Know&Go Guide: Laurel, Mississippi, USA
The pandemic may have stalled my nomadic life, but it did deliver one gift… I had time to watch the sweetest home renovation show, Home Town.
The lovely couple, who started to rebuild their down-on-its-luck home town, sparked a revolution that has gone far beyond their city limits.
Having watched every episode, I had to visit and see it for myself. The added bonus was that it was a stop on Amtrak’s Crescent route between Atlanta and New Orleans, my last & next destinations. The train goes through once a day, thankfully at a decent hour, and it meant that I had exactly 48 hours on the ground to see as much as possible of this petite Southern city. I was further aided in this endeavour by the gift of a golf cart for the duration to pootle around and get to see way more than walking could accomplish.
Laurel* is the second county seat of Jones County, aka The Free State of Jones°, which was created when disillusioned Southerners, who travelled here after the fall of Vicksburg, seceded from the Confederacy during the Civil War.
The railway came through in 1881 and, within a year, Laurel was incorporated and the timber industry took off, thanks to its location in the “piney woods ecoregion of the southeastern United States” and the superabundance of yellow pine forests. The industry created a boom-town and, by 1918, Laurel’s sawmills “produced and shipped more yellow pine lumber than those of any other location in the world.”
The wealthy ‘timber families’ – namely Eastman, Gardiner and Rogers – are responsible for Laurel’s famed Central Historic District, considered “Mississippi's largest, finest and most intact collection of early-20th-century architecture” listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today, inside many of those buildings, many an antique, vintage and gift shop resides. So much so that it appears Laurel has morphed from lumber boom-town to an interior decorators’ dream destination.
While I only stayed for two days, I could easily have lingered longer and slowed down to enjoy the pace of life and sample more of what was on offer in this City Beautiful. I’ll be back!
*The name comes from the thickets of mountain laurel that covered the original town site.
°Immortalised in the eponymous movie starring Matthew McConaughey.
Experience
Stately museum with eclectic collection
Opened in 1923, and the first art museum in Mississippi, it’s on the site of the newlywed home being built for its namesake, Lauren Eastman Rogers. He was the golden boy – only son and only grandson of two of the town's founding families – when he tragically died at 23 from appendicitis, shortly after his wedding in 1921. The family pivoted and created this museum and library to memorialise him.
Inside, it’s a gorgeous building that holds many surprises: Georgian silver, Japanese woodblock prints and an amazing Native American art collection, to name a few.
I particularly loved the lobby, with its quarter-sawn golden oak paneling, cork floors and ornamentation everywhere. The museum shop was another cracker, well stocked with unique finds.
The fabulous George Bassi – Museum Director and bon vivant – hosts free Historic District Walking Tours on Fridays throughout the year.
Free entry. Open Tue-Sat 10am-4.45pm, Sun 1-4pm.
Best thing on four wheels!
I had such a blast driving all over Laurel in my snazzy electric golf cart. I normally like to walk everywhere, but this really elevated my experience as I was able to go as far afield as I wanted and still stop when and where I wanted with no fuss. Can’t recommend them enough!
Open Tue–Fri & Sun 12-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm.
Take a self-guided tour of these artworks
Laurel is famous for it’s many murals, some designed by Erin Napier from Home Town. The Jones County Guide interactive widget gives you on-the-go designed itineraries or you can set up your own.
I, with my trusty golf cart, visited as many as viable during my visit using the Mural Tour.
Fun filled tour of The City Beautiful
The charming DJ Bolton has you right where he wants you: in the back of his stretch golf cart careening around the streets of Laurel, showing you some of the 100+ “Home Town” renovations, getting friendly with the locals (including Zeus the Great Dane above) and showing off his home town.
I had a ball and highly recommend you come on this tour when you first arrive in Laurel to get the lay of the land and great recommendations.
They also have an ‘Evening Sip & Ride’ tour every Thursday, which is a safe way to tour the town’s drinking establishments where your only concern is not falling off the golf cart.
This museum celebrates a rich cultural heritage
This new museum is a personal passion project spearheaded by the vivacious Marian Allen, showcasing her collection of artwork and historical artefacts. While I was there, I learned about many an unsung local hero.
The most famous person who hails from Laurel has to be opera superstar, Leontyne Price – born here in 1927 and still going strong – who has her own mural in town. The building already houses an arts & crafts room and the hope that it will become a place for local children to feel welcome and included.
Check website for opening times.
Watch some Home Town treasures being made!
Dependent on the filming schedule, you could gather inside the Scotsman General Store and watch Ben Napier and his friends making fixtures and fittings for the properties on Home Town through sound proof glass.
It’s akin to watching animals in the zoo but they’re used to it and it’s a major draw for visitors to Laurel.
Open Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 1-4pm.
Consume
Down home, stick to your ribs fare
This is the kind of place you want to find in the South. No muss, no fuss, just a good, hearty breakfast. I sampled the grits, biscuit & (white) gravy with a side of their famous sweet and spicy bacon, which was awesomely tasty!
