| SouthBear's History of Laurel, Mississippi Chapter I Antebellum Jones County |
| The Piney Woods |
| Before Europeans arrived in what would become Jones County, the region was a small speck in the middle of a vast forest that stretched from the Atlantic shore to the eastern edge of the Great Plain. It has been said that it was possible during this time for a man to climb a tree at the edge of the beach in South Carolina and literally swing, tree to tree, until he emerged on the other side to walk onto the Great Plains, being forced to climb down only to find a log on which to cross the Mississippi River. This statement is only slightly exaggerated, for he would have had to also climb down to cross a few of the larger rivers of the southeast was well, such as the Chattahoochie, Alabama, and Pearl. While swinging through the trees in Jones County, however, our would-be Tarzan would have had to only swing a little harder in order to cross the Leaf River. |
| The Longleaf Yellow Pine (Pinus palustris) |
| On the southern edge of this great Eastern Forest stood massive groves of tall, thick pines. These groves were a forest within the forest, for they were so dominant that during the winter months, the land remained very green, much as it still does today. Later, European settlers would identify this forest as the Piney Woods, which stretched from eastern Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama before they too reached the beach in southern Georgia and northern Florida. Along the Atlantic coast, this pine forest traversed the shore line as far north as Virginia. The virgin forest covered over 70,000,000 acres and was usually 150 miles wide from north to south. The dominant species is known commonly as the Longleaf Yellow Pine, also sometimes called the Southern Yellow Pine or Heart Pine, and known formally as Pinus palustris. This species took 150 to 400 years to mature. The mature trees were recorded to grow as high as 175 feet. Some trees of the virgin groves of long-leafs required as many as twenty men with arms outstretched hand-to-hand to encircle them. These trees thrived in the sandy clay soil of the coastal plain. Today, that part of the Piney Woods that stretches across southern Mississippi, and specifically east of the Pearl River, is known locally as the Pine Belt. |
| The natural habitat of Pinus palustris is indicated in red |
| The Choctaws |
| Beneath the canopy of this vast evergreen forest lived bands of the Choctaw tribe of Native Americans. The Choctaws were descendants of the nomadic peoples who had crossed the Bering land bridge from Asia some 40,000 to 20,000 years ago. Archeologists have discovered tools and arrowheads in Mississippi dating from 8500 B.C. These were made by nomadic tribes from which all of the Native American tribes of Mississippi, including the Choctaws, were descended. Eventually these peoples settled down and began to separate into distinctive tribes defined by territory and differing linguistic dialects that developed from the original Muskhogean linguistic group. Culturally and religiously, the different tribes were very similar. (Note: The exception to this rule was the Natchez Indians, who came from a different linguistic stock and had a more sophisticated and autocratic social structure.) Social life was centered around small villages led by chiefs. The women of these tribes grew corn, beans, and squash, while the men hunted game in the forest. Their religious beliefs revolved around several nature-gods or spirits that eventually evolved into a single all-encompassing deity who was viewed as a spiritual father. The chiefs had priestly duties since many of their laws evolved from religious morals and principles. Burial practices were complex. All of them built mounds in which one or several people were buried, depending on their social importance. One of the mounds, located in present-day Neshoba County, was known as Ninah Waiya (meaing "Mother Hill") and is considered by the Choctaws and Chickasaws to be the ancestral birthplace of the Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations. It was built 1900 to 2400 years ago. Before the Choctaws and Chickasaws became separate nations, this holy ground was in the center of their unified nation. After the separation, it stood on the boundary between their lands. Eventually, the Choctaws abandoned mound-building and developed a burial practice revolving around the "bonepickers." When a person died, his body was set up on a 15-foot high funeral pyre in the woods. The body was then subjected to the natural elements and wild animals for a period of time. After this time was over, the body would be taken down and the bonepickers removed the remaining flesh from the skeleton. They grew extremely long fingernails for this express purpose. When the bones were cleaned, the remaining flesh was burned and the bones were collected into a basket and given to the surviving family who ceremoniously buried them. The Choctaw nation developed in the southern part of Mississippi in the Piney Woods. Their kinsmen, the Chickasaws, developed in the hardwood forests north of the Piney Woods. The date of their separation is uncertain but it is generally believed to have occurred just prior to the arrival of the Europeans. Some believe that it did not occur until after the Europeans arrived and came about as a result of European antagonism intended to separate the various bands so that they would pose less of a military threat. This is very possible, for in their own power struggles the English and French solicited friendly relations and alliances with different tribes so that military alliances could be formed against one another. The English formed alliances with the Chickasaws and the French became aligned with the Choctaws. These alliances forced a series of wars between the two native nations that lasted until the French were forced out of North America at the end of the French and Indian War (1763). Following the departure of the French, the Choctaws maintained an uneasy existence under the British and later under the Americans. However, following the independence of the United States, it quickly became apparent that the new nation intended to occupy Choctaw lands for themselves. |
