Bloody Marys. A favorite of novelist and gourmand Jim Harrison. Burns Methodist Episcopal Church — Jackson Avenue • Although the church was organized by freed slaves in 1870, the building was erected in 1910. It was John Grisham’s office for several years until he donated it to the Oxford-Lafayette County Heritage Foundation, which plans to restore it. University Museums — University Avenue and S. Fifth Street, university campus • The David M. Robinson collection of classical art and Barnard’s exquisite French scientific teaching instruments are world-class. Look for the Southern folk art collection that includes the wonderful paintings of Oxford artist Theora Hamblett (1895-1977). Marijuana Garden — university campus • The only legal marijuana patch in the United States produces pot for research at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse. Back in the day it was said that students who worked the patch wore pants with cuffs and loose shoes. High y’all. Blues Archive — J.D. Williams Library, university campus • The world’s most extensive blues collection was jump-started by B.B. King’s seven thousand-item collection. There are films, photos, books, and memorabilia covering all aspects of blues folklore — and listening facilities. Confederate Cemetery — behind the Coliseum, university campus • Here lie seven hundred Confederate and Union boys who died at Shiloh in 1862. What a war, what a war. Blue Heaven — Twenty minutes away, on Main Street in Water Valley • An incredible array of vintage vinyl music and musical instruments. Southside Gallery — On the Square • A stylish venue to buy local and outsider art or a photograph by Eudora Welty. City Grocery — On the Square • Great bar and upstairs balcony, and a fun place to run into local writers. Ask Chip Moore, the best bartender in town (and there are dozens of good ones), to make you a French 76, one of Faulkner’s favorite cocktails. Downstairs, an excellent menu with Louisiana emphasis. Chef and owner John Currence trained with Bill Neal at Crook’s Corner Café and Bar in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and at Gautreau’s in New Orleans, his hometown. L&M’s Kitchen and Salumeria — North Lamar • Dan Latham cooked with Mario Batali and raises and cures his own pork. See it curing! A sleek but unpretentious uptown interior. Proud Larry’s — South Lamar, off the Square • Great burgers, fries, and pizza. The best music venue in town. Epic past shows featured Warren Zevon, Mose Allison, Elvis Costello, and the Hives. St. Peter’s Cemetery — Jefferson Street and N. 16th Street • Faulkner and his wife lie at the bottom of the hill under big oaks. There’s a historic marker. Other family members are in an enclosed plot with a large obelisk in the middle of the cemetery. Faulkner’s “mammy,” Caroline Barr, lies to the right of the path just beyond the old cedar stand. Beacon Restaurant — North Lamar • Oxford’s oldest restaurant. Not fine dining, but the real deal. Big country breakfasts begin at six o’clock. (You might meet yourself a husband here. I did.) |
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