Quitman County plans back-to-school grilling smoke jam in Marks

Quitman County is lining up a Community Back-to-School Summer Grilling Smoke Jam in Marks, and the event footprint runs from the corner of West Main and 5th Street to the corner of Humphrey and 7th Street. The county lists Gloria as the contact at (662) 444-0028, making the gathering easy to find and easy to follow up on for families planning ahead for the school year.

The location places the event squarely in downtown Marks, inside the county’s historic core rather than at an outlying park or fairground. Quitman County describes the Downtown Marks National Register District as roughly 1 square mile with 88 buildings and structures, bounded on the west by Third Street and tied on the south to streets including Humphreys Avenue and Main Street. That setting gives the smoke jam a neighborhood feel and puts it within walking and driving distance of the county seat’s central streets.

The back-to-school label gives the event a practical edge. Quitman County School District says it is based in Marks and serves the entire county, so a county-centered gathering in the seat of government can matter to families from across Quitman County, including Marks, Crowder, Lambert and Falcon. The county’s community page says its citizens are the heartbeat of its communities and highlights schools, 4-H activities, agricultural events, community health initiatives, the local food bank and veterans programs. That mix suggests the smoke jam sits within a broader effort to connect residents with the everyday pieces that shape the start of the school year.

The county directory adds more context to that local network. County 4-H Youth is listed at 225 Peach Street in Marks, and the Quitman County Area Voc Tech School is listed at 1501 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. In a county where school, youth, agriculture and public service are closely linked, a summer grilling event in downtown Marks works as a visible meeting point for families, students and community groups as the season turns toward classes. The county’s own events feed places the smoke jam alongside other community activities, reinforcing that this is meant as a gathering with a school-season purpose, not just a cookout.