.
Leake County
LEAKE COUNTY

CHAPTER XLVI, pages 770 - 772

Leake County, which is almost in the geopraphical center of the State, was established December 23, 1833, and was one of the sixteen counties created at that time from the final cession of the Choctaw Indians under the treaty of Dancing Rabbit in 1830. It was named for Governor Walter Leake, member of the constitutional convention of 1817, United States senator and twice Governor of the State. Its limits were defined in the original act as follows: "Beginning at the northeast corner of Scott County, and running from thence north with the line between ranges 9 and 10 east, to the line between townships 12 and 13; from thence west, with the line between townships 12 and 13, to the line between ranges 5 and 6 east; from thence south with said line between ranges 5 and 6 east, to the line between townships 8 and 9; and from thence east to the place of beginning."

The county is an exact square, contains 16 townships or 576 square miles and is bounded on the north by Attala County, on the east by Neshoba County, on the south by Scott County and on the west by Madison and Attala counties. The Jackson and Eastern railroad built to Walnut Grove, gives Leake County railroad communication with Meridian. Additional transportation facilities are afforded by the Pearl River, which runs through the county from the northeast to the southwest and is navigable to Edinburg on the eastern border. Besides the Pearl, the region is watered by its numerous tributaries, the Yokahockany River, Yellow, Young Warrior and Standing Pine creeks.

There are no large towns within its area, but its hamlets and villages make pleasant retreats in which to live. While rural life prevails its schools and churches are generally good, and the automobile eliminates distance from the more populous centers. Carthage, near the center, two miles north of Pearl River, is the county seat, and contains a population of 635. Some of the important settlements are Walnut Grove, Edinburg, Standing Pine and Goodhope. As early as 1837 it possessed a population of 1,136 whites and 531 slaves. Among the earliest settlers may be numbered the families of the Harpers, Loyds, Warners, Freeneys, Dicksons, Boyds, Eadeses and Vanansdales. The general surface of the region is undulating and hilly, and a large section is cornposed of level, bottom or swamp lands. The population of Leake County has varied not more than 5,000 for the past forty years, and it has been by no means a continuous increase. In 1850, it was 5,533; 1860, 9,324; 1870, 8,496; 1880, 18,146. It reached its maximum in 1910, when the population was 18,298; in 1920 it was 16,673.

In the year 1919, the farm property in Leake County was valued at $6,598,000, and its crops of all kinds at $8,157,000. Of its farming area, 28,765 acres were included in the cotton fields, which produced nearly 6,900 bales. The county’s live stock was valued at $1,268,000.
 


Return to County History Index

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
Copyright Notice: All files and photographs on this site are copyrighted by their creator and/or contributor, unless otherwise noted. They may be linked to but may not be reproduced on another site without specific permission from The MSGenWeb State Coordinator or the Assistant State Coordinator, and/or their contributor. Although public information is not in and of itself copyrightable, the format in which they are presented, the notes and comments, etc., are. It is however, quite permissible to print or save the files to a personal computer for personal use ONLY. 

Last Update Friday, 09-Mar-2018 02:39:59 CST

MSGenWeb Special Projects - footer

Please contact  the
MSGenWeb State Coordinator,  regarding questions, suggestions, 
    or comments about this website. 

 

Content copyright © 1997-Present by MSGenWeb Team, et al where noted. 
Art and design copyright © 1997-present by MSGenWeb Team. 
All rights reserved.