.
Jackson
County
JACKSON COUNTY
CHAPTER XLVI, pages 745 - 748
Moving, like a castle in chess, straight
down the State from Itawamba, we find Jackson, located in the extreme southeastern
corner. It is one of the three Gulf Coast counties of Mississippi, and
was established at the same time as Hancock County, December 14, 1812.
The original act defined its boundaries as follows: "South of the 31st
degree of north latitude, and west of the dividing ridge between the Mobile
and Pascagoula, and east of a line running due north from the middle of
the Bay of Biloxi to the 31st degree of north latitude, shall compose a
county, which shall be called Jackson." In 1821 and 1823 the northern tier
of townships south of the 31st parallel were annexed to Greene County,
and in 1841 the western part of Jackson was taken to assist in forming
the county of Harrison. In 1910, it contributed a part of its northern
area to assist in the erection of George County.
As early as the year 1699, the French,
under Iberville, built a fort on the east side of the Back Bay of Biloxi,
and called it Fort Maurepas, the site of which is now in the town of Ocean
Springs. A little later, in 1701, under orders from home, the colony was
removed to Mobile Bay, the capital of French Louisiana, was again located
at Old Biloxi in 1718, and in 1721 the colony was removed to the site of
the present city of Biloxi and from there to New Orleans. Among the earliest
white settlements in the State, are those of the French on the Pascagoula
River, while the region about its mouth and along its banks shows traces
of very ancient settlements prior to the coming of the whites. The old
French settlers on Pascagoula Bay recount many fanciful Indian legends
of early days, notably the origin of the "mysterious music," a strange
wild musical sound often heard here along the Pascagoula River and bay,
and no section of the State is more fascinating to the student of American
antiquities.
[OLD FRENCH FORT NEAR PASCAGOULA
Built by Colonel De La Point
in 1718 on a land grant given to his aunt, a duchess, by Louis XIV.
Elizabeth Farragut, a sister
of Admiral Farragut, was married in this house November 22, 1821 to Celestin
Du Paul, a kinsman of Admiral
Du Paul of the French Navy. She died at Pascagoula in 1888.]
The county did its full share in shaping
the early history of the State. The many French and Spanish names, which
prevail throughout this region tell the story of the varied allegiance
of its people.
The county was named for President Andrew
Jackson and has a land surface of 710 square miles. It is bounded on the
north by George County, on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, on the east
by the State of Alabama and on the west by Harrison County and a part of
Stone County. The quiet waters of Mississippi Sound wash its coast and
afford excellent protection to shipping, while a splendid harbor, adapted
to vessels of the largest tonnage, is found under Horn Island, eight miles
off the mouth of Pascagoula River. The United States government has dredged
a ship channel from the Gulf into the Pascagoula River, and at a cost of
a million dollars. Its largest town and county seat is Pascagoula, formerly
Scranton, a place of 6,000 people, located on the Pascagoula Bay and river.
It ranks as an important manufacturing point, a prominence due to the large
investment in lumber mills at this point and its big oyster and fish canneries.
Other important coast towns are Ocean Springs and Moss Point, containing
respectively 1,700 and 3,000 inhabitants. Both of these towns attract many
tourists from the north in the winter and from the south in the summer.
Pascagoula and Ocean Springs are situated on the line of the Louisville
& Nashville railroad and are easily reached. Moss Point, a few miles
north on the Pascagoula River, owes its growth and prosperity to the extensive
lumber industry of the section.
The Pascagoula River, the largest stream
in the eastern part of the State, flows from the north through the center
of the county and empties into Pascagoula Bay. The Escatawpa River enters
the county at its northeastern corner, flows along its eastern border and
finally empties into Pascagoula River near its mouth. These two streams
and their numerous tributaries, afford the region excellent water privileges,
which are largely used in floating and marketing its timber, turpentine
and resin products. The timber growth consists principally of long leaf
or yellow pine and exists in large quantities, is very accessible and is
the ranking industry of the county. A hardwood belt of thousands of acres
skirts the river on either side its full length. The lumber trade to European,
Central and South American ports and the West Indies is quite extensive.
The southern coast of the county is traversed by the line of the Louisville
& Nashville railroad, connecting New Orleans and Mobile, and the Pascagoula-Moss
Point Northern runs through its eastern sections on its way toward the
north and its connection with the Gulf, Mobile and Northern.
The land is low and level along the coast
and gently undulating as it slopes north. The soil is a sandy loam and
while not very fertile naturally, readily responds to fertilizers, and
with a moderate use, good crops of fruits and vegetables are raised for
home consumption and market at good profit. Jackson County produces in
great quantities the famous paper shell pecans which bring such fancy prices
on the market. Most of the noted varieties have originated in this county,
and extensive groves have already been set and others are being rapidly
planted, both by the older settlers, and by capitalists from the North
and West. A thriving industry is conducted in fish and oysters, obtained
in great abundance, and numerous canning establishments exist.
Jackson County is exceeded only by Harrison
in Mississippi as a producer of nuts, especially pecans. During the year
1919, more than 150,000 pounds of this crop were gathered from the 21,000
trees in the county. Over 22,000 pounds of grapes were also gathered. Altogether
the value of the crops raised was placed at $3,144,000. The quantity of
cotton grown was almost negligible, only 121 bales from an area of 367
acres.
As an industrial county, based chiefly
on the lumber interests, Jackson stands fourth of the Mississippi counties.
It numbered, in 1919, thirty-eight manufacturing establishments, paid out
over $4,000,000 in wages and had an output of $8,400,000 products.
Return to
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MSGenWeb Home
Source:
Mississippi The Heart of the South - By Dunbar Rowland, LL.D - Director
of the Mississippi State Department of Archives and History. Vol.
II Illustrated. Chicago-Jackson; The S. J. Clarke Publishing
Company, 1925. Public Domain
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