Sunflower County Mississippi
Johnsonville67
On March 15, 1871, the Legislature passed an act entitled "An
Act to create a new county in this State to be called Leflore
County, and to change the boundary lines between Sunflower,
Washington and Bolivar counties." A considerable portion of
Sunflower County was cut off and placed in the new county of
Leflore, and this necessitated a change of the county site.
It was therefore provided that the
seat of justice of Sunflower County should be moved from McNutt
and located at the junction of Mound Bayou with the Sunflower
River, and that a town should be established at this place to be
called "Johnsonville." Provision was made for the acquisition of
the necessary land for county purposes and for the construction
of suitable public buildings. This was the origin of the town of
Johnsonville.
On March 8, 1882, the Legislature passed an act entitled "An Act
for the removal of the county site of Sunflower County." It
provided that a vote should be taken to ascertain whether the
voters desired the county site to remain at Johnsonville or to
be removed to a point about four miles west of the Sunflower
River on Indian Bayou, known as Eureka, but since that time
named Indianola. The vote was in favor of Eureka, and during
that year the county seat was removed.
A few years later the Georgia
Pacific railroad was completed from Greenville eastward, and it
crosses the Sunflower River about a mile north of Johnsonville.
While Johnsonville was the county seat it was quite an important
business town, containing a dozen or more stores, and a
population of about 150. It continued to exist as a municipality
after the removal (though its importance was thereby
considerably diminished), until the Georgia Pacific railroad
crossed the river north of it, as has been stated. At this
crossing the town of Baird grew up. The town of Johnsonville was
thereafter gradually deserted, and soon ceased to exist.
Extinct Towns|
AHGP Mississippi
Footnotes:
67. This sketch was kindly
procured for the writer by Mrs. M. C. Torrey, of Baird,
Mississippi.
Source: The Mississippi Historical
Commission Publications, Volume V, Edited by Franklin L. Riley,
Secretary, 1902.
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