Church Hill, Mississippi

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Church Hill, Mississippi
Christ Church, Church Hill, Mississippi.jpg
Christ Church, completed in 1858
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Church Hill
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Church Hill
Coordinates: 31°42′59″N91°14′17″W / 31.71639°N 91.23806°W / 31.71639; -91.23806 Coordinates: 31°42′59″N91°14′17″W / 31.71639°N 91.23806°W / 31.71639; -91.23806
Country United States
State Mississippi
County Jefferson
Elevation
213 ft (65 m)
Population
 (1900)
  Total107 [1]
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s) 601 & 769
GNIS feature ID [2]

Church Hill is a small unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Mississippi, United States. [2] It is located eight miles east of the Mississippi River and approximately 18 miles north of Natchez at the intersection of highway 553 and Church Hill Road. [3] Church Hill was a community of wealthy cotton planters and enslaved people before the American Civil War. [3] [1] Soil erosion, which had been going on since well before the Civil War, caused the area to decline into a poor farming community with none of the land under cultivation by 1999. [3] The area is remarkable because its antebellum buildings are mostly intact with few modern buildings having been built. [3]

Contents

History

Wagners grocery store in Church Hill, believed to have been in operation in 1837 Wagners grocery store in Church Hill, MS, United States 1.jpg
Wagners grocery store in Church Hill, believed to have been in operation in 1837
Springfield Plantation owner's residence Springfield Plantation - Fayette, Mississippi.jpg
Springfield Plantation owner's residence
Christ Church cemetery Church Hill Cemetery.jpg
Christ Church cemetery
Map of Church Hill NPS natchez-trace1-natchez-to-jackson.pdf
Map of Church Hill

The Church Hill community got its name from Christ Church - an Episcopal Church located on a terraced hill at the intersection of Church Hill Road and Highway 553. [4] It is the last of three successive buildings. [4] The first building of 1820 was made of logs on population ridge. [4] The second building of 1829 was half mile to the south east of the first on land formerly owned by James G. Wood. [4] The third building was completed in 1858 in the same general location as the second building. [4] This land was donated by Ms James Payne. [4] The fine craftsmanship and decorative details of the third church reflect the great wealth of the area planters in 1858. [4] All of the massive beams in the hammer-beam roof (one of the few in Mississippi) have been stained and false grained. [4] Three of the workmen signed the false graining before it dried. [4]

Across the intersection from the Christ Church is Wagner's Store, which closed in 1998. [3] The store building dates stylistically to ca. 1855-1880 and is one of the oldest country stores remaining in Mississippi. [3] The old community post office operated from the store. [3] Remarkably, the original interior store counters survive. [3]

Church Hill was a community of wealthy cotton planters and the people whom they enslaved before the American Civil War. [3] In antebellum times, most of the area plantations were essentially each self-contained communities isolated in clearings in the woods. [3] With a few exceptions travellers along the area roads just saw woods, with occasional gates that led into the plantations. [3] Soil erosion in the 1800s continually decreased the amount of land that was suitable for farming. [3] After the Civil War the main crop remained cotton until around 1933 when the boll weevil destroyed cotton farming in the area. [3] By this time soil erosion had caused the area to become a poor farming community, and it remained so throughout the twentieth century. [3] Almost none of the land is being farmed as of 1999; thus, the area is more wooded than it was in antebellum times. [3] A large number of the owner's residences and other buildings on these former plantations remain and are privately owned. [3] Among these are The Cedars, Oak Grove, Pecan Grove (also known as the Bluffs), Richland, Springfield, Woodland, and Wyolah. [5] [3] [1] [6]

Antebellum plantations (Gayoso, Pecan Grove, Logonia, Oak Grove, Cedars, Woodland and Springfield) line a twelve-mile stretch of highway 533 that includes Christ Church. [6] Details about many of the area plantations are as follows.

Notable People

See also

Related Research Articles

Jefferson County, Mississippi U.S. county in Mississippi

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi; its western border is formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,726, making it the third-least populous county in Mississippi. Its county seat is Fayette. The county is named for U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.

Natchez, Mississippi Incorporated city in Mississippi, United States

Natchez is the county seat and only city of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 15,792. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, Natchez was a prominent city in the antebellum years, a center of cotton planters and Mississippi River trade.

Woodville, Mississippi Town in Mississippi, United States

Woodville is a town in and the county seat of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,096 at the 2010 census.

Cedar Grove may refer to:

Natchez District

The Natchez District was one of two areas established in the Kingdom of Great Britain's West Florida colony during the 1770s – the other being the Tombigbee District. The first Anglo settlers in the district came primarily from other parts of British America. The district was recognized to be the area east of the Mississippi River from Bayou Sara in the south and Bayou Pierre in the north.

