Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I, Part 84

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 1030

USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I > Part 84

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Jacob Johnson, Daniel McIntosh, Justices of the Quorum (1818- 1820) ; R. M. McCarty, Alexander McLeod, and Alex. Morrison, Judges of Probate (1821-1825) ; Alexander McLean, Murdock Mc- Haskill, Angus Morrison, early Sheriffs, were a few of the earliest civil officers of the county. It was named for General Nathaniel Greene, a distinguished officer in the Revolutionary War, and per- formed its share in shaping the early history of the commonwealth, being represented by Laughlin McCoy and John McRae in the Constitutional Convention of 1817. It is bounded on the north by the county of Wayne, on the east by the State of Alabama, on the south by Jackson county and on the west by Perry county. It is sparsely settled and possessed of no towns of importance. The county seat is located at Leakesville, named for Governor Walter Leake and lying on the Chickasawha river. Its most important settlements are at Merrill and Lucedale, on the line of the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R., which traverses the southern part of the county. A short spur of the Mobile & Ohio R. R. has re- cently tapped the county on the east and runs to Leakesville; the main line of this road also touches the county at the extreme northeastern corner. The county is very well watered by the Chickasawha and Leaf rivers and their numerous tributaries, unit- ing to form the Pascagoula river in the southern part of the dis- trict. The general surface of the county is undulating, level on the river and creek bottoms. A good deal of valuable timber exists, mostly of the long leaf or yellow pine variety, with some hickory, oak, gum, magnolia, poplar and holly along the bottoms. Lumber- ing and stock raising are the principal industries. The soil in the bottom lands is fertile, on the pine uplands it is a light sandy loam which can be made productive. It grows all the crops com- mon to this section of the State, including vegetables and fruits. Peaches and the "scuppernong" variety of grapes do especially well. Schools and churches are found widely distributed through- out the county and the climate of the region is excellent. Many new settlers have come to the county in the last ten or fifteen years and it is growing rapidly in wealth and population.

The twelfth census of the United States for 1900 shows that there were 733 farms in the county, with an acreage of 139,945, of which 16,709 were improved. The value of the land without the buildings was $301,060, value of buildings $170,100, value of live stock $232,593, and the total value of the products not fed to stock $176,436. Manufacturing statistics for 1900 were as follows: Estab- lishments 25, capital $182,733, wages $69,292, cost of materials $94,424, total value of products $243,340. The total assessed valu- ation of real and personal property in the county in 1905 was $1,792,291.85 and in 1906 it was $3,773,352.63, which shows an in- crease of $1,981,060.78 during the year. There were in 1900 in the county 4,941 whites, 1,854 colored, a total of 6,795, and an increase over 1890 of 2,889, or nearly 100 per cent. in ten years.

Greene Crossing, a postoffice of Hinds county, on the Illinois Central R. R., 10 miles north of Jackson. Population in 1900, 30.

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Greenfield, a postoffice of Rankin county, and a station on the Alabama & Vicksburg R. R., 4 miles by rail west of Brandon, the county seat, and 11 miles east of Jackson.

Greengrove, a postoffice in the southern part of Coahoma county, on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 10 miles west of Cleve- land, one of the county seats of justice of Bolivar county, and the nearest banking town.

Greenleaf, David, was one of the earliest, if not the first, gin wright in the Natchez district, and was unquestionably the most skillful in his day. He settled here previous to 1795, and soon after- ward was known to have seen and examined a model of the Whit- ney gin, at the house of Philip Six, near Selsertown. He subse- quently built a gin in the same neighborhood, on his own account, upon the land of Richard Curtis. This was long afterward known as the public gin of Edmund Andrews, and formed one point on the boundary line between the counties of Adams and Jefferson. David Greenleaf also introduced the screw press for packing cotton. He was probably of the famous Massachusetts family of that name. Daniel Greenleaf is mentioned in Gen. A. M. West's centennial ad- dress as one of the most distinguished men of the constitutional convention of 1832. He died at Jackson, March, 1839, aged about forty years.

Greensboro. Greensboro was once a place of some importance, being the first county seat of Choctaw county. It was probably unable to survive the loss of the court house, which was burned, and the removal of the county seat to La Grange in 1871. It is now extinct. It was situated a few miles north of the Big Black river, in the southwestern part of the present county of Webster, formerly Choctaw, on the old Natchez Trace, distant 120 miles from Jackson. (See sketch of Webster county elsewhere.)