| Chief Pushmataha, ca. 1824. He was a leader of the Choctaw Nation during the time of the Treaties with the United States and their ultimate removal to Oklahoma. |
| During the first thirty years of the 19th century, the Americans in the newly formed Mississippi Territory slowly began to box the Choctaws into a compact region in the territory's interior. The first attempt, in 1801, was known as the Treaty of Fort Adams which forced the Choctaws to relinquish their lands in the southwestern corner of the territory. A year later, in 1802,they ceded their eastern lands north of Mobile under the terms of the Fort Confederation Treaty. In 1805, their southern lands along the Gulf coast were ceded by the Treaty of Mount Dexter. The area now occupied by Jones County was opened to white settlement by the Treaty of Mount Dexter, and the northern boundary line of this treaty would eventually form the northern boundary of the county. The final push came during the decade between 1820 and 1830 with the Treaty of Doak's Stand and the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit. According to the terms of these two treaties, all remaining Choctaw and Chickasaw lands in Mississippi were ceded to the United States. Choctaws were given two options. They could either assimilate into white culture or they could be removed to land set aside for them in Oklahoma. The great majority of the Indians did not have a choice at all, for it was never presented to them. They were simply rounded up and set on their way. 20,000 Chickasaws and Choctaws joined their Cherokee and Creek kinsmen on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. Of these, only 7,000 survived the trip. A small band of Choctaws, however, remained in the Piney Woods. Some of these lived in Jones County, as do a small community of their descendents. Today, Jones County is home to one of the few Indian reservations east of the Mississippi. This reservation, created in 1948, is part of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. The Mississippi Band is part of tthe sovereign Choctaw nation headquartered in Oklahoma and recognized by the United States Government. The majority of the Choctaw now live in Oklahoma. These Choctaws, along with the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Muscogee, and Seminoles are known as the "Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma." |
| The Arrival of White Settlers |
| thick pine forest. It was about 90 miles from the Gulf coast, though a traveler could float down the Leaf River on a raft to the Chickasawhay and Pascagoula Rivers and then to the coast. The first white settlers arrived shortly after the Treaty of Mount Dexter. These settlers were not originally from Mississippi at all. Rather, they came from the eastern seaboard of the United States, specifically Georgia, Virginia, and the Carolinas. Most of them were Irish immigrants or the children of those immigrants. They did not come originally to settle in Mississippi, but were only traveling to lands further west in Texas and Louisiana. Most of these immigrants traveled a few hundred miles at a time before stopping for an extended period to rest and replenish what resources they could obtain from the land. Sometimes they found small settlements in which they could work for wages as farmhands. From time to time, the immigrants decided that they could go no further, or took a liking to the land in which they paused and decided to settle there instead of continuing on their way to the west. Such was the case for most of those who settled in southeastern Mississippi. Once a family decided to settle in the region, they homesteaded a small farm by clearing an acre of so from the forest. A small cabin was built from the trees that they felled, and they began a small garden in the sandy soil. This soil was not good for large-scale agriculture but it did support these family farms quite well. corn, tomatoes, beans, and squash were the primary crops grown. These gardens provided vegetables for the settlers to supplement the game they hunted in the forest. The most popular game to hunt was deer, turkey, rabbit, and squirrel. Eventually, a small settlement was developed along the Tallahala Creek at Ellisville, the site of a ferry crossing. This was the only settlement in the region by 1820. |
| The Creation of Jones County |
