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Hinds Co., MS History
Taken from the Book, Mississippi History, 1891History of Mississippi from the Discovery of the Great River by Hernando DeSoto, including the Earliest Settlement made by the French under Iberville, to The Death of Jefferson Davis. By Robert Lowry and William H. McCardle. R. H. Henry and Co., Jackson, 1891.
HINDS COUNTY p. 483-490
Hinds County was established February 12th, 1821, and named in honor of General Thomas Hinds; carved out of that tract of country ceded to the United States by the Choctaw tribe of Indians, on the 18th day of October, 1820. On February 4th, 1828, the Legislature provided for the election of five commissioners to select a site for the courthouse and jail of the county, and to locate the same either at Clinton, or within two miles of the center of the county. On the 17th of January, 1829, an act was passed directing that the courts should be held at Raymond, and
that all books, records and papers belonging to the respective offices should be removed to that place.Among the first settlers of the county were Benj. F. Smith, Wm. W. Walker, Chas. M. Lawson, all of whom represented the county in the Legislature; W. J. Austin, Silas Brown, Hiram G. Runnels, who were also members of the Legislature;
Judge Isaac Caldwell, member of the State Senate, killed in a duel by Samuel Gwin, who received a wound from which he afterwards died;
Ralph Stovall, whose widow lived to be one hundred and one years of age; she was the mother of twenty-two children; the present deputy sheriff L. F. Chiles, is the grandson of Mrs. Stovall’s seventeenth daughter;
W. H. Bradley, J. B. Robertson, settled near where Brownsville is now located;
J. J. Birdsong, W. Moffatt, Washington and Wesley Farr, near where Bolton now stands;
Daniel Thomas, for several terms sheriff of the county, was an early settler on Baker’s Creek; he was the father of Samuel B. Thomas, who was Colonel of the Twelfth Regiment during the war, and like his honored father served the county most acceptably as sheriff for a decade or more;
Rev. Lewis B. Holloway, a Baptist minister, with his two stepsons John R. and Jas. M. Chiles, were among the early settlers of Jackson;
Leroy H. Tatum, Jas. Satterfield, Hugh McGowan and Rev. Jesse Woodall, a Baptist minister, settled in what was afterwards known as the Byram neighborhood;
John Rimes was the head of what was known as the Rimes colony.
Hon. Henry G. Johnston represented the county in the Legislature and was probate judge. He married the daughter of Gov. Walter Leake, and was the father of W. L. Johnston, now residing in or near Clinton.
The late Hon. Amos R. Johnston, a lawyer of ability and an advocate of great power, represented the county in the Legislature fifty-five years ago. When a young man he was probate judge, was one of the authors of the Revised Code of 1871, and represented the counties of Hinds and Rankin in the State Senate; he was the father of Capt. Frank and Dr. Wirt Johnston, each prominent in their respective professions, the former a learned and acc.....physicians of the Sate, and since its organization a member of the State Board of Health.
Henry S. Foote, referred to elsewhere in this volume, was the father of H. S. Foote, former district attorney in the Jackson district, an excellent lawyer and genial gentleman, now on the bench in California. Governor Foote was the father-in-law of Hon. Wm. M. Stewart, United States Senator from Nevada and noted for his independence of thought and conservatism;
Dr. New, Samuel Gwin, James McRaven, Rev. Daniel Comfort, widely known as a distinguished educator;
Hon. John I. Guion, who was Circuit Judge, State Senator, and as President of the Senate, succeeded to the Governship;
Alex. K. McClung, referred to in preceding pages;
Judge Daniel Mayes, who was Circuit Judge in his native State, Kentucky, and Professor of Law in Transylvania College, was a profound and learned lawyer; he was the father of Hon. Herman Mayes, elsewhere referred to, also of Hon. Edward Mayes, of Oxford, before referred to in this volume. Judge Mayes was the father-in-law of Hon. Wiley P. Harris, to whom reference has been previously made; he was also the father-in-law of the late Hon. Geo. L. Potter, a lawyer of recognized ability, research and learning, of modest habits and great purity of character; his sons George, Daniel and Wiley H. Potter are still residents of the county, and the latter its efficient Circuit Clerk;
Hon. Caswell R. Clifton who was Judge of the Circuit Court and Clerk of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, was the father of Hon. Oliver Clifton, a lawyer by profession, who has represented the county in the Legislature, and is now and has been for many years Clerk of the Supreme Court of the State;
Austin Morgan, whose widow, son and daughter reside in the city of Jackson;
David Shelton, who came from Tennessee in 1836, and from the date of his location has kept constantly in the line of his profession, occupying high rank as a lawyer, and for a half century has had an extensive practice, and is among the most substantial and honored citizens of the capital city;