Speaking of the old town after the county seat had been moved to La Grange by the Legislature in 1871, Dr. F. L. Riley says : "Greensboro then began to decay. In her last days the saloons had full sway, and she became noted for her desperate characters and the crimes committed within her limits. During the life of this place twenty-three men were killed within its limits. Yet there was only one legal execution here during this time. The old log jail, built in 1839 or 1840, is still standing."

Greensboro, a postoffice in the southern part of Webster county, about 7 miles southwest of Walthall, the county seat. Eupora, on the Southern Ry .. is the nearest banking and railroad town.

Greenville, the capital of Washington county, is located on the Mississippi river about 100 miles northwest of Jackson. It is one of the most flourishing cities in the State. When Washington county was divided in 1827, the county seat was removed from Princeton to Old Greenville, which was situated about a mile south of the present city. "After the late war the legislature passed an act ordering the board of supervisors of the county to locate the new county seat within three miles of the old site, Old Greenville having mostly caved into the river, or been destroyed during the

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war." (See Goodspeed's Memoirs of Mississippi, vol. i., p. 213.) It was located by them on the Blantonia plantation, then belonging to Mrs. H. B. Theobald, formerly the wife of Col. W. W. Blanton, one of the first settlers of the county. The first railroad, known as the Georgia Pacific, built in Washington county and the Yazoo Delta, was the narrow gauge road from Greenville to Stoneville, on Deer Creek, completed in 1878. The following year the road was ex- tended 30 miles due east to the Sunflower river, and also for 30 miles down Deer creek south of Greenville. The city is now the western terminus of the Southern R. R., and is also on the Riverside division of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. These two roads, and the Memphis & Vicksburg, the Greenville & Vicks- burg, and the Lyons Packet Companies on the Mississippi river provide it with splendid shipping facilities. A vast quantity of cotton is shipped from Greenville annually. It has four cotton-seed oil mills, two compresses, several iron and wood working estab- lishments, also several large saw mills. There are three banks: The Citizens Bank, established in 1888, with a capital of $50,000, increased to $100,000 ; the first National Bank, established in 1887 with a capital of $100,000; and the Bank of Washington, estab- lished in 1903, with a capital of $100,000. There are several news- papers. The Times, a Democratic weekly, established in 1868; the Democrat, established in 1888, daily edition since 1896; the Southern Forum, a Republican weekly, established in 1901; and the Pathfinder (colored), and the Delta Light House (colored), both weeklies. The colored Baptists also issue two semi-monthly publications here, The Baptist Preachers Union, and the Zion Harp. All the principal religious denominations have churches here, and there are white and colored schools, an academy, sem- inary, and a good high school. The city has an electric street railway system, water works, gas and electricity.

It is in the heart of the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta, and is sur- rounded by one of the richest and most productive sections of country known in agricultural history. Washington county is the largest cotton growing county in the world, and Greenville is an exceptionally fine cotton market. Its citizens are young, active and progressive. An ordinance is in operation, requiring concrete walks all over the city, and most of them have been built, adding greatly to the neat appearance of the streets. The entire business portion is excellently paved. There is no city in the State advanc- ing more rapidly than Greenville. With its numerous fine churches, excellent schools, many and varied manufactures, enterprising and up-to-date merchants, its lodges and clubs, one of the latter being one of the most select and popular in the State ; its first class hotel accommodations and its professional men ranking among the fore- most in the State, it is needless to add that Greenville is destined to continue its rapid growth and to meet the fondest expectations of the optimist.

Greenville, Old .- This was a very old and influential settlement in Jefferson county, which flourished in the first quarter of the last

