ITAWAMBA COUNTY
CHAPTER XLVI, pages 743 - 745
Lying along the great Mississippi it is
a far cry from Issaquena, just listed alphabetically, to Itawamba County,
situated in the northeastern part of the State on the Alabama border. It
was erected February 9, 1836, during the administration of Gov. Charles
Lynch. Some Mississippi historians assert that it was named for the daughter
of an Indian chief, while others insist that it is a man’s name.
In 1832, the treaty of Pontotoc had been
concluded with the Chickasaw nation of Indians, whereby they finally ceded
to the United States all their remaining lands in the northern part of
the State. Out of this large and fertile territory, a dozen counties had
been created by the close of the year 1836, one of them being Itawamba.
Its original limits were defined as follows: "Beginning at the point where
the line between townships 6 and 7 intersects the eastern boundary of the
State, and running with the said boundary line to a point one mile north
of its intersection with the line between townships 11 and 112; thence
due west to the line between ranges 5 and 6 east; thence north with the
said range line, to the line between townships 6 and 7, and thence east
with the said township line, to the beginning." October 26, 1866, it contributed
a large part of its western territory, to assist in forming the county
of Lee and a few years later the dividing line between Itawamba and the
counties of Prentiss and Tishomingo was defined by a line running east
from the southwest corner of section 14, between sections 14 and 23, township
7, to the eastern boundary line of the State. In common with all of this
Chickasaw region, Itawamba County had been rapidly settled by a strong
tide of emigration, not only from the older counties of the State, but
from the states of Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia as well. The Indians,
reluctant at first to abandon their homes, by the close of the year 1839,
had nearly all retired to their new allotments west of the Mississippi
River.
The villages of Van Buren, Wheeling, West
Fulton and Ironwood Bluff were among the earliest places in the county
to be settled. All four have now disappeared. Van Buren was located on
a high bluff on the Tombigbee River. Winfield Walker, a nephew of Gen.
Winfield Scott, opened a store there in 1838, and the following year W.C.
Thomas & Brother also began business there. Other business men of the
place were Mr. Dines, from New York; John W. Lindsey, J.C. Ritchie, H.W.
Bates, Elijah B. Harber, Weaks, E. Moore, and R.F. Shannon. The building
of the Mobile & Ohio railroad caused the place to decay and the old
site is now in cultivation. Wheeling was located on the Tombigbee, three
miles below Van Buren, soon after the Chickasaw land sales. Jowers &
Holcomb, and R.P. Snow did business here for a short time. After two or
three years its life was absorbed by Van Buren, three miles up the river.
Old West Fulton, says Mr. Eli Phillips, of Fulton, Mississippi, was on
the west side of the Tombigbee River, two and one-fourth miles from Fulton,
and Ironwood Bluff was about ten miles south of West Fulton, on the same
side of the river.
Itawamba County has a land surface of 529
square miles and a population (11920) of 15,647. It is bounded on the north
by the counties of Tishomingo and Prentiss, on the east by Alabama, on
the south by Monroe County and on the west by Lee County. It is a county
without railroads, large towns or important manufacturing interests. Its
transportation facilities are confined to the Tombigbee River during the
winter season, and to wagon roads. Its wealth lies in the products of its
soil and its valuable timber tracts. The county seat is the little town
of Fulton, near the center of the county, containing 227 people. The whole
county is thickly dotted with small settlements, among which may be mentioned
Mantachie and Rara Avis. The surface of the county is level, broken or
hilly, and undulating and some of the most picturesque scenery of the State
is to be seen there; the timber consists of oak, pine, hickory, blackjack,
maple, beech, walnut, gum and cypress. It lies partly in the so-called
Sandy Lands region and partly in the Northeastern Prairie belt, and is
watered by streams forming the head sources of the Tombigbee. The soils
consist of fertile bottoms, prairie limestone and hill soils, some strong
and some poor. They produce cotton, corn, oats, wheat, sorghum, potatoes
and grasses. The live stock industry is extensive and the pasturage is
good the year around. All varieties of fruits and vegetables are raised
for home consumption. Social conditions are good and country life is very
retired and delightful in many places. Several small grist and saw mills
are operating.
From the census figures of 1920 it is evident
that Itawamba County has actual wealth, despite the fact that railroads
have gone all around its territory without touching it. Gleanings from
that source show that the value of its farm property is $6,317,000, and
that its crops yielded in money $2,766,000, of which somewhat less than
a half was realized from the cereals. Both for home consumption and shipment,
various vegetables were raised to the value of $314,000. From its cotton
area of nearly 17,000 acres, 5,000 bales were produced. Mules, dairy cattle,
horses and swine comprised its chief live stock, valued at $1,186,000.
