Rowdy Boundaries: True Mississippi Tales from Natchez to Noxubee

Dwelling along the Mississippi River, the Tennessee state line, the Tenn-Tom Waterway, and the Gulf of Mexico are a trove of characters with fascinating lives and histories. In Rowdy Boundaries: True Mississippi Tales from Natchez to Noxubee, author James L. Robertson weaves these stories to reveal a tapestry of Mississippi’s border counties and the towns and people that occupy them. From his unique vantage as a former Mississippi Supreme Court justice and seasoned lawyer, he documents the legal, geographical, and biographical tales revealed during his journeys along and within the state lines.

The volume features the true stories of musicians, authors, portrait painters, and football players, as well as political activists, educators, politicians, and judges. Also featured are tributes to noteworthy newspaper editors and columnists for their many contributions over the years. Robertson covers pivotal moments in Mississippi history, including the Mississippi Married Women’s Property Act of 1839, the development of Chinese culture in the Mississippi Delta, and 1964 Freedom Summer. He does not shy away from the tragedies of the past, discussing lynchings and murders that still haunt the state today. From ghost towns in Jefferson County to the Slugburger Festival in Corinth, stopping en route for a mint julep in Columbus, Robertson puts a human face on Mississippi history and tells a good yarn along the way.

James L. Robertson served on the Mississippi Supreme Court from 1983 to 1992, taught law at the University of Mississippi Law School from 1977 to 1992, was a shareholder in the Wise Carter law firm from 1993 to 2016, and is now of counsel to the firm. He is author of Heroes, Rascals, and the Law: Constitutional Encounters in Mississippi History, published by University Press of Mississippi. He is a native of Greenville and lives in Jackson, Mississippi.