Courthouse in Charleston, MS

Other Places in

Tallahatchie County

Mississippi

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Hiram located about one mile from Stover. The first land was purchased by J.D. McLemore and he was followed by other settlers in 1854. There is very little history of this place until 1905 when the Y & MV Railroad established a freight station there and called it Hiram. Hiram became extinct in 1920's when the timber activity ceased in the area.

Hitt Spur was only a flag station, and was located four miles east of Parchman. The station was located on the Blue Goose Branch of the Y& MV Railroad. It was established in 1905 and was named for Captain Hitt of Winona who owned land there. The railroad line was discontinued about 1928 and Hitt Spur became extinct.

Hugo was established in 1905 and was located seven miles southwest of Charleston. It never amounted to more than a flag station. It is unknown how it got its name, but prior to 1905 it was known as Stump Valley.

Samuel Foster settled about one-half mile north of the present location prior to 1830. The site was located seven miles south of Charleston. Mr. Foster started a farm and in 1832 made the first crop of record in what is now Tallahatchie County.

Richard Leverett,an African American purchased the land in 1864 and for many years he increased his holdings. He made a deed of gift to Monroe and Warren Leverett in 1871. The parcel of land was located about where the old site of Leverett was located. Prior to 1891 a voting precinct and a post office was established, and called Leverett for Monroe Leverett who owned the land at that time. The Leverett post office was abolished in 1910.

A new road was built in the 1930's, and the town site was moved a mile east leaving only a cotton gin and a few houses on the site.

Locopolis, located ten miles west of Charleston was established as a shipping point prior to 1830. It got it's name from two words, Loco and Polis, which meant Place for a City.

A turnpike was built in 1839, and in 1852 a railroad from Charleston was chartered. The site was inconvenient as a shipping point because of frequent flooding, and by 1859 it was extinct. After 1860 it was known as Denman for a local family.

Macel was located on the banks of Tippo Bayou seven miles east of Charleston. It was named for Macel Willingham, the daughter of the man who owned the land when the town was built. Prior to the arrival of the railroad Macel was an isolated section consisting of heavily timbered land. The railroad opened avenues of business when the timber was cut and shipped. After the timber was cut and sold the settlers turned to farming as additional acreage was opened for cultivation.

The government first surveyed the land for the township in 1841. Land sales were made from 1853 until 1856. The first settlers to purchase land were, E.S. Watson, Nelson Evans, O.M. Coswick, Henry Thomas and  C. Ledbetter.

Mehr was located two miles south of Macel and was founded about 1890 when the Delta Cooperage Company built a logging road from Philipp to Mehr where a sawmill was in operation. The Philipp branch of the Y& MV opened a station and called it Mehr for the station agent. The station was discontinued and Mehr became extinct in 1938.

In 1915 H.J. Jennings Company purchased this property which was located four miles northeast of Sumner. It was named midway because it was midway between two other plantations; Silent Shade and West End. These were also owned by Jennings Company. Midway was used as headquarters for the three plantations.

Cassidy Bayou runs between Midway and Silent Shade and until 1935 the land was covered with flood waters. In 1933 the levee was blown out at Shute Bridge, eight miles south of Sumner and gave an outlet for flood waters. Since then flooding has ceased.

Mike Omar founded Mikoma five miles east of Webb in 1906. The place was a flag station at one time and was first called Omar, but later it became as Mikoma.

Mitchner located five miles northeast of Sumner came into being in 1915 when a man by the name of F.M. Mitchner purchased the land from the Albert Johnson Estate. He built a gin and the Y& amp:MV Railroad ran a spur line to the gin.

In 1833 Murphreesboro was known as New Hope. The site is seven miles northeast of Charleston. A post office was established in 1895 and named Murphreesboro for a local family named Murphree. The post office was discontinued in 1915 and the place became extinct.
Edmond Rose purchased the first land in Tallahatchie County in 1832. It was located three miles east of here.