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century. It was the largest town on the old Natchez Trace, distant twenty-eight miles from Natchez, and twenty-five miles from Port Gibson. It is said to have been a thriving place in 1798, when Mis- sissippi finally passed under the control of the United States, and the original settlement was called Greenbay after one Henry Green, who lived on the banks of a branch of Coles Creek, running near the town. The upper part of the town was called Hunston or Huntley, after Abijah Hunt, who had a store there and also erected the first gin in Jefferson county, a public gin, to which all the inhabitants who raised cotton resorted for several years. In 1803, by act of the General Assembly, Thomas Green, Wm. Erwin, Wm. Moss, Jacob Stampley, and David Greenleaf, were authorized to purchase ad- ditional land from the estate of one David Odom, near Hunt's store for a town. The act of February 21, 1805, recites that "Whereas, a town has been laid out on the lands of the executors of David Odom, deceased, the lands of Abijah Hunt, and the lands of Ferdinand L. Claiborne, adjoining the court house of Jefferson county, and it being necessary that the same should be established by law, there- fore, Said town shall be known and distinguished by the name of Greenville, in memory and honor of Major-General Nathaniel Greene, and the same is hereby established agreeably to the present plan ; and said proprietors are hereby required to file a copy of said plan in the clerk's office of Jefferson county, within six months after the passing of this act. Drury W. Brezeale, Henry D. Downs, Arm- strong Ellis, Robert McCray and Robert Cox, be, and they are here- by appointed trustees for the regulation of said town, and vested with full power and authority for that purpose."

As early as 1799, we read that the Rev. Tobias Gibson, a Meth- odist missionary, was sent to the Territory and formed societies at Washington, Greenville, and on the Bayou Pierre. The first Baptist missionary in Jefferson county was Dr. David Cooper, who settled near Greenville, and married the widow of Gen. F. L. Claiborne, afterwards removing to Soldier's Retreat, near Washington, where he died. Dr. Cloud, the first Episcopal minister in the county, also resided at Greenville for many years, and is buried somewhere in the hills near the old settlement. Dr. Franklin L. Riley, in writing of the old town, says: "Cato West, David Holmes, Cowles Mead, and General Thomas Hinds, all lived within two miles of old Green- ville, and the remains of Col. Cato West and General Hinds now rest in the soil of their respective plantations close by. A little farther away, in the same neighborhood, lived Capt. Bullen, the Harrisons, the Harpers, the Hardens, the Hunts, and other historic families of Mississippi. Only a few miles to the southwest was the famous Maryland settlement, where lived the Woods, the Donohues, the Paynes, and the Bakers. Here Jefferson Davis lived in the family of Sheriff Jordan and went to school in his early life. It was to this place that May and Sutton, members of the notorious Murrill (Mason?) gang of robbers, brought their leader's head in order to get a reward that had been offered therefor."

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September 6, 1802, Governor Claiborne wrote to the postmaster- general, asking for a postoffice at Greenville, "a flourishing little village about twenty-eight miles distant from Natchez, and im- mediately on the post road to Tennessee. It is situated in the neighborhood of a compact, populous and wealthy settlement, is the county town for Jefferson county, and the place of holding the superior court for Jefferson district." Dr. John Shaw was recom- mended for postmaster. These requests were granted in November.

It remained the county seat until 1825, when the General Assem- bly changed the county seat of justice to Fayette, six miles east. Greenville rapidly declined after this and the buildings decayed or were moved away. The last building left standing was the old Cable hotel, and this was burned a few years ago.

Col. John A. Watkins thus writes of old Greenville: "When I first knew Greenville it was a beautiful village, the seat of justice for the county, and boasted one of the oldest bars in the State. Poindexter, Joe Davis, Rankin, Turner, Read, Quitman, and many others-names that will live in history as Governors, Senators, Judges and Representatives in Congress, while several gained dis- tinction as statesmen and orators." And again, "The last time I traveled over this road (the 'Old Robinson Road'), now twenty-five years ago, *

* Greenville was a 'deserted village' with one old house tottering to decay and McCullum's blacksmith shop. But as this was many years ago, these have long since paid the debt of nature, and passed beyond the recollection of the present gen- eration."

Greenwood, the county seat of Leflore county, is about 90 miles north of Jackson, on the left bank of the Yazoo river, about 3 miles below where the river is formed by the confluence of the Yalobusha and Tallahatchie rivers. It was given the Christian name of Green- wood Leflore, the noted Choctaw Indian Chief. A large steam saw mill and a prosperous commercial village, called Point Leflore, were built by Col. Leflore during the 30's at the junction of the two rivers above mentioned. The site of the once thriving village is now part of a cotton field (see Point Leflore). Greenwood was originally known as Williams Landing, and was called by its present name at the time of its incorporation in April, 1845. At this time the town contained only two or three stores and a tavern, and received its mail about once a month. William Miller was the first postmaster of the town, and the first church was built by the Methodists about the year 1845, followed by a Presbyterian church in 1848, and a union church building in 1849. It was made the county seat at the time of the organization of Leflore county in 1871. Cotton is the staple crop in the surrounding region, and many thousand bales are annually shipped from here. There are five banks in the city and the total capital invested in banking is $700,000. It has one of the finest public schools in the State; Methodist, Baptist, Presby- terian, Episcopal, Catholic, Jewish and Christian churches; two good hotels, water works, electricity, telephones, and a well equipped fire department. A street car system is in contemplation. Among

