MARION COUNTY
CHAPTER XLVI, pages 784 - 785
Marion County, in the southern part of
the State, adjoining the Louisiana border, was established December 9,
1811, and in its name honors Gen. Francis Marion of Revolutionary fame.
Although its land area is now only 535 square miles, it originally embraced
a large territory including the counties of Lawrence and Pike, and parts
of Covington, Lincoln, Lamar, Pearl River and Walthall.
Marion County was created from the old
counties of Wayne, Franklin and Amite, and its original limits were defined
as follows: "All that tract of country beginning on the line of demarcation
where the fourth range of townships east of Pearl River intersects the
said line, thence west with said line of demarcation, to the sixty-mile
post, east of the Mississippi, being the first range of townships west
of Tansopiho, thence north on said line of townships to the Choctaw boundary
line, thence along said Choctaw boundary line to the fourth range of townships
east of Pearl River, thence with said range to the beginning."
Two of the prominent early settlers of
the region were Dougal McLaughlin and John Ford, both of whom represented
the county in the Constitutional Convention of 1817. The former was a native
of South Carolina, descended from an old Highland Scotch family, and a
man distinguished for his probity and sterling worth. The following is
a partial list of the civil officers of the county for the years 1818-1827:
Charles M. Norton, Ruse Perkins, William Lott, Benjamin Lee, Isaac Brakefield,
Henry Heninger, Benjamin Youngblood, David Ford, John H. Norton, John Regan,
Ransom M. Collins, Justices of the Quorum, 1818-1821; Simeon Duke, Ranger,
Assessor and Collector, and Sheriff; Jepthah Duke, William Mellon, John
Alexander, County Treasurers; James Phillips, David Ford, William Roach,
Hector McNeal, County Surveyors; Jacob Tomlinson, William Graham, Robert
Stacy, Wm. Phillips, James Rawles, Thos. Collins, Hope H. Lenoir, Daniel
Farnham, Jordan Elder, Wm. H. Cox, Nathan M. Collins, and Jesse Crawford,
Justices of the Peace; Hugh McGowan, William Spencer, Judges of Probate.
In 1890, Marion gave a portion of its territory
to Pearl River County, another part to Lamar in 1904, and still another
slice to the newly organized county of Walthall in 1914.
Columbia, a progressive and ambitious little
city, is the county seat on the east bank of the Pearl River and contains
(census of 1920) a population of 2,800. It is near the center of the county
and is a station on a branch of the Gulf & Ship Island railroad, which
passes diagonally through the county. Running parallel with this line,
on the west side of Pearl River, is the New Orleans Great Northern. In
its midst is located the school for juvenile offenders and its many other
activities indicate its purpose to assist in the progress and betterment
of the State.
Pearl River, and numerous tributary creeks
in the western part, constitute the principal water courses. These streams
are extensively used for logging operations, as Marion County lies entirely
within the long leaf pine region of the State and is well timbered. The
surface of the county is gently undulating and the soil is light and sandy
and reasonably productive. On the bottoms, however, it is fertile and raises
excellent crops without the use of fertilizers. There are also extensive
"reed brakes," which, when drained, prove very productive.
Marion County is chiefly devoted to the
industries of the pineries. Over 1,700 of its people are thus employed,
receive more than $1,500,000 in wages and the numerous sawmills of the
region turned out lumber, timber, etc., valued at over $4,500,000. The
crops of Marion County, of which the cereals and vegetables formed about
a half, were valued at $4,000,000 in 1919, somewhat less than the products
of her industrial establishments. The population of Marion County in 1920
was 17,144; which indicates a slow but steady increase since its census
was first taken by the Federal bureau in 1850.
