(Editor’s Note: Each year, Arkansas Business partners with the Arkansas Municipal League to present the Trendsetter City awards, which recognize exceptional initiatives underway in municipalities across the state. Large, medium and small-sized cities were honored in six categories: Diversity and Inclusion; Education/Workforce Development; Infrastructure and Water; Public Works/Environmental and Green Management; Technology and Security; and Tourism Development/Creative Culture. Below is one winner’s story. For more, click here.)
Tourism Development/Creative Culture
Winner • Under 5,000
Population: 766 | Mayor: Becton Bell | County: Mississippi | Region: Northeast
The Challenge
The town of Wilson once held one of the South’s biggest cotton producers, but, like many other towns in the U.S., the Great Depression had devastating effects on the agriculture-dependent town. With the collapse in agriculture prices, the demand for cotton fell, leading to such small amounts of revenue, farmers’ lands were foreclosed or seized. This sparked a wide net of poverty over Wilson, prompting an exodus that made the area look like a ghost town.
The town has been featured in Country Living magazine as one of the Top 10 Best Small Towns in the U.S.
The Solution
In 2010, Gaylon Lawrence Jr. decided there was promise in the town, purchased it for $110 million and began the revitalization process. The town’s crown jewel, The Louis, offers visitors a luxury, boutique hotel stay with two bars, a museum, a shooting range and golf. The town features two restaurants. Wilson also boasts White’s Mercantile, a general store stocked with items from Southern craftsmen and artisans, owned by Holly Williams — Hank Williams Jr.’s daughter.
History Lovers
The town prides itself on its Native American history and showcases it in the Hampson Museum.
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