Two new markers have been placed along the Mississippi Blues Trail in Bolivar County. The first is at the historic Peavine Railroad site in Boyle where that site intersects Highway 446.

Charley Patton's "Peavine Blues" made this branch of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (Y&MV) famous. Officially listed as the Kimball Lake branch, the line ran from Dockery Plantation, where Patton lived, to about 10 miles west to Boyle where it connected with the "Yellow Dog" (the local slang name for the Y&MV line).

The second marker is at the old depot site in Rosedale. Legendary blues artist Robert Johnson's original lyrics for "Traveling Riverside Blues" traced the route of the Riverside Division of the Y&MV, which ran from Friars Point south to Rosedale, Riverside Junction and other stops. The Y&MV continued to Vicksburg to the south and Memphis to the north.

Johnson's 1961 Columbia LP "King of the Delta Blues" introduced a new generation of fans to his songs, including many rock bands. Railroads were a common theme in blues music and often served as metaphors for travel or escape.

"These two sites are important complements to the blues trail," says Craig Ray, director, Mississippi Development Authority’s Tourism Division. "They give a sense of place and share symbolic meanings about why blues music is indeed a strong part of Mississippi's culture,"

The Mississippi Blues Trail will eventually cover the entire state with more than 110 markers. The latest markers were funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and by support from the Cleveland/Bolivar County Tourism Commission, Mississippi Development Authority and Delta State University.