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its important manufacturing enterprises are a furniture factory, two oil mills, two compresses, three saw mills, three heading and stave mills and an ice factory. There are two wholesale grocery houses, and two wholesale hardware stores.

The growth of the city during the last fifteen years has been phenomenal. Its population in 1890 was 1,055 ; in 1900, 3,026, and is now nearly 6,000. The city debt is $20,000, the assessed valuation of property, $1,700,000, tax rate, 10 mills.

Greenwood Springs, a postoffice of Monroe county, and a station on the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham R. R., about 15 miles northeast of Aberdeen, the county seat.

Greer, a hamlet of Choctaw county, 10 miles directly west of Chester, the county seat. Population in 1900, 26. The postoffice was discontinued at this place in 1905, and it now has rural free delivery.

Grenada, the county seat of Grenada county, is a flourishing city with a population of 2,568 (census of 1900), and estimated in 1906 at 4,500. It is situated near the center of the county on the Yalo- busha river, and is at the junction of the Illinois Central railroad and its Memphis division. A branch of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., also enters the city from the west, giving it an out- let in three directions. When Grenada county was created on May 9, 1870, the seat of justice was established at Grenada, but the history of the old town dates back to the earliest settlements on the Yalobusha river. The city was thus described by a writer in 1838: "Grenada is by far the most important town in the county, (Yalobusha), and is situated on a beautiful plain extending from the south bank of the Yalobusha river, in a southern direction, and seems as if designed for the location of an important place. This place was located not quite four years ago, and it now numbers about seven hundred inhabitants. There are two comfortable hotels and sixteen stores, besides three produce stores and two grog- shops, generally misnamed groceries. There are now being erected two fine church edifices; one for the Episcopal Methodist, and the other for the Presbyterian congregation. The Yalobusha river is navigable for small steamers to Grenada about four months in the year, and for keels somewhat longer. The health of Grenada has been uniformly good since it has been a town, which its location would warrant to the eye of an experienced southerner. But that which promises most for the health of the place, is the fact that in the middle of one of the public squares there is a well of the real magnum bonum, surplus water. There is also a steam saw mill in town and a saw and grist mill driven by water power in the vicinity."

The present city of Grenada originally embraced the two rival towns of Pittsburg and Tulahoma. Both these old towns grew up in the early 30's side by side on the Yalobusha. The western town was Pittsburg and was founded by a company headed by Franklin E. Plummer. The eastern town was Tulahoma, and was founded by a company headed by Hiram G. Runnels. The bitter enmity

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existing between the two founders caused a corresponding an- tagonism between the two towns, much to the detriment of both places. Capt. L. Lake, who was a resident of Grenada until 1878, is authority for the ensuing list of names: The original settlers of Pittsburg were John Smith, hotel keeper ; James Sims, merchant ; Drs. Allen Gallaspie and - Douthet, physicians ; G. D. Mitchell, teacher ; M. H. Melton, blacksmith; Ralph Coffman, merchant ; C. H. Grey, planter ; Jonathan Carl, miller. Among its business firms, prior to the union of the two towns, were James Sims, R. T. Briarly, Prior & Howard, John Gibbs, Thomas Flack and R. Coffman & Co.

The first business houses of Tulahoma were: Larkin Cleveland, Clark Dougan, Armour, Lake & Morton, H. S. and W. Lake & Co. Its first settlers were: Joseph Bullock, drayman ; John Balfour, ferryman; Maj. Jack Williams, hotel keeper; Larkin Cleveland, merchant ; Mrs. Annie Parker, hotel keeper; Mr. Dabbage, baker ; George K. Morton, merchant; Wm. Marshall, silversmith; Daniel Robertson, town marshal; Mrs. - Smith, planter ; John B. Pass, planter ; Henry, William, George and Levin Lake, merchants.

