Tishomingo County, Mississippi

Tishomingo County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Tishomingo is named for a Chickasaw leader called Tishomingo.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Tishomingo County was established February 9, 1836, and was one of the twelve counties formed in that year from the Chickasaw Indian cession of 1832. It was named for a king of that tribe, the word Tishomingo signifying Warrior Chief. On February 14, 1836, Peter G. Rivers, A.M. Cowan, James M. Matthews and James Davis were appointed by legislative act to organize the county. It was originally large, containing an area of about 30 townships, or 1,080 square miles. The county seat is located at Iuka. Its original limits were defined as follows:

“Beginning at the point where the line between townships 6 and 7 intersects the eastern boundary line of the State, and running with the said boundary line to the Tennessee River; thence down the said river to the point where the northern boundary line of the State intersects the same; thence with the said northern boundary line, to the line between ranges 5 and 6 east of the basis meridian; thence south with the said range line, to the line between townships 6 and 7; thence east with the said township line to the beginning.”

More than half its area was taken from it in 1870, when the counties of Alcorn and Prentiss were established.

The first white settlement in old Tishomingo County was at a place called Troy, in the present county of Alcorn, on the old Reynoldsburg road, near the Tuscumbia River. On the west of the settlement was an abundance of freestone, spring water, suitable for tanyards, for which the place was well known. The first circuit court in the county was held at a log house in Troy. As the settlement grew, the name was changed to that of Danville, as there was already one Troy in the State. The town was destroyed by Federal troops during the war.

Other settlements in old Tishomthgo were Cammel’s Town, on the old Reynoldsburg road, and about 15 miles south of the home of Pitman Colbert, a wealthy half-breed Indian; Boneyard, established in the early ‘30s by William Powell, on the stage road running from Jacinto, to Lagrange, Tennessee; Jacinto, in the southeastern corner of Alcorn County and the first seat of justice of old Tishomingo County; Carrollville, in the present county of Prentiss; and Farmington, a flourishing place until the year 1855, when the Mobile & Ohio railroad and the Memphis & Charleston railroad made a crossing about four miles to the southwest at Corinth, and killed the old town. The Federal forces completed the destruction of the town during the war. Many prominent pioneers rest in the old cemetery, which is still maintained. Gen. M.P. Lowrey, Drs. Stout, Joel Anderson, J.J. Gibson and George Gray and numerous others are interred there.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 445 square miles (1,151 km²), of which, 424 square miles (1,098 km²) of it is land and 20 square miles (53 km²) of it (4.59%) is water. The highest point in Mississippi, the 806 feet Woodall Mountain, is located in the county.

Neighboring Counties:

• Hardin County, Tennessee (north)
• Lauderdale County, Alabama (northeast)
• Colbert County, Alabama (east)
• Franklin County, Alabama (southeast)
• Itawamba County (south)
• Prentiss County (southwest)
• Alcorn County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

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