50 YEARS
BEFORE MISSISSIPPI'S RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION
1776
JULY
4, INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
1779
-
Spanish settled in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi.
1795
-
Mississippi's first cotton gin built in Natchez, with the help of master mechanic slave John Barclay.
1798
-
American control in Mississippi (Adams County area) began,
after evacuation of the Spaniards.
- Natchez became the first capital
of the Mississippi Territory.
- April 7, Mississippi Territory
created by the U.S. Congress.
- May 7, Winthrop Sargent, appointed
governor of Mississippi(1798-May 25, 1801)
1799
-
April 2, Adams County in Mississippi created by Governor
Winthrop Sargent, the area originally known as Natchez District.
Natchez Native Americans occupied the region many generations,
before European settlers appeared, today's seat Natchez.
Cities & Towns : Church
Hill, Natchez, Sibley, Washington.
- The Natchez Gazette, established
by B.M. Stoke and published by A. Marschalk, was the first
newspaper in Adams County and in the Mississippi state.
- Jefferson County established
in Mississippi, seat Fayette.
1800
-
Mississippi population, 7,600 residents.
1801
- The Natchez Trace, a 460-mile
trail, became a post-mail route from Natchez, Mississippi
to Nashville(TN).
- May 25, William Charles Coles
Claiborne, appointed governor of Mississippi (1801-March
1, 1805).
1802
- Claiborne County established
in Mississippi, seat Port Gibson.
- Natchez, the first Mississippi
Territorial capital, was replaced by Washington.
- Wilkinson County established
in Mississippi, seat Woodville.
1803
LOUISIANA PURCHASE
-
Jefferson
College founded in Washington, Adams County, Mississippi.
1805
- Settlers arrived in the Amity
County area (at that time part of Wilkinson County) in
Mississippi.
- Choctaw Native Americans ceded
part of their land in Mississippi.
- March 1, Robert Williams,
appointed governor of Mississippi (1805-March 7, 1809).
1809
- Franklin County established in
Mississippi, seat Meadville.
- Warren County established in
Mississippi, seat Vicksburg.
- Wayne County established in Mississippi,
seat Waynesboro.
- February 24, Amite County created
in Mississippi, county seat Liberty.
- March 7, David Holmes, appointed
governor of Mississippi (1809-January 5, 1820).
1810
-
Mississippi population, 31,306 residents.
1811
- George County established in
Mississippi, seat Lucedale.
- Greene County established in
Mississippi, seat Leakesville.
- Marion County established in
Mississippi, seat Columbia.
1812
- Clarke County established in
Mississippi, seat Quitman.
- Hancock County established in
Mississippi, seat Bay Saint Louis.
- Jackson County established in
Mississippi, seat Pascagoula.
- The 'Republican' weekly published
by Ludwick Hall at Liberty in Amity County, Mississippi.
1814
- The Battle of Pass Christian,
a naval engagement against the British in the Bay Saint
Louis, Hancock County, Mississippi.
- Lawrence County established in
Mississippi, seat Monticello.
- September 3, Amite Court House
(Elysian Fields) Post Office established in Amity County,
Mississippi.
1815
-
Pike County established in Mississippi, seat Magnolia.
1816
-
Over 800 families lived in Amite County, Mississippi.
1817
- Columbus (first Possum Town),
settled as a trading post on the Tombigbee River, seat
of Lowndes County in Mississippi. Coordinates 33°15'N-89°56'W.
- Natchez
appointed the first capital of the Mississippi state.
- March, the Mississippi Territory
was divided into the Alabama Territory and a part that
was admitted to the Union, near the end of same year.
December
10, Mississippi MS admitted
to the Union.
Mississippi
Today
: Capital Jackson,
area 48,434 sq.mi.(12(.444km²), 32nd largest state.
Counties 82 :
Adams, Alcorn, Amite, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun,
Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Clay,
Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest, Franklin,
George, Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes,
Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson,
Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale,
Lawrence, Leake,Lee, Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes,
Madison, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba,
Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pearl River, Perry,
Pike, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey,
Simpson, Smith, Stone, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate,
Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Walthall, Warren, Washington,
Wayne, Webster, Wilkinson, Winston, Yalobusha, Yazoo.
Attractions & Recreation
: Arkabutla Lake, Brices Cross Roads National
Battlefield Site, Cold Water River National Wildlife Refuge,
Dahomey National Wildlife Refuge, Enid Lake, Grand Bay
National Wildlife Refuge, Grand Bay Reserve, Grenada Lake,
Hillside National Wildlife Refuge, Mathews Brake National
Wildlife Refuge,
1818
-
Brookhaven settled by Samuel and Brewster Jayne, in Lincoln
County, Mississippi. County seat, coordinates 31°35'N-90°26'W.
1819
- Covington County established
in Mississippi, seat Collins.
- Greenville (former Old Greenville),
appointed seat of Washington County in Mississippi. Coordinates
33°25'N-91°05'W. Named for Revolutionary War general
Nathanael Greene.
1820
- Mississippi population, 75,448
residents.
