|
Paulding was settled in 1833 and was named for John Paulding, a local citizen of Revolutionary War fame. He aided in the capture of the British spy, Major Andre, the British Adjutant who conspired with Benedict Arnol in the betrayal of West Point, New York.
Paulding was a thriving and important center prior to the Civil War and was known as "The Queen City of the East". It once had a population of over one thousand, and during the ante-bellum period, it was a metropolis. Its main street was flanked by stores and its homes were white framed mansions. Court day was a spectacle with most other activities being suspended for the proceedings.
Reconstruction devasted Paulding and the scars ran deep. When the States were called on to vote on the Thirteenth Amendment, the Paulding delegation held out staunchly against its ratification. Parltly because of this firm stand, Mississippi never ratified the Constitutional Admendment freeing the slaves.
Soon after reconstruction, a railroad was to be built through Paulding. The County refused to pay for it and the citizens could afford to pay for it, so Paulding was dealt a death blow, from which it never recovered, as the railroad was built through Bay Springs instead.
The old courthouse was built out of local materials, including clay which was dug up and baked nearby. It burned in 1932 with the loss of all records. People could bring records of deeds and other documents in for filing, so it is not uncommon to find a document dated after 1932 which refers to a transaction that took place much earlier.
HISTORIC COURT HOUSE DESTROYED BY FIRE SAT'DAY
TYPEWRITERS AND SUPERVISORS MINUTE BOOK, ALL THAT WAS SAVED.
NINETY- FIVE YEAR OLD STRUCTURE
Page:
1, Column: 1.
When fire destroyed the old courthouse at Paulding at an early hour Saturday morning, September 10th, one of he oldest landmarks of East Mississippi went into oblivion. Built in 1837, the old building had witnessed many forensic battles between southern notables. It was at Paulding where the old Clarion, which many years afterward was moved to Jackson and subsequently became the present Clarion Ledger espoused the cause of Jefferson Davis who afterward became a great legal light in Mississippi and the South. The fire was discovered about three o'clock by the parish priest. Father Joseph Marie, who sounded the alarm. However, when residents of the little hamlet got to the building nothing save two typewriters, a few books and the board of supervisors minute book was saved. Valuable records which can never be replaced were destroyed as were the contents of the 11-ton safe which is said to have had its doors open at the time the fire was raging. The safe had been locked the night before with what record books could be stored in it. It also was said by persons who first got to the fire that the fire started at the north end of the building and the doors on the sides of the hall were burning fiercely. The building was built of brick made by slave labor. Paulding many years ago was one of the largest towns of this section of the south. Known as the Queen City of the East. It is said to have ranked third in point of population: at one time. New Orleans, Mobile and Paulding being the most populous towns of that period. Beginning sometime after the war between the states Paulding had dwindled into a mere hamlet with one general store building, the court house (the only one in the county until the second judicial district at Bay Springs was created in 1905) and a few residences besides Catholic and Methodist churches and the high school, remaining. It is the consensus of opinion that the fire was of incendiary origin. but for what reasons the court house was destroyed is a mystery that is baffling to officials as well as the general public. No insurance was carried on the structure or it's contents.
HISTORIC TOWN
The Paulding fire of last week spurred newspapermen to delving into history for facts concerning the court house and the town. Many interesting things were found. It was at Paulding that the old Eastern Clarion, which was later moved to Meridian, then to Jackson when it finally became the present Clarion-Ledger, espoused the cause of Jefferson Davis. The Eastern Clarion was established in 1837 by John J. McRae who afterward became United States senator and congressman. In 1862 the Clarion was moved to Meridian by Col. J.J. Shannon and at the close of the Civil War it was moved to Jackson where it was ably edited for many years by the late Col. R. H. Henry who changed its name to the Clarion-Ledger. Unwritten history has it that a negro girl was hanged at Paulding for slaying another human. Before she was executed she granted the request of a local physician to let him have her body for dissecting purposes with one provision, that being the doctor _ _ _ _ give her all the ginger bread she could eat. According to the story the girl got her ginger cake and the doctor got her corpse to dissect. The execution took place just across the street West of the court house.Jasper county was created in December 18, 1833. The county was named for Sergeant Jasper of Fort Moultrie, (South Carolina), Fame. It was carved from territory just north of the old Mount Dexter treaty line, acquired from the Choctaw in 1830, and was originally occupied by the Six Town Tribe of that nation. These fact _ _ _ _ _ _ from Dr. Dunbar Rowland's story of Mississippi..
Paulding at one time was the house of the Federal Land offices _ _ _ _ the state of Mississippi.
GOT LICENSE TO WED AT PAULDING 52 YEARS AGO
A. J. Bennison, well-known citizen of Laurel, read the account of the Paulding courthouse fire and was reminded that it was 52 years ago on September 12 that he obtained his marriage license at the Jasper county seat. He brought to this office a letter dated 18??.
The rest of the article is not readable due to bad photocopy.
Page: 2, Column: 1.
THE COURT HOUSE FIRE
Jasper county has suffered a great loss in losing the court house of the first judicial district by fire. Records were burned that can never be replaced and if they could, could never have the historic value of the ones destroyed. As appearances indicate, the fire was of incendiary origin, but just what motive could have been behind the deed makes speculation rife. A person who commits arson is little short of an assassin, both have warped and twisted natures. There were records at the old Paulding court house which could have provided source material for an invaluable history of the county. The county has had an honorable record of achievement, but now the historian will have to hunt elsewhere for what material he can find in order to write for posterity. Not only is the loss keenly felt in this respect but land titles have been destroyed. Minutes of courts, of boards of supervisors, mortgage books, newspapers files in bound volumes, all are now ashes. What a pity! In these columns of August 22, 1929, appeared this paragraph. "At the court houses at Paulding and Bay Springs are valuable records such as record books and newspaper files that are unprotected should a fire occur or a storm destroy either one of these buildings. The reason they are unprotected does not mean that there is carelessness on the part of any officer. but rather because the vaults are filled with valuable papers and documents and there is no room for more. There ought to be something done about this condition. These unprotected records might not seem of any value now but years later they in all probability will mean a great deal to those who will come after the present generation. It would be a splendid thing to have vaults built at both court houses and these books and papers placed where they can be protected from all hazards." The protecting vaults could have been built for less than the sum required for buying new record books, paying for surveys _ _ _ _ _ _ of assessor's work in re_ a_ property and other expenses. Records in the Bay Springs court house are in a measure protected. However, not all the records can be stored in the vaults. The question arises, why all the expense of making and keeping these permanent records, then not provide means of protecting them from the elements? The burning of these things strike directly at everyone in the county. The building that burned is not without its own value as a shrine of by-gone days. In its court room has echoed the voices of Mississippi's foremost statesmen; in it legal lights engaged in forensic battles. Its 95-year history has been replete with vast changes; from the time when the white man acquired land from the Indian; during the stormy Civil War period; the dark days of Reconstruction; then followed happier days until the town once the pride of this section of the south had dwindled in population until a handful of inhabitants were left; yet somehow the atmosphere _ _ _ spoke of a noble past. The last relic of a great past has fallen. Jasper countians should be satisfied with nothing short of a through investigation of every _ _ _ _ or rumor that is afloat regarding this great loss. A loss _ _ _ affects everyone as this does, _ _ _ _ should have every phase fully _ _ _ _ into. The truth should be known, then let the courts act accordingly.
This information was provided to us by Odell Hughes
|
|