Edward S. Farish, came to Jackson in 1833, and was awarded the contract for the carpenter’s work on the State House; he was father of four sons, one of whom, Ned. Farish, a superior mechanic, an honorable and upright man, is now a resident of Jackson;
James Redfearn, a farmer and successful stockraiser, settled in Hinds in 1833, but has long been a highly esteemed citizen of Rankin;
Wm. J. Brown, now in his seventy-sixth year, came to Jackson as a printer in 1836; he is now a successful merchant, having the confidence of the community in which he has so long resided;
Herbert Spengler came to Jackson fifty-four years ago; he was accumulated a valuable estate, and is the head of a large family; his sons are established in business, and are thrifty and prosperous young men. Spengler’s Corner is one of the landmarks of the city, and known to visitors throughout the State that are in the habit of
frequenting the capital.Major Craft, father of the late Dr. M. S. Craft, a gentlemen of high character, splendid address, a distinguished physician, a surgeon of wide reputation and greatly esteemed by his large circle of friends and patrons;
Jas. Tolbert, Richard and Chas. Webber, C. C. Mason, a lawyer, Hon. Thos. J. Wharton, a native of Tennessee, who came to Clinton in 1836; soon after completing his collegiate course, he practiced his profession for a number of years with marked success, when he was elected Attorney General of the State, the duties of which he performed with great acceptability for two terms; he was subsequently circuit judge of the capital district for six years, a lawyer of distinction, scholarly attainments and universally esteemed.
Hon. James Rucks was circuit judge in his native State Tennessee, and after locating in Jackson, practiced his profession for a number of years; Judge Rucks was the father of a numerous family; his son James, was an intelligent and excellent lawyer. Judge Rucks was the father-in-law of the late Hon. Wm. Yerger, who was among Mississippi’s ablest men, a great lawyer, and the readiest man of his day; although a Whig in politics, he was elected in a Democratic District, Judge of the High Court of Errors and Appeals; he was a State Senator in 1863, and a delegate to the Convention of 1865; a learned lawyer and able advocate, he had few equals, he reared a large family; his son, Capt. Jas. R. Yerger, is a well known and intelligent lawyer residing at the capital.
A. C. Baine, editor of the Flag of the Union, a newspaper published in Jackson years ago; James H. Kerr, father of Captain R. C. Kerr, now Register of the United States Land Office at Jackson, a position which he held under a former administration.
Charles H. Manship, an expert painter, has always manifested much interest in the benevolent institutions located at the capital and for years he has been a trustee of some one of them; he has reared a large family and is now seventy-eight years of age, but manifests a warm interest in every enterprise that promises prosperity to the city.
D. N. Barrows, who served the city as chief magistrate, and widely known as an accurate, fair-minded and successful business man.
Alexander Virden, a native of Delaware, now seventy-six years of age, was one of the early merchants of Jackson; has seen the place grow from an insignificant village to its present proportions; he has passed unscathed through the financial ordeals occurring during the last half century, maintaining his high business integrity, and now, at his advanced age, can well afford to confide the management of his large mercantile interests to his three capable sons whom he has trained to business habits and methods, and who have already high commercial standing.
The late Edmund Richardson, whose business career was most successful, worked for a monthly salary first at Clinton and afterwards at Brandon, where he resided many years. At the time of his death, which occurred
suddenly at Jackson, his home was in New Orleans. He had accumulated several millions of dollars.The late George C. Fearn, was also a merchant in an early day, as was T. M. Ellis and John C. McAlister.
The John W. Robinson was for a number of years associated with Edmund Richardson. He had energy, tact, business capacity and superior judgment, and accumulated a handsome fortune; his two sons are engaged
in merchandising. His son-in-law, who was with him in business for many years, Robert L. Saunders, is a man of affairs, bright, intelligent and enterprising, and one of Jackson’s leading and progressive citizens. Capt. Jno P. Stevens was also associated with Mr. Robinson, and is now one of Jackson’s solid and substantial citizens.Steven P. Bailey, at one time mayor of Jackson, father of Henry Bailey and the late Doctor P. T. Bailey. Doctor Bailey did an extensive practice for many years, was gifted in his profession; with a warm and tender heart, he administered to his long list of patients, almost to the very day of his death.
