History of Prentiss County, Mississippi

Published by Curtis Media Corporation, Dallas, Texas, Copyright: 1984
(NOTE: My sincere thanks to Jo Carolyn Beebe for her hard work in transcribing this article and sending to me. Also, another grateful thank you to Curtis Media Corporation for permitting me to post this on this page for all of you. Belinda Houston)

On February 9, 1836, the part of the Chickasaw nation lying in Mississippi was divided into ten counties. The largest was Tishomingo County located in the northeast section of the state and containing 923,040 acres.

Prentiss County was formed from Old Tishomingo County on April 15, 1870, and received its name from Seargent Smith Prentiss, the gifted statesman, jurist and orator.

It is joined by Alcorn County on the north, Tishomingo County on the east, Itawamba and Lee Counties to the south and Union and Tippah Counties to the west.

The area that was to become Prentiss County was settled with emigrants from the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and Virginia. The principal vocation of most of our early settlers was that of tilling the soil.

The oldest settlement in Prentiss County was Carrollville which was founded in 1834 in the southeastern part of Old Tishomingo County. It was a place of considerable importance and was a very important trade center. Carrollville was located on the old Tuscumbia and Pontotoc Road.

When the Mobile and Ohio Railroad was completed to Baldwyn, the town of Baldwyn absorbed the population and business of Carrollville.

Prentiss County abounds in Civil War history, beauty, lakes and hills. It has four incorporated cities: Booneville, the county seat, Baldwyn, Marietta, and Jumpertown.

Communities such as Wheeler and Thrasher also feature interesting and educational backgrounds.

The area, although normally known as basically agricultural, is fast becoming one of Mississippi's real industrial centers, especially with the completion of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.