The settlement date of Needmore is unknown. It is known that it was a thriving settlement in 1879. It is said that the place got its name because the village officials were always making statements that they would need more money to make the place a town. Needmore was located twelve miles southwest of Charleston, and obviously they did not get it , because it did not make it.

Paynes is located five miles south of Charleston. The settlement dates back to 1830 when Robert Turnbull, an Indian, settled there, built his residence, and cleared a farm. In 1833 Turnbull sold John H. Page half a section of land. The sale was not consummated until 1838. Page took possession of the land in 1833 and by 1834 a settlement had developed. Page's home was designated as the center and as one of the places for holding the first election in the county. It was called Page's on Sculmore.

In 1835 the settlement was called Dogwood Flats and was designated a voting precinct. Between the years of 1836 and 1843 Dogwood Flats almost became the county seat.

In the early 1870's the settlement became known as Paynes for Dr. George Paynes. In 1878 the place was almost wiped out by the yellow fever epidemic.

Located six miles southwest of Macel, Philipp is situated in the neck of the bend on the south side of the Tallahatchie River. It is only two miles across the neck to the river again. In this bend is a large acreage of land. J.L. Townes bought and developed five plantations; Beulah, Moss, Palo, Alto, The Bend and Omega.

In the late 1880's representatives of the Schlitz Brewing Company of Milwaukee Wisconsin were in search of fine long staves for building casks that were to be shipped to France. They found the wood they needed in the forest where Philipp now stands. They organized the Delta Cooperage Co., put in mills and laid the first railroad as a logging road in the woods near there in 1888. The Y& MV Railroad was built through there in 1888-1890. The site was made a station and the Wisconsin people named it for their Governor.

As late as the 1900, show boats came up and down the river as far as Philipp, furnishing the most popular entertainment available anywhere along the river.

Rabbit Ridge located nine miles southeast of Sumner.

Located thirteen miles southeast of Charleston. This site was one of the earliest neighborhoods in the county and played its part in organization and formation of the county. As soon as the land was opened for sale in 1833 settlers came into the area and at one time it was considered a very aristocratic community with many comfortable homes.

The first settlers were R.W. Anderson, E.M. Driver, Thomas Ellis, Seth and Sam Marsh and A.S. Campbell.. In 1834 and 1836 the Ross, Phillips, Richards and Williamson families came. Rosebloom was named for the abundance of Cherokee Roses which grew wild in the vicinity.

This land located three miles northeast of Swan Lake was purchased form the government by the Scott, Hogan and Miller families in 1836. The recorded history of the place began with the building of the home of Greenwood LeFlore Sharkey between 1834 and 1836.

The first government survey was made of this section in 1839. There were no sales recorded for several years. In 1852 William Dyre bought land near here and in 1853 R.E. Orne purchased property. These are the only original entries recorded. There is no record of any settlement here in earlier years

In 1905-1907 a branch of the Y& MV Railroad was extended from Swan Lake to Lambert, passing through Stover. For some years the timber business kept money flowing freely. Everything slowed down in 1915 when all the timber had been cut. The post office was moved to Brazil in 1915, but retained the name of Stover. In 1924 the school was abandoned and the children were furnished transportation to Brazil. The freight depot remained to be maintained at Stover.

Eli Staton established Strathmore in 1851. He purchased several thousand acres of land, built a home, a church and operated his own steamboat landing. He called all of it Strathmore. It is located one-half miles east of Swan Lake.

Sturtivant is located two miles west of Glendora. The first government survey was made in 1836. The land was first offered for sale in 1842. The first settlers to purchase land were, J.l. Boyd, A.W. Ayres, and G.H. Brown. Sometimes after 1860.Captain Sturtivant bought land and established a plantation called Due West.