The late Joshua and Thomas Green, natives of Maryland, who were widely known in business circles as men of enterprise. Prior to the war they established a cotton factory which was burned by the Federal troops
during hostilities, thus reducing to ashes the accumulation of years of labor and toil. Each of the Messrs. Green reared large families, all of whom are highly respected;John Shelton, Esq., of Raymond, a lawyer of ability, high character;
Matt D. Patton, father of the late John W. Patton;
the late Hyman, Phillip, Marcus and Samuel Hilzheim. They were merchants and business men and have descendants in this and Washington county, all of whom are highly respected.
Hon. George W. Harper, of Raymond, who has represented the county in the Legislature and a successful journalist of large experience.
Wm. C. Richards, cashier of the Planters’ Bank, John and Thomas Graves, James E. White, the owner of Whites’ Mills, once on Pearl river, Harry Long, W. W. and D. C. Young, merchants;
Hon. George Adams, appointed by President Jackson, District Judge of the United States Court for Mississippi, the duties of which he ably discharged for many years. He was the father of Generals Wirt and Daniel W. Adams. The former an educated, cultured, courtly gentleman, high bearing, full of courage and splendid address, was a Brigadier General in the Confederate service and postmaster of the city of Jackson, under Cleveland’s administration, at the time of his death. His only son, who bears the name of his honored father, has been for
six years State Revenue Agent. Daniel W. Adams was a lawyer of decided ability, represented the county in the State Senate and was a Brigadier General in the Confederate army, resided in New Orleans at the time of
his death.Hon. Collin S. Tarpley, an able and widely known lawyer, who did an extensive and lucrative practice. Members of his family, honored and respected, still reside near their old home.
R. L. Dixon, a lawyer of high standing.
The late Doctor Wm. M. Gwin, afterwards a United States Senator from California;
William Clark, a minister of the Christian church, and at one time State Treasurer, he was the father of the late Robert A. and Col. Wm. H. Clarke, both lawyers of good standing, the former has descendants still residing in Jackson; the latter, who was a Colonel in the Confederate army and fell at the head of his regiment at the battle of Altoona, has an only son who bears his father’s name, a young and bright lawyer at Dallas, Texas.
Doctor Silas Brown, an early and prominent physician of Jackson; Doctor W. S. Langley, referred to elsewhere in this volume; The late Samuel Lemly, a prompt, reliable and successful merchant, who has several sons, leading merchants in their respective lines, of Jackson;
Jacob Kausler, an honored citizen, who has reared a large family;
H. E. Sizer, a large dealer in carriages, buggies, etc., whose two daughters still reside in the city of Jackson;Later came Messrs. E. and S. Virden, natives of the State of Delaware, who engaged in merchandising and have been eminently successful and are classed among the most substantial and prosperous merchants in the State.
Hinds county has 362,227 acres of cleared land; average value ........
total value including incorporated towns $3,748.The population of this county, as shown by the census report of 1890:
Whites, 10,685; colored, 28,577; total 39,262.Hinds county has the honor of having the Capital within her borders, the location and description of which will be referred to elsewhere.
The principal towns of the county are Jackson, Clinton, Raymond, the county seat, Edwards, Bolton, Utica, Terry, Learned, Adams, Oakley, Byram and Tougaloo.
The principal streams in the county are Pearl river, which forms its eastern boundary; Baker’s Creek and Big Black on the western border; Tallahala, Bogue Chitto, Rhodes and Big Creeks.
The railroads in the county are the Illinois Central, traversing the county from north to South; the Alabama & Vicksburg, running east and west, crosses the Illinois Central at Jackson; the Natchez, Jackson & Columbus Railroad, running from Natchez to Jackson, and the Yazoo branch of the Illinois Central, running from Jackson to Greenwood, altogether making Jackson a great railroad center.
by: Cheryl Berthelsen <cberthelsen@worldnet.att.net>
Quick Facts about Hinds County
Hinds county has 362,227 acres of cleared land; average value ........ total value including incorporated towns $3,748.The population of this county, as shown by the census report of 1890: Whites, 10,685; colored, 28,577; total 39,262.
