Pontotoc County, Mississippi
Genealogy and History
Peggy A. Young, County CoordinatorJeff Kemp - State Coordinator Denise Wells - Assistant State Coordinator
Ann Allen Geoghegan - Assistant State Coordinator
Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 14:58:53 CDT
W. P. A. History of Pontotoc County, Mississippi
Chapter I: Formation
Shape, Size, and Boundaries
Pontotoc County is nearly square, and is twenty-one miles north and south with the exception of an off-set in the northeast corner, by twenty four miles east and west. The area of the county is 498 square miles.
When the engineers came to survey for land offices, they desired to find the center of the Chickasaw country; this proved to be a point west of Pontotoc but undesirable, so they selected a site nearer the Indian population, where water and food were more easily procured. This place was the site of the present town of Pontotoc; at that time the county comprised the western half of Union County.
On October 26, 1866 by an act of the Legislature a part of the county from range seven to sixty one was taken off for the creation of Lee County; on July 7, 1879, another portion on the north and several sections on the upper end were taken from the county for the organization of Union.
The original Pontotoc County was bounded on the north by what is now Tippah County; on the east by the present Ittawamba; on the south by Chickasaw and on the west by Lafayette.. The original size of Pontotoc County was 900 square miles.
At present it is bounded on the north by Union on the east by Lee, on the south by Chickasaw and Calhoun, and on the west by Calhoun and Lafayette. Originally it was one of the largest counties is the state, but its area was reduced almost one-half by formation of Lee County in 1866, and Union in 1870.
(1) Byington, liberal translation.
(2) Laws of Mississippi, 1836.
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