Swan Lake is located four miles south of Webb. The survey of this township was made in 1836. John Rogers purchased the first parcel of land about one mile north of Swan Lake. The settlement of Swan Lake had its beginning in 1851 when Eli Staton purchased the section of land on which the settlement is now located. In 1891 a post office was secured.

Tandy was settled by Charles Scharff, C.P. Young, and William Bidley who came there in 1836. It is located eight miles southwest of Charleston. The place seems to have been no more than a clearing until the opening of the Philipp-Charleston Branch of the railroad in 1906 to serve the surrounding stave mills. The origin of the name is unknown, however with the decline of the stave industry the place became extinct by 1930.

Tatum was located on the Grenada-Tallahatchie County line about eight miles northwest of Grenada. S.T. Tatum owned a plantation there and set up a store, and secured a post office about 1890. A few years later Squire Powell operated a store there. At one time a cotton gin, and several sawmills were located in the area. At its zenith there were only ten or more people living there. Around 1900 S.T. Tatum moved away, and the post office was discontinued.

Teasdale was established prior to 1864 and was named for Dr. Teasdale, a physician in the area. It is located ten miles southeast of Charleston. In 1832 Lee Horn brought his family from North Carolina and settled in the hills near what is now Teasdale. Prior to the Civil War Billy Booth operated a store there and John Patterson lived near Booth's store.

Tippo, located nine miles southwest of Charleston, was surveyed in 1833. Three men, Body, Skinner and Crawford purchased land here in 1836, but there was not much of a settlement there for several years. By 1866 the population had grown enough to require the designation of a new Supervisor's Beat. This beat was called the River Beat and the east boundaries was described as "Up Tippo Bayou to Ittilatoba Creek, and down that creek to the Tallahatchie River and up the Tallahatchie to the county line." It was said that the roads were so bad from this Beat to Charleston that it took a whole day on a horse or mule to make the trip one way. No one wanted the Supervisors job for this beat, but finally Green London, a negro, took it and remained on the Board of Supervisors for many years.

In 1899 Tom Tutwiler, a Civil Engineer for the railroad made his headquarters seven miles northeast of Sumner. The town of Tutwiler was founded and named for him. When the railroad was built the first depot erected was a two story building and the town was given the top floor for a school. Captain H.B. Fitch built and operated the first store. His wife took charge of the school, which begun with five pupils.

In 1905 the town was incorporated and W.E. Fite was Mayor and J.O. Clay as depot agent. In 1900 the Illinois Central Railroad, running from Yazoo City to Lambert, crossed at Tutwiler where the company built a railroad yard.

In 1928 a high school was built at a cost of $40,000. The town grew rapidly until 1929 when the railroad yard was moved to Clarksdale. At that time the population and business began to decline. The population in 1929 before the railroad yard was moved was 1,010 people.

Webb is located two miles southeast of Sumner, and was founded about 1880. The first post office was founded in 1880 and named Hood for one of the earlier settlers. In 1882 Judge J.L. Webb operated the only store there and later the Hood Masonic Lodge was built. There was one saloon at that time called the Razzle Dazzle.

In those days most of the groceries and necessities were brought to Hood by flat bottom boat from Sharkey, being hauled down the river from Friars Point. Cassidy Bayou was navigable then and was maintained by the government from Sharkey to Hood.

Cassidy Bayou was suppose to have a ghost which was said to have appeared at the home of Boon Jenkins, a farmer. Mr. Jenkins lived one mile north of Sumner. It was said that each appearance was accompanied by weird voices and shriek of a woman. People who followed the voices said it led to the bayou, and in some instances to the Indian Mounds in the vicinity. The mystery of Cassidy Bayou's Ghost has never been solved.

Located one mile north of Glendora, the name origin is uncertain, but it had been settled by 1846 and later became a plantation flag stop. It appeared the place served as a railroad stop for the Sturtivant Plantation, but the station has become extinct by 1936.

Updater: This page was last updated Friday, 24-Oct-2003 14:00:37 MDT