- The Choctaw Native American
tribe, ceded 5,000,000 acres of land in Mississippi to
the U.S. and were forced to move to present Oklahoma.
- Perry County established
in Mississippi, seat New Augusta.
- January 5, George Poindexter,
appointed governor of Mississippi (1820-January 7, 1822).
1821
-
Columbia, served three months as Mississippi state capital,
seat of Marion County on the Pearl River. Coordinates 31°15'N-89°56'W.
- Columbus, incorporated as town
in Lowndes County, Mississippi.
- Franklin Academy, established
in Columbus, Lowndes County, oldest free public school
in Mississippi.
- Hinds County established in Mississippi,
seat Jackson.
- Monroe County established in
Mississippi, seat Aberdeen.
1822
-
The steamboot 'Cotton Plant' first docked in port of entry
Columbus, in Lowndes County, Mississippi.
- Mississippi's State capital in
Washington (MS), moved to Jackson.
- January 7, Walter Leake, appointed
governor of Mississippi (1822-November 17, 1825).
1823
- Copiah County established in
Mississippi, seat Hazlehurst.
- Yazoo County established in Mississippi,
seat Yazoo City.
1824
- Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield,
born in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi. First African-American
concert singer.
- Simpson County established in
Mississippi, seat Mendenhall.
1825
- The Foster-Smith log cabin, builyt
in Copia County, Mississippi.
- November 17, Gerard Chittocque
Brandon, appointed acting governor of Mississippi (1825-1826).
1826
- Jones County established in Mississippi,
seat Laurel.
- January 7, David Holmes, appointed
second-term governor of Mississippi (1826-July 25, 1826).
- July 25, Gerard Chittocque Brandon,
appointed second-term governor of Mississippi (1826-January
9, 1832).
1827
- Washington County established
in Mississippi, seat Greenville.
- Greenville, appointed seat of
Washington County in Mississippi. Coordinates 33°25'N-91°N-05'W.
1828
- Liberty incorporated, seat of
Amite County in Mississippi.
- Madison County established in
Mississippi, seat Canton.
- Rankin County established in
Mississippi, seat Brandon.
1830
- Mississippi population, 136,621
residents.
- The Choctaw Native Americans,
signed the fraudulent Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek,
relinquishing their lands in a part of Mississippi.
- Lowndes County established in
Mississippi, seat Columbus.
- Oakland College founded by Jeremiah
Chamberlin in Mississippi.
- Rose Hill Baptist Church founded
in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi.
1832
- Chickasaw Native Americans land
cession in Mississippi.
- January 9, Abram Marshall Scott,
appointed governor of Mississippi (1832-July 12, 1833).
1833
- Carroll County established in
Mississippi, seat Carrollton.
- Choctaw County established in
Mississippi, seat Ackerman.
- Holmes County established in
Mississippi, seat Lexington.
- Jasper County established in
Mississippi, seat Bay Springs.
- Kemper County established in
Mississippi, seat De Kalb.
- Lauderdale County established
in Mississippi, seat Meridian.
- Leake County established in Mississippi,
seat Carthage.
- Neshoba County established in
Mississippi, seat Philadelphia.
- Noxubee County established in
Mississippi, seat Macon.
- Oktobbeha County established
in Mississippi, seat Starkville.
- Scott County established in Mississippi,
seat Forest.
- Smith County established in Mississippi,
seat Raleigh.
- Tallahatchie County established
in Mississippi, seat Charleston.
- Winston County established in
Mississippi, seat Louisville.
- Yalobusha County in Mississippi,
organized, seat Water Valley.
- July 12, Charles Lynch, appointed
acting governor of Mississippi (1833-November 20, 1833).
- November 20, Hiram George Runnels,
appointed governor of Mississippi (1833-December , 1835).
- December 23, Attala County created
in Mississippi. County seat Kosciusko.
1834
-
Canton established, seat of Madison County, Mississippi.
Coordinates 32°37'N-90°02'W. Attractions
& Recreation : Mississippi Petrified Forest,
Natchez Trace Parkway, Ross Barnett Reservoir.
1835
-
December 3, John Anthony Quitman, appointed acting governor
of Mississippi (1835-January 7, 1836).
1836
- Canton incorporated
as town in Madison County, Mississippi.
- Coahoma County established
in Mississippi, seat Clarksdale.
- DeSoto County established
in Mississippi, seat Hernando.
- Itawamba County established
in Mississippi, seat Fulton.
- Lafayette County in Mississippi
organized, seat Oxford
- Marshall County established in
Mississippi, seat Holly Springs.
- Newton County established in
Mississippi, seat Decatur.
- Panola County established in
Mississippi, seat Batesville.
- Pontotoc County established in
Mississippi, seat Pontotoc
- Tippah Countyestablished in Mississippi,
seat Ripley.
- Tishomingo County in Mississippi,
formed out of lands of the Chickasaw Cession, seat Iuka.
- Tunica County established in
Mississippi, seat Tunica.
- January 7, Charles Lynch, appointed
second-term governor of Mississippi (1836-January 8, 1838).
- February 9, Bolivar County established
by the Mississippi Legislature. Named for the South American
Liberator Simon Bolivar. County seat Cleveland.
