Heading out from downtown Leland

If you’re heading out from downtown Leland during Christmas on Deer Creek, look east. Just past the U.S. 82 overpass, the 120-foot Cross of the Flatlands rises above the horizon — impossible to miss as you leave town. The cross, installed in 2024 and weighing 88,000 pounds, was lifted into place with two cranes and has quickly become a familiar Delta landmark. An October 2025 aerial photo by John Shelby Edwards shows the structure standing over soft morning fields. For those interested in the next phase of site development, the 501(c)(3) organizers will have information and brick forms available at the Mississippi Wildlife Heritage Museum.