Civil rights history and quiet living in Ruleville
Ruleville developed as a whistle stop for the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad. The small Sunflower County town is perhaps best known as the home of Civil Rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, who worked as a sharecropper on a nearby plantation. Hamer tried to register to vote in 1962 and, as a result, lost her job. She went on to become a powerful voice, co-founding the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and challenging the exclusion of Black voters from the political process. Her legacy is honored at Ruleville’s Fannie Lou Hamer Park & Multipurpose Complex and the Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden, where she is buried.
Today, Ruleville is home to about 3,000 residents and offers a slow pace of life with access to shopping, dining and entertainment a short drive away. “If you want quiet, country living with one or two nice places to eat in town, that’s Ruleville,” says Realtor Anthony Steen with Tom Smith Land and Homes, who has sold many houses in the community. “Crime isn’t that high, and people are buying because it’s more affordable than Cleveland or other nearby cities.”
Memorial garden and museum honor Fannie Lou Hamer’s legacy
The Fannie Lou Hamer Park & Multipurpose Complex and the adjacent Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden honor the activist. The complex houses a museum showcasing Hamer’s work within the larger context of the Civil Rights Movement, as well as statues and historical markers. In the gardens, which used to be Hamer’s co-op, Freedom Farm, the graves of Hamer and her husband sit side by side and honor her dying wish not to be buried on a plantation.
Downtown park hosts Ruleville’s annual barbecue festival
There’s one park in Ruleville, and it's in the community’s downtown area. Mature oak and pine trees shade scattered benches, streetlamps illuminate paved walkways at night, and a small gazebo offers shade. The park is the site of The Great Ruleville Roast, an annual two-day event that brings the community together. Activities include live music, a 5k, fireworks and children’s activities, but the main affair is the barbecue cook-off. The contest is a Memphis Barbecue Network-sanctioned competition and a qualifier for the Delta BBQ Battle.
Cottages and ranch-style houses priced under $200K
Small cottages and ranch-style homes line Ruleville’s quiet residential roads. The community’s landscape is flat, and mature red oak, magnolia and sycamore trees dot grassy yards. Home prices can range from $120,000 to $200,000, depending on size, age and condition.
Zoned for Sunflower County Consolidated School District
The Sunflower County Consolidated School District serves the community. Ruleville Central Elementary gets a C from Niche, Ruleville Middle gets a C-minus and Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School gets a C. The high school offers career- and technical-education courses in collaboration with the Indianola Career and Technical Center. Delta State University, a public institution with about 3,000 students, is 10 miles away in Cleveland.
Limited shopping and dining with more options in nearby Cleveland
Ruleville’s retail and restaurant options are limited. Dollar General and Family Dollar can cover the essentials, and more shopping options are about 10 miles west in Cleveland, where there’s Kroger, Walmart Supercenter and Bealls. The Pharm, a seafood and steak spot, draws a lot of business to Ruleville. “People drive from an hour out just to eat there,” Steen says. “It’s a little hole-in-the-wall place that serves a little bit of everything. Sometimes, they have live music or will host wedding receptions.” A few well-known and regional chains are also in town, like Subway and Bumpers. More dining options sit in nearby Cleveland, with local spots like Country Platter Restaurant, a family-style sit-down, and Hey Joe’s, a burger restaurant and bar.
Highways connect Ruleville to nearby towns and airports
Ruleville is car-dependent. Mississippi Highway 8 and U.S. Route 49W intersect in the community. Indianola is about 25 miles south, and Greenville, with Greenville Mid-Delta Airport, is about 45 miles southwest. The closest international airport is the Memphis International Airport, about 110 miles north, across the Tennessee state line. In case of emergency, North Sunflower Medical Center is in Ruleville.
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Written By
Adreanna DeMarino