Hinds county has the honor of having the Capital within her borders, the location and description of which will be referred to elsewhere.
The principal streams in the county are Pearl river, which forms its eastern boundary; Baker’s Creek and Big Black on the western border; Tallahala, Bogue Chitto, Rhodes and Big Creeks.
The railroads in the county are the Illinois Central, traversing the county from north to South; the Alabama & Vicksburg, running east and west, crosses the Illinois Central at Jackson; the Natchez, Jackson & Columbus Railroad, running from Natchez to Jackson, and the Yazoo branch of the Illinois Central, running from Jackson to Greenwood,
altogether making Jackson a great railroad center.
Raymond, Hinds County Courthouse
Photo Courtesy of and copyright to Jackie and Kenneth
Rhodes and MSGenWeb.
Communities List
Bolton (town), Hinds County
Cayuga, Hinds County
Clinton (city), Hinds County
Edwards (town), Hinds County
Jackson (city), Hinds County
Learned (town), Hinds County
Oakley, Hinds County
Pocahontas, Hinds County
Raymond (city), Hinds County
Terry (town), Hinds County
Tougaloo, Hinds County
Utica (town), Hinds CountyColleges List
Belhaven College
Jackson State University
Millsaps College
Mississippi College
Tougaloo College
History of Hinds County
Hinds County, located in the west central part of the State, has been aptly termed the "mother of counties" and embraces a region which is rich in historic interest. It has a land surface of 847 square miles. On February 12, 1821, the Legislature of the State of Mississippi passed an act declaring that "all that tract of land ceded to the United States by the Choctaw Nation of Indians on the 18th day of October, 1820, and bounded as follows, that is to say: Beginning on the Choctaw boundary, east of Pearl river, at a point due south of the White Oak Spring on the old Indian path; thence in a direct line to a black oak standing on the Natchez road, about forty poles eastward from Doak's Fence, marked A.J., and blazed with two large pines and black oak standing near thereto, and marked as pointers; thence a straight line to the head of Black Creek, or Bogue Loosa, to a small lake; thence a direct course so as to strike the Mississippi one mile below the Arkansas river; thence down the Mississippi to the mouth of the Yazoo river; thence along the line heretofore known by the name of the Indian Boundary line, to the beginning, shall be and is hereby directed and established into a new county, which shall be called and known by the name of Hinds County."This fertile region of "wide prairies, fertile valleys, and wooded hills" became rapidly settled and it was soon thought wise to take from it some of its territory. January 21, 1823, the Legislature created Yazoo county out of Hinds, and by the same act the county of Copiah. A little later, February 4, 1828, from all that portion of Hinds county lying east of the Pearl river, the county of Rankin was erected. And on February 5, 1829, Hinds county surrendered "the fractional township seven in ranges two and three-- to be attached to Madison county." Out of these several counties many other counties have been created, so that Hinds is indeed the "mother of the counties."
Hinds County was named in honor of General Thomas Hinds, who, with General Jackson, were the United States Commissioners appointed to treat with the Choctaws and obtain the above cession. The county, as it exists today, is somewhat irregular in shape and is bounded on the north by Yazoo and Madison counties, on the east by Rankin county, on the south by Copiah county, and on the west by Claiborne and Warren counties. It stands today the most populous and perhaps the richest and most prosperous county in the State.
The capital of the State was located at Jackson within its borders, Nov. 28, 1821, and here are centered many of the State's largest public institutions. Hinds county is covered with a network of railroads, which give an outlet in every direction to the products of its farms and factories. Many prosperous towns and cities dot its surface; the Pearl river forms its eastern boundary, the Big Black river part of its western boundary, and numerous tributaries of these streams yield it ample water power.
Raymond, one of the seats of justice of Hinds county, is the incorporated post-town near the center of the county, on the line of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 15 miles southwest of Jackson. It was made the county seat January 17, 1829. It is an important cotton shipping point, and two cotton gins and a saw mill are located here. A good water works system will soon be in operation. Raymond has a good academy, seven churches, a bank and a newspaper. The Merchants & Planters Bank was established here in 1906; the Gazette is a Democratic weekly, established in 1844, now owned and published by Whitney & Bell. The celebrated Cooper's Well is located about four miles southeast of Raymond, and is widely known for the curative properties of its water. Thousands of people come here annually to drink of the water. A large and commodious hotel is maintained at the well for the accommodation of guests. The population of Raymond in 1900 was 483 and is rapidly increasing.
