Since I live in Oklahoma (queue the eternal debate about whether Oklahoma is part of the south or not ; ) and I’m determined to start exploring closer to home, I’ve put together a list of historic and cultural sites across the south that I want to visit.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, it’s just a list of places that sound interesting to me.

Historical & Cultural Sites in the South

Most of these spots are in the “Deep South” (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama & Georgia), but I’ve also included sites in Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky.

Literary Sites

Eudora Welty Home – Jackson, MS

Rowan Oak (William Faulkner Home) – Oxford, MS

Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum – Montgomery, AL

Tennessee Williams Home – Columbus, MS

Flannery O’Connor Home – Savannah, GA

Margaret Mitchel Home – Atlanta, GA

Edgar Allan Poe Home – Richmond, VA

Music & Culture

National Museum of African American Music – Nashville, TN

Stax Museum of American Soul Music – Memphis, TN

Sun Records – Memphis, TN

Hank Williams Museum – Montgomery, AL

Graceland – Memphis, TN

Elvis’ BirthPlace – Tupelo, MS

New Orleans Jazz Museum – New Orleans, LA

Slavery & Civil War Sites

Fort Sumter – Charleston, SC

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park – Appomattox, VA

Vicksburg National Military Park – Vicksburg, MS

McLeod Plantation Historic Site – Charleston, SC

Old Slave Mart Museum – Charleston, SC

Civil Rights Sites

National Civil Rights Museum at Lorraine Motel – Memphis, TN

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site – Little Rock, AR

National Center for Civil & Human Rights – Atlanta, GA

Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Park – Atlanta, GA

Mississippi Civil Rights Museum – Jackson, MS

Freedom Rides Museum – Birmingham, AL

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute – Birmingham, AL

National Voting Rights Museum – Selma, AL

Rosa Parks Museum – Montgomery, AL

The Legacy Museum – Tuskegee, AL

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site – Tuskegee, AL

Other Museums

National WWII Museum – New Orleans, LA

US Space & Rocket Center – Huntsville, AL

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory – Louisville, KY

Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum & Baseball Library – Greenville, SC