Chunky

Located six miles east of Hickory, was formerly a Choctaw Indian village called Chanki Chitto, meaning "Big Chunky." The name comes from an old Indian game of Chunka which was played at nearby Chunky Shoals.

Chunky was the southernmost town of the Choctaws which was visited by Tecumseh in 1811. The Jackson Military Road passed through Chunky in 1816, and the A&V Railroad made a connection on the east side of Chunky in 1861.

In the early 1890s, the lumber industry was active in and around Chunky, with sawmills, a turpentine still, barrel factory, and a large cotton gin being operated there. With the advent of better roads and due to the lack of cotton in the immediate vicinity, the gin was sold and moved to Hickory about 1905.

In April 1900, there was a disastrous flood which overflowed Chunky River and the adjacent creeks. The flood washed out the railroad bridge, complete sections of track, and Chunky was without communication with the outside world for ten days.

Located thirteen miles southwest of Union, Conehatta was an Indian village long before Mississippi was settled by the white man. It has colorful early history and was considered a leading town until it suffered two disastrous fires in 1883 and 1893.

By 1830, the place was thickly settled, with most of its pioneers coming from Alabama and Georgia. The Indians liked the whites, and were slow in moving out of the community. Even after the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, many of them stayed in the vicinity.

Dr. J. B. Bailey, one of the most progressive citizens of Conehatta, helped organize the Grange, which was among the first cooperative farm organizations in Mississippi.

Decatur, which is Newton County's seat, is located almost in the exact center of the county, which is the only Mississippi county in the form of a square.

The town was named for Stephen Decatur.

Decatur is the home of East Cemtral Community College, as well as the Newton County Public Schools and Newton County Academy.

This region, twenty miles northeast of Meridian, was settled by people of the Baptist faith. They built Liberty Baptist Church, which became the center of the little community. Toward the end of the century, a lumber road found its way through the timber to Tallahatta Creek about two miles southeast of Duffee. Then shortly before 1906, the railroad was built through the village, and the place was named for the surveyor for the railroad.

The first railroad was a log road operated by the Buckwalter Lumber Company of Union. In 1916, the G M & N Railroad took over the old Meridian & Memphis Railroad and started operating regular train service.

A post office was established, and for several years the community was fairly prosperous; however, during the depression a number of people moved away. The establishment of the Columbus Planing Mill Company in 1939 revived the life of Duffee.

Located nine miles southeast of Decatur, Hickory was named by A. E. Gray for "Old Hickory," General Andrew Jackson, because it was on this site that General Jackson camped with his army on the march from New Orleans on January 8, 1814.

In 1869, an African American, William Woodward (who was formerly owned by a minister named Woodward) held office on the Police Board during carpetbagger rule. Willie Donald, also an African American, held office in 1870.

The first Rural Free Delivery Mail Route south of the Mason-Dixon Line was established in 1901, and extended north from Hickory to Chapel Hill, a distance of twelve miles. Marcus McMullan of Chapel Hill was appointed mail carrier. The route was secured through the efforts of H. C. McMullan, a personal friend of Congressman John Sharp Williams, to whom McMullan appealed for the establishment of the route by setting forth the advantages of R.F.D.

From Brown's History of Newton County, pp. 352-253: "The town of Lawrence is one of the most suitable places for a town in the county. A fine country surrounds it, fine water and a beautiful level situation. It was laid out and owned by R.E. Wilson, who had large mill interests near the place. It was settled in 1866. It has never had a large trade. Messrs. Andrew Jones, J. A. McCain, R. E. Wilson, Daniel McFarland, and William Dennis were among its first settlers. Then came Mr. E. T. Beattie, who became a prominent citizen of the place, as depot agent, merchant and postmaster. J. Z. Jones and W. H. Sisson were also merchants, Mr. Sisson died of yellow fever at Lawrence; contracted it, no doubt, from opening clothing brought from infected cities. Mr. Jones still remains as one of the principal merchants and farmers. Yellow fever had quite a hold on the citizens of Lawrence in the epidemic of 1878; about nineteen cases and several deaths occurred. Yet most of the citizens left the place.

Lawrence has two churches--- the Presbyterian, with L. D. Barr pastor, and the Methodist with Rev. Mr. Witt, pastor. The Methodist church is new and stylish; it was completed in 1893.

J. Z. Jones and Threefoot Bros. have stores at Lawrence; so has Hunnicut & Bunyard, a new firm from Alabama. A steam saw mill and steam gin and grist mill are also in the place. Dr. F. B. Nimocks, a sucessful and well qualified physician, enjoys the confidence and practice of that community. J. A. McCain, a large land owner and farmer, has one of the finest peach and apple and pear orchards at Lawrence any where to be found. Mr. McCain has the most excellent variety of fruits, with the best method of treating trees to insure crops and prevent destruction from worms, with the most improved methods of shipping fruit to insure safe delivery, of any one in the county. Mr. E. D. Beatie is also a good fruit man, having a larger orchard of pears, fine apples and strawberries, and more grapes than any other one man in the county."