Among the earliest settlements in the county were those at Hamburg, Amsterdam, Antibank and Auburn P.O., all of which are now extinct. Hamburg was laid out in 1826, on the Big Black river, two miles north of the present A. & V.R.R. crossing. The site was too marshy and the place had a brief career of only two years.
Amsterdam was laid out on the bluffs two miles above Hamburg and became a good sized village, visited every year during high water by steam and keel boats. It was even made a port of entry, by act of Congress. In 1832 or 1833, one-half its people were carried off by the cholera, and the A. & V.R.R. missed it by two miles a few years later; the place never recovered from these blows. Antibank was first settled in 1836 by T.L. Sumrall. The farmers around received their supplies at this old landing on the Big Black river. With the coming of the railroad, it ceased to be a shipping point and is now part of a cotton farm.
The county seat was at Clinton for a short time, but on February 4, 1828, the Legislature ordered the election of five commissioners to locate a site for a court house, and they were directed to put in Clinton or within two miles of the center of the county. This center was found within two miles of Raymond and was marked by a large stone; next year, by act of the Legislature, Raymond was made the county seat (Photo of Raymond Courthouse). Here the old records of the county are kept, though courts are also held at the capitol, Jackson, the county being divided into two court districts.
The principal towns in the county are Jackson, Clinton, Utica, Bolton, Edwards, Terry, Learned, Oakley and Byram. Jackson had a population of 7,816 in 1900, and has become the mot important railroad center in the State. It is the junction of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R.R., the Alabama & Vicksburg, the Illinois Central and its Yazoo branch running to Yazoo City, and the Gulf & Ship Island R.R.'s. In proportion to capital, it has the largest manufacturing output in the State and it is second in number of establishments. It now has the best equipped fertilizer factory in the State. Here also is located the new million dollar State House, honestly built and famous throughout the country for its architectural beauty and perfection of detail. Here also are located the State Insane Hospital, one mile north of the city, and the Institutions for the Blind, and the Deaf and Dumb. It is the seat of two well known institutions of learning, Millsaps College and Belhaven College.
At Clinton, a few miles west of Jackson, on the line of the Alabama & Vicksburg R.R., are located Mississippi College and Hillman College, the latter an institution for the education of young women and formerly known as the Central Female Institute. Seven miles north of Jackson is located Tougaloo University, devoted to the education of the Negroes of the State of both sexes. One mile northwest of Clinton formerly stood the beautiful home of Cowles Mead who was prominently in the early history of the State and a brilliant member of the Constitutional Convention of 1817 from Jefferson county. It was called "Greenwood" but was war swept and destroyed by the soldiers of Grant. Just beyond the western boundary of the town is "Mt. Salus," the home of Mississippi's third governor, Walter Leake. The old home was until very recently occupied by Carter J. Johnstone, Gov. Leake's great-grandson.
The general surface of Hinds county is undulating; the soil is rich yellow loam, which produces excellent crops of corn, cotton, oats, grasses, Irish and sweet potatoes, sugar cane, and sorghum. Vegetables grow in abundance and peaches, pears, figs, plums, strawberries, etc., do very well, and large shipments are made to markets throughout the State. The timber in the county consists of pine, red, white and black oaks, hickory, elm, beech and cypress.
The twelfth United States census for the year 1900 yields the following statistics for Hinds county and will be found of interest as showing the strides the county has made in wealth and population. The number of farms in the county was 6,607, with an acreage of 394,946, of which 251,369 were improved. The value of the land exclusive of the buildings was $3,000,080, and the value of the buildings was $1,069,500; the value of the live stock was $1,258,124, and the total value of farm products not fed to stock was $2,743,643. The number of manufacturing establishments was 186, capitalized at $1,192,758, paying wages in the amount of $310,215, using materials valued at $1,172,199, and turning out products valued at $1,960,562. The total assessed valuations of real and personal property in the county in 1905 was $10,519,904, and in 1906 it was $13,440,244.77, which shows an increase of $2,920,340.77 during the year. The population of the county in 1900 consisted of 13,037 whites, 39,540 colored, a total of 52,577 and in increase of 13,298 over the year 1890
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