Vicksburg is said to be where the Mississippi Delta ends, making it an anchor in the history of the South. On Friday, it will become another kind of anchor – a starting point for an annual sale on a historic United States highway, said Charlotte Koestler of the Vicksburg Warren Community Alliance Inc.

The Historic U.S. Hi-Way 80 Sale, which began four years ago as a means of promoting the highway designated 79 years ago, will begin Friday and go through Sunday, and again Oct. 14-16.

The giant yard/garage sale covers 374 miles from Grand Prairie, Texas, to Vicksburg. The Historic U.S. 80 Hi-Way Sale, organized by the East Texas Tourism Association in Longview, Texas, will feature hundreds of roadside vendors.

In Vicksburg, the route begins at the Vicksburg Factory Outlet Mall and on Clay Street and will extend to Washington Street, which includes the downtown taxing district.

The old highway, which was the main thoroughfare for travelers from Jackson, was replaced by traffic when Interstate 20 was built in 1972.

Warren County native Mark Chaney, who grew up on U.S. 80 and still lives there, said he can remember the hustle and bustle along the old highway before the interstate was built.

“The traffic we have today was all on this highway,” he said. “It’s hard to comprehend.”

Chaney’s family home still stands about 30 feet off U.S. 80. In 1967, he and his wife built a home 100 yards behind the house to avoid the sound of vehicles.

“I could remember the noise of the traffic at my mom and dad’s house,” he said. “Now, there’s practically no traffic or very little in comparison.”

Koestler hopes the two-weekend event will bring motorists to Vicksburg much like it did during U.S. 80’s heyday.

“This is another way to get people to put money into the economy,” she said. “This gives Vicksburg exposure we may never have otherwise. It puts our name in the public eye.”

The Alliance has been working through the Commerce Retail Council to promote the event and add vendors. Koestler said she hopes community groups will take advantage of the opportunity.

“This is a great chance for schools, Girl and Boy Scouts, churches and other organizations to raise money,” she said. “I would strongly encourage everyone to be a part of this.”

Howard W. Rosser, executive director of the ETTA, said the success of the event will come from the people who participate.

“Individual residences are probably our biggest participants,” he said. “You’ll find yard sales all along the way. The sale is not shoulder-to-shoulder yard sales, but there are hundreds of sales going on.”

Organizers also hope travelers who are not familiar with U.S. 80 will use the route more often after coming to the sale.

The sale originally stretched more than 200 miles from Bossier City, La., to Grand Prairie, Texas. Koestler said it was extended this year to include Vicksburg due to the growing success of the sale.

The event is part of ETTA’s 15 year effort to draw attention to the byways of its region. Each city along U. S. 80 is responsible for its part in the annual sale.

U.S. 80 was designated in 1926 and was the nation’s first transcontinental highway in the Southern states. It ran more than 2,700 miles from the Atlantic Ocean in Georgia to the Pacific Ocean in California.

Much like Route 66, Rosser wants to increase the awareness and appreciation of U.S. 80, coast to coast.

“We want people to cruise it and write stories and songs about our own ‘mother road,'” he said. For information on the sale, visit www.us80.com or call the Alliance at 601-638-1140.