Faunsdale Plantation United States historic place

Faunsdale Plantation is a historic plantation near the town of Faunsdale, Alabama, United States. The town was named for it, in honor of a late owner. This plantation is in the Black Belt, which was developed for cotton plantations. During the antebellum period, planters held as many as 186 enslaved African Americans at this property as laborers to raise cotton as a commodity crop.

High Hills of Santee

The High Hills of Santee, sometimes known as the High Hills of the Santee, is a long, narrow hilly region in the western part of Sumter County, South Carolina. It has been called "one of the state's most famous areas". The High Hills of Santee region lies north of the Santee River and east of the Wateree River, one of the two rivers that join to form the Santee. It extends north almost to the Kershaw county line and northeasterly to include the former summer resort town of Bradford Springs. Since 1902 the town has been included in Lee County.

Green Leaves United States historic place

"Green Leaves", also known as the Koontz House or the Beltzhoover House, is a Greek Revival mansion in Natchez, Mississippi, completed in 1838 by Edward P. Fourniquet, a French lawyer who built other structures in the area. It was purchased by George Washington Koontz, a local banker in 1849 and has been owned by his descendants ever since. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1979.

Antebellum architecture Neoclassical architectural style characteristic of the 19th-century Southern United States

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Susina Plantation United States historic place

Susina Plantation is an antebellum Greek Revival house and several dependencies on 140 acres near Beachton, Georgia, approximately 15 miles (24 km) southwest of the city of Thomasville, Georgia. It was originally called Cedar Grove. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is currently a private residence.

Plantation complexes in the Southern United States History of plantations in the American South

A plantation complex in the Southern United States is the built environment that was common on agricultural plantations in the American South from the 17th into the 20th century. The complex included everything from the main residence down to the pens for livestock. Southern plantations were generally self-sufficient settlements that relied on the forced labor of enslaved people.

Cedar Grove Place United States historic place

Cedar Grove Place is a historic building in Church Hill, Jefferson County, Mississippi.

Woodland Plantation (Church Hill, Mississippi) United States historic place

The Woodland Plantation is a historic Southern plantation near Church Hill, Jefferson County, Mississippi. It retains its original antebellum 230 acre size, and has the tradition of primarily supplying hay to the area cattle. It also has a pecan orchard.

Stephen Duncan American planter and banker

Stephen Duncan was an American planter and banker in Mississippi during the Antebellum South. He was born and studied medicine in Pennsylvania, but moved to Natchez District, Mississippi Territory in 1808 and became the wealthiest cotton planter and the second-largest slave owner in the United States with over 2,200 slaves. He owned 15 cotton and sugar plantations, served as President of the Bank of Mississippi, and held major investments in railroads and lumber.

Cherry Grove Plantation United States historic place

Cherry Grove Plantation is a historic plantation in Natchez, Mississippi.

Lansdowne (Natchez, Mississippi) United States historic place

Lansdowne is a historic mansion that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi. It was originally built as the owner's residence on a 727-acre antebellum plantation, and is still owned and occupied by the descendants of the builder.

David Hunt was an American planter based in the Natchez District of Mississippi who controlled 25 plantations, thousands of acres, and more than 1,000 slaves in the antebellum era. From New Jersey, he joined his uncle in Mississippi business. He became a major philanthropist in the South, contributing to educational institutions in Mississippi, as well as the American Colonization Society and Mississippi Colonization Society, the latter of which he was a founding member.

Abijah Hunt (1762-1811) was an American merchant, planter and banker in the Natchez District.

Levin R. Marshall was an American banker and planter in the Antebellum South. He was a founder and President of the Commercial Bank of Natchez, Mississippi. He owned 14,000 acres in Mississippi and Louisiana, and 10,000 acres in Arkansas.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Brown, Ann. "Church Hill Jefferson County Tidbits # 26 & # 27 From the WPA Records". jeffersoncountyms.org. MSGenWeb. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Church Hill". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Miller, Mary. "Church Hill Rural Historic District". National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. National Park Service. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Allen, William. "NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM" (PDF). npgallery.nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  5. Maddox, Dawn. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form" (PDF). mdah. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Church Hill / Natchez Trace Loop Route Church Hill, Mississippi". NatchezTraceTravel.com. NatchezTraceTravel. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  7. Miller, Mary. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form" (PDF). mdah. mdah.ms.gov. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  8. Gold, Jack. "NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM" (PDF). mdah.ms.gov. Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 16 January 2018.