Simpson County, Mississippi

Strong River

The Strong River is a 95.2-mile-long river in south-central Mississippi. It is a tributary of the Pearl River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico.

The stream headwaters arise in the Bienville National Forest in Scott County, about 6 miles west of Forest at GPS: 32.3855556, -89.584444, and at an elevation of about 465 feet. and flows generally to the southwest through Smith, Rankin and Simpson counties, past the town of D'Lo. It flows into the Pearl River 2 miles southeast of Georgetown at GPS: 31.8497222, -90.135833, at an elevation of 197 feet.

The Strong River takes its name from the English translation of the Choctaw words boke or boge homi, which means "bitter creek" or "strong tasting creek", a result of the tannic acid dissolved in the water by decomposing leaves. The name has nothing to do with the velocity of the stream.

The Strong River, at the D'Lo Water Park in D'Lo, is where the "Siren Scene" in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) was filmed.

Strong River runs northeast to southwest across Simpson County. GPS: 31.849722, -90.135833