Transcribed by RaNae Vaughn from the Vidette (Iuka, Miss.) dated November 7, 1929
New Tishomingo County

Excerpted by RaNae Vaughn from W. R. Nettles’ Tishomingo County Agricultural High School: A History.

In 1870, Tishomingo County was divided into Prentiss, Alcorn, and Tishomingo. Prentiss County had a population of 9,348, and Alcorn County had a population of 10,431 in 1870. The new Tishomingo County was the smallest one of the three with a
population of 7,350. There were 1,095 people in Tishomingo County that was 21 years of age or older, and 790 people were registered to vote within the County.

Burnsville, Eastport, and Iuka were the largest towns in the new County. Burnsville, in the northwest, had its origin about 1832. It was located on the Iuka to Corinth stage route and later (1857-1858) became a major stop on the Memphis-Charleston Railway (Southern—1900). The population of Burnsville was 240 in 1880.

Iuka in the northeast section of the County began about 1844 as a settlement with the sale of a large block of land by Chief Iuka to David Hubbard and his son. Iuka was incorporated in 1857 which was the year for the Memphis-Charleston Railway. It was a main terminal for the Iuka-Jacinto road and the Iuka-Corinth Stage Line. After the Civil War years (1861-1865), many of the prominent citizens of Eastport moved to Iuka; Eastport had lost its status as a business hub. By the 1870s, Iuka was a thriving and growing community with its well-known Mineral Springs. Iuka became the County seat of government for the newly designated Tishomingo County. The population in 1880 for Iuka was 845.

The Illinois Central Railroad, completed in 1907-1908, running from Memphis to Birmingham, became the catalyst for growth for the many settlements along its route. In Tishomingo County, these settlements included Holcut, Paden, Tishomingo, Dennis, Belmont, and Golden.

In the early 1900s, the primary roads followed the stage lines and a few commercial routes between the incorporated towns. In bad weather, progress was slow due to soft road beds of dirt and very little gravel. The many streams caused extensive flooding often making travel impossible. Oxen were used for heavy loads but were slowly being replaced by mules and horses. The automobile had not arrived by this time.

There were many secondary roads in the new Tishomingo County that mostly followed the older Indian trails which crossed the area. These trails and roads attracted the settlements of people seeking permanent homes. Many settlements have simply changed in importance by passage of time. A few of these included Bay Springs (on Mackey’s Creek—seven miles west of Dennis), Burnt Mills (near Paden), Carter’s Branch and Petertown (east of Tishomingo near the Alabama State line), Cole’s Mill (10 miles north of Iuka), Cook’s Landing (Tennessee River port), Cripple Deer (northeast of Tishomingo), Eastport (Tennessee River port), Gravel Siding and Tipple (three miles southeast of Iuka), Gray Town (12 miles north of Burnsville), Gum Springs (near Belmont), Highland (two miles southeast of Tishomingo), Holcut (west central part of County), Holt Spur (five miles south of Burnsville), Jackson’s Camp (near Tishomingo and Paden), Leedy (five miles south of Burnsville), Lindsey (near Dennis), Memora (near Golden), Mingo (east of Tishomingo), Neil (two miles south of Tishomingo), Old Cairo (six miles south of Holcut), Oldham (five miles east of Iuka), Piney Flats (15 miles north of Iuka), Pittsburg (two miles north of Belmont), and Short (nine miles north of Iuka).