Welcome to Grenada County, Mississippi!
Welcome to Grenada County, Mississippi, a part of the MSGenWeb and USGenWeb Project to provide free, on-line genealogical resources. Grenada County is located in North Central Mississippi approximately 100 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee and 100 miles north of the State Capital in Jackson, Mississippi.
The earliest known settlers of Grenada County were missionaries who formed an Indian mission school around 1815 in the current town of Elliott. In 1830, the United States government purchased land from the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians in the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. It was much of the lands acquired in this treaty that present day Grenada County was formed.
The first town to be organized was Chocchuma, where the land office was located. In 1833 land began to be sold and eventually two rival towns came into ownership of choice sites of land along the Yalobusha River, one called Tullahoma and one Pittsburg. These towns were separated by a section line which is present day Line Street in Grenada. The towns became such bitter rivals that on July 4, 1836, the city of Grenada was formed by the marriage of the two towns.
Grenada County was not actually formed, however, until May 9, 1870 by an act of legislature Through this act, Governor Alcorn appointed five men to make up the first Board of Supervisors for the county, one from each district; J. D. Leflore, Dr. John L. Milton, F. P. Ingram, Andrew Davis and Freelon Townes. The board elected J. D. Leflore as President with Dr. Milton being elected Secretary. Grenada county was utlimately formed from parts of Carroll, Choctaw, Tallahatchie, and Yalobusha counties.
I am always open for suggestions for the type of information those of you researching in Grenada County would like to see.
Sandy Ward, County Coordinator
