History ~ Lowndes County, MS

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		submitted by Clare Leinert-Sallee <clareh@en.com>

Lowndes County began developing long before Mississippi became a state 
on December 10, 1817. The years before statehood through the treaty 
years were times of great change. It is entirely possible that one of
your earliest ancestors was born in Georgia, lived in Alabama, and 
died in Mississippi  - without having moved even a foot from his
birthplace.

It was the incorporation of Columbus, the county seat, in 1821 that
officially marked Lowndes County's existence. Since Columbus was the
social, economic, political, and legal center of the county, it was the
hub around which all else revolved.

However, Columbus has a very colorful history separate and apart from
that which is associated with the antebellum (pre-Civil War) era.  As
early as 1540, Hernando DeSoto crossed the Tombigbee River near Columbus.
He led his followers through a pathless wilderness which began in Florida
and extended northwestward.  The only evidence of human habitation were
the silent traces of Indians, predominantly of the Choctaw tribe.  Tales
of his exploits brought other European explorers and settlers to
Mississippi.

The early settlers to Columbus were devout and God-fearing.  They 
constructed magnificent churches and attracted many well-known 
evangelists.

During the Civil War, Columbus was NOT a prime military target.  It
served as a hospital center, an arsenal, a major food producing center,
and briefly, the state capital.  Though it made a viable contribution to
the war effort, the town was never invaded by Federal troops.

After the war, lifestyles were drastically altered, but the magnificent
homes remained -and the spirit of the people endured.  The new priority
was "toward the future", through youth and education and rebuilding of a
once-again prosperous economy.

* Lowndes County was created by an act of January 30, 1830, from the
southern part of Monroe County. Its creation technically violated the
constitutional provision as to the minimum size of counties, but original
territory in the Choctaw Cession of 1830 and in the Chickasaw Cession of
1832 was added to it by the act of December 23, 1833.

Lowndes County, with Columbus as its star, has had a rich and varied
history. It boasts the first free, public school in the state of 
Mississippi and the oldest state supported college for women in the 
United States. During the Civil War, Columbus served as the state capital
after Jackson was captured and burned to the ground.

The men of Lowndes County have answered the call to arms in every 
conflict since before the War of 1812.  On that fateful day in 1861, 
Stephen D. Lee was in charge of the Confederate cannonade which fired the
first shot on Fort Sumter to officially start the Civil War. It was one 
of our own that delivered munitions to Teddy Roosevelt as he prepared to 
take San Juan hill. One of our boys helped to raised the flag at Iwo Jima
- captured for posterity in that immortal photograph; and one of our 
boys was a crew member of the Enola Gay - the plane that carried the bomb
to end WW11.

It was here in 1866 at Friendship Cemetery that the very first Decoration
day was observed when local ladies put flowers from their gardens on the
graves of fallen soldiers from both sides. It is a proud and heart-felt
tradition which continues today.

Due in great part to the "W" (MUW = Mississippi University for Women),
many noted people have resided, at least for a time, in Lowndes County - 
among them Eudora Welty. But by far, Lowndes' most famous native son is 
Tennessee Williams born here in March of 1911. His birthplace, formerly
the Episcopalian parsonage, has been restored and relocated and now
serves as our Welcome Center.

While Columbus is the county seat and the largest incorporated area in
Lowndes, it is certainly not the only area.

Caledonia, Artesia, New Hope, Steens, Kolola Springs, Woodlawn, Lone Oak,
Black Creek, Rural Hill, Mt. Vernon, McCrary, Dunbar, Forreston, Old 
Macon Road, McIntyre, Bent Oak, South Prairie, Billups Gate, Mayhew, 
North Prairie, Waverly, Penn Station, Crawford, Plum Grove, and Plum 
Nellie are names that designate specific sections of our county - even 
if some are only familiar to our older residents. Some of the founding 
towns are completely gone now; among them are Plymouth, Moore's Bluff, 
Union Bluff, West Port, Nashville, Cork (aka Whiskey Town), and 
Plantersville.