CHOCTAW RIDGE
Was / is there a
place called Choctaw Ridge, as mentioned in the song Ode to Billie Joe ?
YES it was / is !!! Along the
hills of Mississippi, they slope downward into the flat and fertile Delta
region.
Marker on
U.S. 61 at the Tunica-Coahoma County Line
Some maps show
Choctaw Ridge as being located around the Webster County area (see http://www.lat-long.com/Latitude-Longitude-682822-Mississippi-Choctaw_Ridge.html). It is true that this is the current
(2015) area of the Choctaw Indians, but it is the eastern boundary. However, Choctaw Ridge (historical) is along
the western boundary and around the same location as mentioned in the
song (see below).
Ancient Chickasaw domain. Map from Arrell M.
Gibson’s The Chickasaw, 1971
Delta illustrated: