SCOTT COUNTY
Chapter XLIV, pages 819-821
Scott County, which is situated a little
east of the center of the State, was organized on the 23d of December,
1833, and was named in honor of Abram M. Scott, seventh governor of Mississippi.
The act which established the county defined its boundaries as follows:
“Beginning at the northwest corner of Jasper County, and running from thence
north, with the line between ranges 9 and 10 east, to the line between
the townships 8 and 9, from thence west with said line to the line between
ranges 5 and 6 east; from thence south with said line to the western boundary
of the Choctaw nation; from thence directly south, to a point directly
west of the line, between townships 4 and 5; and from thence east with
said line to the place of beginning.” February 8, 1838, the county was
enlarged by the addition of “all that portion of territory lying east of
Pearl River and the old Choctaw boundary line, designating the dividing
line between the Indian and white settlements prior to the treaty of Dancing
Rabbit Creek, in 1830, from the point where the said boundary line crosses
Pearl River, to the point where the same intersects the present western
boundary line of the county of Scott.” It is now a nearly square area of
land containing 597 square miles of territory, and was one of the sixteen
counties formed at the above time from the territory ceded by the Choctaws
in the treaty of Dancing Rabbit, September 27, 1830. It is bounded on the
north by Leake County, on the east by Newton County, on the south by Smith
County and on the west by Rankin and Madison counties; the old Choctaw
boundary line, treaty of Doak’s Stand, October 18, 1820, forms part of
the western boundary between Scott and Rankin, and the Pearl River, in
the extreme northwest corner separates it for a short distance from the
county of Madison.
The first members of the Board of Police
for the county were John Dunn, President of the Board; James Russell, Wade
H. Holland, Stephen Berry and Jeremiah B. White. The first sheriff was
John Smith, the first clerk of the Probate court, Nicholas Finley, and
Wm. Ricks, Sr., was the first Probate Judge, and served in that capacity
for several years. Besancon’s Annual Register for 1838, gives the following
list of county officers at that time: M. Patrick, E. Smith, J.L. Denson,
J. Summers, J. Carr, members of the Board of Police; J.J. Chambers, Clerk
of the Circuit Court; J.J. Chambers, Clerk of the Probate Court; Wm. Ricks,
Sr., Probate Judge; J.B. White, Sheriff, Assessor and Collector; A. Eastland,
Ranger and Coroner; M.D. Young, Treasurer; W.J. Denson, Surveyor.
The original county seat was located at
Berryville, about four miles southwest of Forest, but after the streets
were laid out, it was abandoned within twelve months and the courthouse
was removed to Hilisboro in the fall of 1836, where it remained for thirty
years. It was finally moved to Forest, on the Alabama & Vicksburg railroad,
which is an incorporated town of about 1,200 people and the center of trade
for quite an area. Some of the other towns are Harperville, Morton and
Lake on the railroad, and Pulaski and Norris some distance from such connection.
The Alabama & Vicksburg railroad runs
through the center of the county from east to west and affords an outlet
for the products of the county. The numerous creeks in the northern and
southwestern sections are tributaries of the Pearl River, and those in
the eastern and southeastern part are tributary to the Leaf River. Most
of the county is undulating in character, with some level stretches on
the creek and river bottoms, and some hilly portions.
Scott County lies in the central prairie
region of the State and the soil is extremely varied in character. Sandy
in the hills, scattered patches of black prairie, pine and bottom lands.
The “reed brakes” are very fertile and when properly drained and cultivated,
make good cornfields. Considerable limestone and extensive beds of marl
are found in the county, providing excellent fertilizers, which have been
extensively applied at small cost.
The national census of 1920 exhibits Scott
County in the light both of an industrial and agricultural division of
the State. In that publication was covered the year 1919, and from it is
learned that the 24 manufacturing establishments (mostly saw and lumber
mills) of the county employed more than 900 laborers, distributed $790,000
to them in wages and reached an output valued at $2,552,000. The value
of its farm property was $3,159,000 and of its crops for that year, $2,381,000,
not quite equal to the industrial output. The county’s live stock was valued
at $1,175,000.