| As more and more settlers arrived, the legislature kept up with the number of settlers in the large districts and counties that they created following statehood. In the southeast, the legislature first created Wayne County (1809) followed by Covington County (1819). The boundary between these two counties was in the middle of the modern county of Jones along the Tallahoma Creek. Jones County was formed from parts of these older counties in 1826 with Ellisville as the county seat. At this time, there were less than 1000 white settlers in Jones County, most of them concentrated around Ellisville. Ten years later, the white population had just risen to just under 1500, and there were 108 African slaves. In 1830, the lands of the Chickasaw Cession were opened for white settlement. This Cession lay in the northern part of Mississippi and northwestern Alabama and the land that became available was reputed to be some of the best in the state. At about the same time, an economic depression ensued, and many people were left destitute. A land rush followed the opening of the Cession lands and many residents of Jones County moved north to take advantage of the opportunity. Many others, demoralized by the depression, left for Texas as they had originally intended, leaving only a simple note posted to their abandoned homes: "GTT!" ("Gone to Texas!") As a result, the county was almost completely depopulated. |
| The depopulation of Jones County apparently was severe. Many county officials realized that there was little work left for them to do since there simply weren't enough people left to govern. Most of these officials gave up their jobs or just quit performing their duties while remaining technically in office. Many of them left the county as well. Those settlers that remained became accustomed to governing themselves. It was during this time that the county earned the reputation of independence and self-determination that would give rise to the the myth of the "Free State of Jones." Though the few residents of the county neither desired nor sought an organized system of government, the legislature in Jackson began to look for ways to bring a government and a system of justice back to the county. In 1846, the county was reorganized. State officials swore-in a single citizen to be the Justice of the Peace. The new Justice was sent back to Jones County to swear in other officials in the name |
| of the state. Eventually, more migrants arrived from the east and some former residents returned from the Cession lands in north Mississippi. Jones County continued an increased population, and government remained in tact from this point forward. The people of Jones County continued to live in this manner for the remainder of the antebellum period. Ellisville remained the only town in the county. The rest of the county was populated with small family farms that dotted the dense forest. These farms were connected to one another and to Ellisville only by the small creeks and rivers that flowed through the woods and by small trails only large enough for a horse-and-wagon to pass. The farms consisted of only a few acres at the most in clearings that were created by felling the pines. No large areas of the forest were razed as the soil did not lend itself to large-scale agriculture. What cattle these farmers possessed were allowed to roam freely in the woods identified only by the brands of their owners. Therefore, no pasturelands were needed. Because their farms were so small, the farmers did not require the labor of slaves. As a result, Jones County had a very small slave population, most of whom were located in Ellisville. Others worked on larger farms in Jasper County. This was the way of life for the people of Jones County on the eve of the civil war. They were an independent community. They preferred no government at all and the county government imposed upon them by the legislature in 1846 was begrudgingly tolerated because it required little intervention in their daily lives. The state government was of even less use to the people of Jones County, and the Federal government was considered all but foreign. The husband of each family was the master of his world. He answered to few others concerning decisions that he made for his family and farm. In dealings with their neighbors, the people of Jones County governed each other, relying on community principles found in the Bible and preached by Baptist ministers and itinerate Methodist preachers. When conflicts occurred, they were more likely to rely on the mediation of these clergymen than on government officials, who were called in only after mediation failed or for the most serious breaches of the law. This laissez-faire lifestyle was a major factor in their attitudes concerning the rise of the Confederacy and the political implications of the ensuing Civil War. |
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| When Mississippi became a state in 1817, the interior of the southeastern region of the state was far removed from any white settlements along the Mississippi River, the Gulf coast, or in Mobile. From Natchez, the banks of the Leaf River were a tedious and dangerous 110-mile journey through the |
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| A Map of the Pine Belt Region in 1822. Click on this image to view a higher resolution map. |
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| A Map of the Pine Belt Region on the eve of the Civil War.. Click on this image to view a higher resolution map. |
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| Return to SouthBear's Laurel Pages or Go to the Next Chapter in Laurel's History © 2001-2006 SouthBear This page was created on 22 March 2002 in Tupelo, Mississippi Date of Last Revision: 4 November 2006 in Birmingham, Alabama |
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