As the largest town in Newton County, Newton was founded in the mid-19th century as a stop for the stagecoach line. With the coming of the railroad in 1861 and the soon-to-follow Civil War, Newton grew into a major Mississippi Confederate medical center.

The Newton Station Depot, originally built in 1860, was the site of Grierson's Raid and the station's burning on April 24, 1863. The present building was built in 1905. Restored, the depot reopened on October 3, 1992 to house the Newton Chamber of Commerce, meeting rooms, and a coffee shop. Newton Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Mississippi Landmark. (Chamber of Commerce - (601)683-2201.)

Newton derives its name from Newton Doolittle, son of the community's founder, Roger Doolittle. (The county of Newton is named for Sir Isaac Newton, the English philosopher and mathmatician.)

Also named for the Doolittle family is the Doolittle Confederate Cemetery. At the height of the Civil War, 100 wooden crosses stood bearing the names of the soldiers buried beneath. In 1863, more than 1,000 soldiers were brought to Newton for medical attention. Of these, 100 died. There was no public cemetery or other burial facility in the community. The Doolittle family gave permission for those Confederate soldiers to be buried in their family burial ground. Time took its toll and 31 years later the crosses had rotted, erasing all identity of the Confederates buried there. Today, on these graves, small stone markers reading UNKNOWN CONFEDERATE honor their lives and beliefs in a cause they found worth dying for.

Newton preserves the past down beautiful Church Street. Listed in the U.S. Register of Historic Places, Church Street is lined with examples of early 20th century architecture. Also listed in the U.S. Register of Historic Places is the Newton Presbyterian Church and the Newton City Hall building.

From Brown's History of Newton County, pp. 332-333: "The name of Pinkney dates as far back in the history of Newton county as any other name in it. It is not know from what the town derived its name; the probabilities are it was settled as early as 1837--- probably earlier--- and was a place of some importance and trade. Lane and Boyd, merchants at that place are reported to have a stock of goods of $10,000, who issued a fractional currency called " shin plasters," and were correspondents with the Decatur bank, and when the bank failed it naturally carried the firm with it. Where these people got their goods is not known, probably from Vicksburg, or New Orleans, or Mobile --- all hauled in wagons over terrible roads.

This place has had from time to time, some business. About twenty years ago, Mr. S. D. Daniel commenced a general meschandise business and sold a large amount of goods and made some money. The place has a good mill-seat that has from time served a good purpose and been a means of convienience and profit. The name of Pinkney has given way to Stamper, at which place there is a store kept by Mr. Boulton, also a postoffice with daily communications with the railroad. The water-power is owned by Mr. Stamper, who has a turbine wheel which does fine work. This mill grinds, and is a great convenience to the people and profitable to the owner, It also furnisnes a good place for "trouting." The families living about there are: Stampers, Bolton, Ferrall, Hansford, Freeman, Collins, Mapp, Russell and Norris."

As the oldest town in the county, Union was originally the seat of Neshoba County, before the county was divided into the two counties of Neshoba and Newton. The Town of Union has been moved three times in its history. The first settlers to arrive here settled close together on the stage coach road near what is now called County Line Street. The town later moved to the crossroads of Old Jackson Road and Decatur Street, which came to be later known as Old Town or Old Union. Later, Union moved to its present location to be near the railroad.

The town began as a Choctaw settlement which the Indians called Chauki. In the Fall of 1833, settlers came in sufficent numbers to form a white settlement. A store was built and a post office was opened. The postmaster was John H. Thompson. In the Spring of 1834, Union Church was built and the town took its name from the church.

The coming of the Memphis, Jackson & Kansas City Railroad in 1905 supplied growth for the little town, which was immediately incorporated, with population soon increasing to 2,000.

In 1835, Boler's Inn in Union was build by Wesley Boler and became one of the original stops for the Stage Coach Line that ran from Jackson to Meridian along the Old Jackson Road. The Inn still stands today and is privately owned. A restoration effort is planned. In 1861 Union had begun to take on the appearance of a real town, when the call came to arms for the War Between the States, Company D of the 1st Mississippi Cavalry was organized in Union. General William T. Sherman invaded Mississippi in 1864 with 25,000 soldiers. General Sherman and his Army entered Union in February and it was reported that when Sherman learned the name of the town, he gave orders for the village not to be destroyed because "the Union" was what they were all fighting to save. Sherman and his troops spent the night in Union, with their headquarters at Boler's Inn.