The town was founded in 1836 and originally called "Farrar's Point". When the town incorporated in 1852, its name was changed to "Friar's Point" to honor Robert Friar, an early settler, legislator, and businessman who sold fuel to passing steamboats. In 1850, the county seat was moved from the nearby town of Delta to Friars Point. Strategically situated at a bend in the Mississippi River, Friars Point flourished before the Civil War as the largest shipping center for cotton south of Memphis. During the Civil War, Union troops occupied and burned portions of the town. The Robinson-Slack-Marinelli House (now the Minie Ball House), which still stands and bears the mark of shelling from gunboats, was used as a headquarters by Union General Napoleon Bonaparte Buford. General William Tecumseh Sherman and Admiral David Dixon Porter used Friars Point as a rendezvous for 45 transport ships in December 1862, prior to attacking Vicksburg. Friars Point was also home to Confederate Brigadier General James L. Alcorn, whose grave and former plantation, Eagles Nest, are located a short distance east of the town. Alcorn turned from Whig to Republican after the war, and went on to become governor with the support of the large number of carpetbaggers who had settled in Friars Point. In 1875, when Reconstruction was fighting for its life against a campaign of violence from the Democrats, Alcorn led a white force against black Republicans at Friar's Point.
The town was founded in 1836 and originally called "Farrar's Point". When the town incorporated in 1852, its name was changed to "Friar's Point" to honor Robert Friar, an early settler, legislator, and businessman who sold fuel to passing steamboats. In 1850, the county seat was moved from the nearby town of Delta to Friars Point. Strategically situated at a bend in the Mississippi River, Friars Point flourished before the Civil War as the largest shipping center for cotton south of Memphis. During the Civil War, Union troops occupied and burned portions of the town. The Robinson-Slack-Marinelli House (now the Minie Ball House), which still stands and bears the mark of shelling from gunboats, was used as a headquarters by Union General Napoleon Bonaparte Buford. General William Tecumseh Sherman and Admiral David Dixon Porter used Friars Point as a rendezvous for 45 transport ships in December 1862, prior to attacking Vicksburg. Friars Point was also home to Confederate Brigadier General James L. Alcorn, whose grave and former plantation, Eagles Nest, are located a short distance east of the town. Alcorn turned from Whig to Republican after the war, and went on to become governor with the support of the large number of carpetbaggers who had settled in Friars Point. In 1875, when Reconstruction was fighting for its life against a campaign of violence from the Democrats, Alcorn led a white force against American Indian Republicans at Friar's Point.