Capt. Lake also tells us that "during the political campaign of 1835, in which Plummer concentrated his rugged eloquence against Runnels, who was a candidate for re-election to the office of gov- ernor, these two little towns were in a constant state of turmoil. The inhabitants of each shared the feelings and prejudices of their respective leaders and indulged in spirited denunciations of those living in the other. On the occasion of a joint discussion between Plummer and Runnels, partisan feeling ran so high that bloodshed was narrowly averted." Finally in 1836, a reconciliation between the warring towns was effected and they were consolidated under the new name of Grenada. A big barbecue was held on July 4, 1836, at a spring in the eastern part of Tulahoma, to celebrate the happy

event, and the Rev. - Lucas, a Protestant Methodist minister performed the unique marriage ceremony, uniting the towns. Grenada was duly incorporated by act of the Legislature in 1836. Other early acts dealing with its charter were passed in 1840, 1843 and 1846. The business interests of Grenada eventually cen- tered in the eastern part, or old Tulahoma, while the western part, or old Pittsburg, has become the residence portion of the town. The U. S. Land Office was transferred from Chocchuma to Grenada in 1842. The churches of the town were established in the follow- ing order : Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist. Grenada has de- veloped into an important railroad and manufacturing center. It has two large and complete cotton-seed oil mills in operation, a cot- ton compress, two large brick manufacturing plants, a stave factory and a spoke factory ; a million dollar plant is also located near Grenada, where ties, telegraph poles and bridge lumber are creo- soted. The city owns and operates its own electric lighting and water works systems. It possesses excellent schools, among which is the well known Grenada Collegiate Institute, exclusively for females, and established in 1882 under the auspices of the Methodist church. Its court house is a substantial two-story brick building,

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which was built in 1884 at a cost of about $20,000. A fine new jail was completed in 1905 at a cost of about $16,000. "The Southern Rural Gentleman," a weekly newspaper was established about 1856, and from its files in the office of "The Grenada Sentinel" for the year 1860, we find that J. L. Davis was editor and proprietor, and that "The Southern Rural Gentleman" was an exceptionally well edited paper. "The Grenada Locomotive," which later changed its name to "The Grenada Motive," with S. M. Hankins editor and proprietor, was also a creditable weekly publication in 1860. "The Grenada Sentinel," a weekly newspaper, with Bryant and Jackson, publishers, and O. F. Lawrence, editor, was established in 1854, and is the only paper published in Grenada.

Grenada Campaign, see Vicksburg, second campaign.

Grenada Collegiate Institute. This institution is located in the city of Grenada and is a private secondary school for girls, owned by the M. E. Church. It is not endowed and is supported by its own earnings. The college property is valued at about $5,000 and the attendance is in the neighborhood of 100. It was established as Grenada College in 1882.

The history of the college dates back much earlier. It was orig- inally established by the Yalobusha Baptist Association in 1851 at a cost of $30,000, and was known as the "Yalobusha Baptist Female Institute." The Baptists lost control of it after the War of 1861-5 and it passed into private hands, being known for a number of years as the "Emma Mercer Institute." From 1875-1882 it was owned by a joint stock company and called the "Grenada Female College," and was finally purchased by the North Miss. Conference of the Methodist church South in 1882, under whose control it has since remained. It received its present name in 1884, when it was incorporated.

Grenada County is situated in the north central part of the State and was created May 9, 1870 from territory formerly belonging to the counties of Yalobusha, Tallahatchie, Choctaw, and Carroll. It formed part of the territory ceded by the Choctaws in the treaty of Dancing Rabbit and its early history is closely identified with that of the counties out of which it was carved. The county has a land surface of 435 square miles. It is an irregularly shaped county, bounded on the north by Tallahatchie and Yalobusha counties, on the east by Calhoun and Webster counties, on the south by Carroll and Montgomery counties and on the west by Leflore and Talla- hatchie counties. It was named for the Spanish province of Gren- ada. Its county seat and metropolis is the flourishing city of Grenada (q. v.) at the center of the county. Grenada has a popula- tion of 4,500 and has become an important railroad center. It is the junction point of the main line of the Illinois Central R. R., and its Memphis division, and an important branch of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. A number of large manufactures are located here and it is the seat of Grenada College. There are no other large towns in the county. The principal streams are the Yalobusha, Batawpanbouge and Schoona rivers, which, with their

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Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I, Part 84

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association Number of Pages: 1030

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 1030