- February 9, Chickasaw County
established in Mississippi. Named for the Chickasaw Native
Americans. County seat Houston.
1837
-
Oxford incorporated, seat of Lafayette County in Mississippi.
1838
- January 8, Alexander Gallatin
McNutt, appointed governor of Mississippi (1838-January
10, 1842).
- March 8, Stephen Decatur Miller,
died in Raymond, Mississippi. Lawyer and South Carolina
governor (1828-1830).
- July 1, Andrew Pickens died in
Pontotock, Mississippi. South Carolina governor (1816-1818).
1840
-
Mississippi population, 375,651 residents.
1841
- Courthouse built in Amite County,
Mississippi.
- The first Courthouse of Boilvar
County in Mississippi erected.
- Harrison County established in
Mississippi, seat Gulfport.
1842
-
January 10, Tilgham Mayfield Tucker, appointed governor
of Mississippi (1842-January 10, 1844).
1844
- Issaquena County established
in Misssissippi, seat Mayersville.
- Sunflower County established
in Mississippi, seat Indianola.
- January 10, Albert Gallatin Brown,
appointed governor of Mississippi (1844-January 10, 1848).
1848
- University of Mississippi 'Ole
Miss' established near the City of Oxford, seat of Lafayette
County, Mississippi.
- January 10, Joseph W. Matthews,
appointed governor of Mississippi (1848-January 10, 1850).
1849
-
Clarksdale, settled by John Clark on an Native American
fortification site on the Sunflower River, seat of Coahoma
County in Mississippi. Coordinates 34°12'N-90°34'W.
Attractions & Recreation :U.S. De Soto Exposition
1850
- Mississippi population, 606,526
residents.
- January 10, John Anthony Quitman,
appointed second-term governor of Mississippi (1850-February
3, 1851).
1851
- February 3, John Isaac Guion,
appointed acting governor of Mississippi (1851-November
24, 1851).
- November 24, James Whitfield,
appointed acting governor of Mississippi (1851-January
10, 1852).
1852
- Calhoun County established in
Mississippi, seat Pittsboro.
- January 10, Henry Stuart Foote,
appointed governor of Mississippi (1852-January 5, 1854).
1854
- January 5, John Jones Pettus,
appointed acting governor of Mississippi (1854-January
10, 1854).
- January 10, John J. McRae, appointed
governor of Mississippi (1854-November 16, 1857).
1855
-
New York on the Mississippi River, purchased by the Iowa
Land Company and renamed Clinton, seat of Clinton County
in Mississippi. Coordinates 41°51'N-90°12'W.
- Cross City(Corinth), founded
and incorporated in Alcorn County, Mississippi. Coordinates
34°56'N-88°31'W.
1857
-
Christ Episcopal Church built in Churchill Hill, Adams County,
Mississippi, the gothic style church is on the National
Register of Historic Places.
- Cross City renamed Corinth, located
in Alcorn County, Mississippi.
- November 16, William McWillie,
appointed governor of Mississippi (1857-November 21, 1859).
1858
- Arrival of the railroad in Brookhaven,
Lincoln County, Mississippi.
- Bay Saint Louis, unofficially
incorporated as Shieldsborough in Hancock County, Mississippi.
- Whitworth Junior College founded
in Brookhaven, Lincoln County, Mississippi.
1859
- Clinton, incorporated in Clinton
County, Mississippi.
- November 21, John Jones Pettus,
appointed second-term governor of Mississippi (1859-November
16, 1863).
1860
- Mississippi population, 791,305
residents.
- Bay Saint Louis,
appointed seat of Hancock County in Mississippi.
- Brookhaven incorporated, Lincoln
County, Mississippi.
1861
APRIL
- BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR
1862
Civil
War period
- October 3/4 -
Battle of Corinth in Alcorn County, Mississippi. Federal
troops under command of General W.S. Rosecrans defeated
Confederate troops under command of E. Van Dorn.
1863
Civil War period
- November 16,
Charles Clark, appointed governor of Mississippi (1863-June
13, 1865).
1864
Civil War period
- Battle of Brice's Cross Roads
in Mississippi, Confederate troops defeated U.S. Federal
troops.
- Bethel African Methodist Episcopal
church established in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
1865
MAY - ENDING
OF THE CIVIL WAR
- June
13, William Lewis Sharkey, appointed acting governor
of Mississippi (1865-October 16, 1865).
- October
16, Benjamin Grubb Humphreys, appointed governor of
Mississippi (1865-June 15, 1868).
1866
- Lee County established in Mississippi,
seat Tupelo.
- April 25, Confederate Decoration
Day, originated at Friendship Cemetery in Columbus, Lowndes
County, Mississippi.
1867
- African-Americans
allowed to vote for the first time in Mississippi.
50 YEARS
AFTER MISSISSIPPI'S RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION
MS
CELEBRITIES
& FAMOUS PEOPLE
1935
- January 8,Elvis
Aaron Presley 'The King', born in
Tupelo, Lee County, Mississippi, died August 1977. Singer,
musician, actor