Open Mon-Fri 8am-12pm, Sat-Sun 8am-1pm.
Carnivore heaven
This bastion of meat is in the heart of downtown Laurel. While primarily a butcher shop, they also serve sandwiches and burgers cooked on their outside smoker/grill. I chose the special of the day, a rib eye burger, perfectly smokey and charred.
The place is decorated with an eye to the theme, check out the toilet roll holders when you pop in.
Open Tue-Sat 10am-6pm.
Delicious flavours with colour changing spoons!
It was a hot and sunny day when I pulled my trusty steed up to this eatery that carries one of Laurel’s famous murals. Inside it was blissfully cool and I chose the Peachy Peach flavour, which was delicious. However, the cherry on top was the colour changing spoons… they just tickled me pink to purple.
Open Tue-Thu 1-8pm, Fri-Sat 11am-9pm, Sun 1-9pm.
Cocktail bar under newly renovated B&B
Located just across the road from the train station, this building featured on Home Town when they renovated an old furniture warehouse into a stylish bed & breakfast. While I sadly didn’t stay there, I had to have a peek through the front door and decided to get a quick dinner in the bar on my first night.
I chose the Buzzard’s Fries, with pulled pork and Buzzard’s Dip. They pull all sorts of meat in the South, so you have to have it at least once. This was tasty and filling comfort food, just what I needed after a very long day.
Open Mon-Thur 4-10pm, Fri 4pm-Midnight, Sat 11am-Midnight, Sun 11am-8pm.
Purchase
Everything you love about Home Town in one beautiful store
If you love the interiors showcased on the show, then this is the place to shop to give your home a little Home Town love. This is a home decorators dream store. Beautiful curated with lots of locally made products, you could really warm your home up. (Here I did purchase some small things: a Home Town T-shirt to proudly wear around the world; and a USA shaped cookie cutter.)
Open Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 11am-6pm.
A luscious and lovely idea made real
Inside a disused building – lovingly restored by the 'Home Town' team – this gorgeous retail space feels like a small town library from the 1930s, however, instead of books you have scents to entice you to the shelves.
I loved being in there and had to tear myself away. If only candles weren’t so heavy I would bought about five of them. (They do ship nationwide, but I had nowhere in the US I could send them to collect before I went home.)
Open Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 1-4pm.
Store and woodshop made famous in Home Town
This was another time when travelling carry-on only meant I had curtail my shopping urges. I could have done some damage here with handmade wooden objects, Southern saying signs and coffee… oh, the coffee. I highly recommend ‘Ben’s Blend’ – which I discovered at Laurel Cottages – it’s just delicious.
Note: I only buy ground coffee in the USA – as you can get many flavoured varieties – and make it myself in a small French press. They can keep their weak-as-dishwater-sludgy-percolator coffee served in restaurants all over this vast land, I’ll take the good stuff.
Open Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat-Sun 9am-4pm.
Huge barn-like shop full of vintage treasures
This is the place where everything ever owned finds its way onto the shelves. Unlike some shops where they hover over you, here you are left to wander lonely as a cloud until you holler for help. Fabulous picking territory, guaranteed to remind your of your childhood.
Open Thu-Sat 10am-5pm.
Super stylish ‘unique’ boutique
I spent a happy half hour browsing this lovely shop. The variety was impressive and it was all beautifully displayed.
Open Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-4pm.
Charming gift shop
This is one of many, many decoration, gift and tchotchke shops in an around Laurel’s downtown. It’s a nice place to spend some time and money.
Open Mon-Sat 9am-5pm.
An “Integrated Retail and DIY Studio experience”
I love a place that lets you try your hand at new things. This combo shop hosts DIY events, sells take home kits and locally produced hand made products.
Open Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 1-4pm.
Vast store selling everything from antiques to baby clothes
A popular store in the heart of downtown where your inner Southern mama will go crazy with the credit card.
Open Mon-Sat 10am-5pm.
Rest
Your chance to live the Home Town dream
Owned by the utterly charming Ms Mallorie (Rasberry) known to viewers of the show, this gorgeous apartment in their backyard, is everything you hope it will be. I was thrilled to stay here on my first night in Laurel.
Generously stocked with everything you could need, I had my first taste of ‘Ben’s Blend’ coffee, which took me to the General Store to buy my own.
It was hard to leave after only one night, so next time I’ll make it a longer stay.
Luxury bed and breakfast inside a stately mansion
This is how the other half live. I stayed in the master suite – The Stancill – with a canopied four-poster bed and private balcony. It was so grand, I could have hosted a party with 50 of my closest friends in the bathroom alone.
The rest of the house is just lovely, with a parlour, den, cosy library and grand living room. The buffet breakfast in the kitchen, at a shared table, was enjoyable and convivial.
This guide details all of the things The Packed Bag experienced. Please see Visit Laurel & Jones County for more.