Holmes County Mississippi
Rankin36
The town of old Rankin was situated on the Tchula and Yazoo City
road, about five miles from Tchula. When Holmes County was
formed out of a part of Yazoo the flourishing town of Rankin was
prominently spoken of as the best location for the seat of
justice of the new county. But Lexington was chosen instead, and
Rankin has long since been extinct. Its history has been almost
entirely forgotten. There is nothing there now but an old field,
owned by a Negro, Claibe Davenport.
Old Capt. Parrisot, father of Capt. S. H. Parrisot, and
father-in-law of Mr. F. Barksdale, of Yazoo City, settled in
that vicinity in 1828. Soon afterwards he removed to Old Rankin,
where he kept a hotel until 1834. He had but one eye, one arm,
and one leg, his other members having been lost in the French
service. Hon. E. F. Noel in writing of Capt. Parrisot's hotel
says:
"An old New Orleans gentleman, whom I
met at Lookout Mountain this summer told me he spent a night at
this hotel when a lad, and that Gov. Runnells and his
Attorney-General were there the same night, gambling in the
office *****; and that in the place of a watch dog, Capt.
Parrisot had a crane which would walk around and protect certain
parts of the premises by pecking anyone who intruded."
Tradition says that Mr. Etho Beall, a justice of the peace, held
at old Rankin, under the protection of a shotgun, the first
court of the territory composing Holmes County.
Montgomery The town of Montgomery was situated
on the west bank of Big Black River at Pickens ferry. It was
incorporated by the Legislature in 1836. Another act relating to
the charter of Montgomery was passed in May, 1837.
Vernon About twelve miles north of Lexington
was once a thriving business place called Vernon. Before the War
Between the States the country surrounding this town was settled
by wealthy planters, but when the slaves were freed the men who
gave life to the town were greatly impoverished. This brought
decay to the place. In writing of the effects of the war, Mr.
Bowman says:
For many miles in every direction
there were many thousands of acres of land lying waste,
overgrown with grass and weeds, which before the war were
productive fields of cotton and corn. Many fine two story
residences were toppling down and going to decay. Some were
tenanted by thriftless Negroes, who had the apology of a few
acres of badly tilled land for a crop. The building of the Yazoo
and Mississippi Valley railroad has resuscitated this section,
but trade has found new centers."
Georgeville The town of Georgeville was
situated in the northwest quarter of S. 35, T. 14, R. 3, East. A
Negro cabin with badly washed land is all that is left of this
place.
Extinct Towns|
AHGP Mississippi
Footnotes:
36. The sketches of the
extinct towns of Holmes County are based upon information
derived from Hon. E. F. Noel, of Kosciusko, Mississippi, and
Robert Bowman, Esq., of Yazoo City, Mississippi.
Source: The Mississippi Historical
Commission Publications, Volume V, Edited by Franklin L. Riley,
Secretary, 1902.
|
