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Holding a large welcome sign, the Visitor Center/Museum Welcome Bear invites guests to stop and enter. Visitors can learn about Teddy Roosevelt’s famous hunt, Muddy Waters, Delta agriculture, and other interesting local history.

1 Rolling Fork Visitor’s Center and Museum352 Walnut St.

Playing a game of hide and seek on a tree are the Post Office Bear Cubs. Across from the bear cubs, a mural painted by a local artist offers a glimpse of historical and natural treasures in the Rolling Fork area.

2 Rolling Fork Post Office138 Walnut St.

President Roosevelt and Holt Collier are standing near the Bank of Anguilla, these figures tell the story of the 1902 bear hunt. The Bank of Anguilla, chartered in 1904, faithfully serves the financial needs of the citizens of Sharkey and Issaquena Counties.

3 Bank of Anguilla21 Delta St.

The Presidential Bear stands stately in front of the 1902 Sharkey County Courthouse that still houses the county offices today.

4 Sharkey County Courthouse120 Locust St.

The Library Bear sits on a stack of books on the grounds of the Sharkey Issaquena County Library where a large assortment of Beatrix Potter items, a collection of Muddy Waters music, and the Entergy Gallery (a collection of illustrated panels telling the story of Theodore Roosevelt, Holt Collier and the 1902 bear hunt) are housed.

5 Sharkey Issaquena County Library116 China St.

Ready with a camera and notepad, Reporter Bear stands on the grounds of the Deer Creek Pilot, one of Mississippi’s oldest and most respected local newspapers, having twice been the only small weekly paper to receive the state’s top journalism award.

6 The Deer Creek Pilot 145 N. First St.

Standing proud, Fireman Bear represents the community volunteers who are willing to serve their fellow citizens in time of need.

7 Rolling Fork Volunteer Fire Department 227 Parkway

Several delightful Bear Cubs are climbing up and down a tree in this fun yard. *This is a private residence.

8 Private Residence*299 Third St.

Doctor Bear, complete with stethoscope, depicts the many medical personnel employed at the Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital. This 29-bed hospital provides acute care, longterm care, senior care, and swing bed services. Be sure to see the nurse and patient bears at the hospital entrance.

9 Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital47 South Fourth St.

Smokey Bear is located in front of the Delta National Forest offices in the USDA building. The 60,000 acre Delta National Forest is the only bottomland hardwood forest in the National forest system.

10 USDA Building 78 Frontage Rd.

Our brave Lineman Bear is climbing a pole in front of Twin County EPA, one of the 26 rural cooperatives that deliver electricity to 50% of the electric meters in our state.

11 Twin County EPA291 Mclaurin Ave.

Guitar-playing Blues Bear stands beside legendary Highway 61, the old Blues Highway, as a monument to the famed bluesman, Muddy Waters. McKinley Morganfield, aka Muddy Waters, was born just outside of Rolling Fork. He is one of the most famous blues artists in the world.

12 Highways 16 & 61 intersectionHighway 16 & 61

Agriculture plays an important role in the economy of Rolling Fork and Sharkey County, and Farmer Bearknows that changing markets and weather conditions may adversely affect his crops, but the good folksat CGB Diversified Crop Insurance Services will see him through each planting season successfully.

13 CGB/Diversified Crop Insurance Services20434 Highway 61 N.

Standing with his ax in front of Service Lumber Company, Lumberjack Bear is proud to be a part of a business that has been serving the community’s building needs since 1926.

14 Service Lumber Company20558 US-61

Mechanic Bear is ready to change your tire and get you back on the road. Serving the Delta since 1978, this Napa dealer offers farm supplies, tools, and outdoor sports equipment in addition to auto supplies and maintenance.

15 South Delta Farm Supply 20790 Highway 61 N.

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YOUR GUIDECARVED BEAR HUNT

IN ROLLING FORK, MS

Proudly brought to you by

TO A

www.cityofrollingfork.org

www.lowerdelta.org

On the first morning of the hunt, the dogs hit upon the scent of the bear and the hunt was on. Holt Collier directed the President and his companion to wait at the location where the bear would come out of the woods. As they waited, the sound of the barking dogs got further away. The dogs were heading in a different direction, so the two men returned to the camp for lunch.

Not long after they left, the bear turned and came out of the woods in almost the exact location that Holt Collier had predicted. However, the President was not in position to get his shot.

The dogs cornered the bear in a slough, and it turned on them. In its fury, the bear grabbed Holt’s favorite dog, Jocko. Holt jumped from his horse and clubbed the bear with the stock of his gun, stunning the 250 pound bruin. He threw a rope around the semiconscious creature and sent for the President to shoot the bear.

When the President arrived, he was disappointed to see the addled bear at Holt’s feet. President Roosevelt refused to shoot the injured bear because he felt it would be unsportsmanlike.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt came to the Mississippi Delta to hunt black bear at the invitation of the owner of Smedes Plantation in southern Sharkey County. The great bear hunter Holt Collier was the president’s guide.

The History of the Carved Bears of Rolling Fork

This story spread across the nation in news articles and cartoons. Morris Mitchom, a toy shop owner in New York, wrote the President asking if he could name the stuffed toy bears in his shop “Teddy’s Bears.” The President agreed and before long all stuffed bears were known as Teddy Bears.

Each year during the Great Delta Bear Affair another larger-than-life bear is carved from a cypress trunk and placed somewhere around town.

Join us on a Bear Hunt as you travel our streets in search of the chainsaw-carved bear.

* Each bear displays a plaque stating the year it was carved and the artist that created it. Carved bears are landscaped and maintained by Rolling Fork Garden Club members. President Bear (seen on the right) was carved by Daylon

Scoggins in 2012 in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt. The log was provided by Anderson Tully

What building is the Welcome Bear standing beside?

How many bears are on the log beside the Rolling Fork Post Office?

What hunting gear does Holt Collier have with him in the carving? Which one does President Roosevelt also have?

Which president does Presidential Bear represent? (and most of the other bears look like him also)

What book is the Library Bear reading? How many books is he sitting on?

What does Reporter Bear have in his mouth?

What tool does Fireman Bear have in his hand? What number is on his helmet?

How many cubs are playing on the tree in this yard on Third Street?

What does Doctor Bear have around his neck that he uses to listen to your heart?

What tool is Smokey Bear holding? Do you know what Smokey Bear always says?

Can you tell what kind of tools Lineman Bear has with him as he climbs the pole? Name one or more.

What instrument does Blues Bear play? What famous blues musician is from Rolling Fork?

What initials are on Farmer Bear’s belt buckle?

What is Lumberjack Bear holding in his arms? How is he different from the other carved Bears?

What is Mechanic Bear’s first name? How many lug bolts does he need to put that tire on a car?

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The Cub TrailFor the young and young-at-heart! As you tour the Carved Bears, search for the answers to these questions.