Minter City, Mississippi

Last updated

Minter City, Mississippi
Minter City water tower.jpg
USA Mississippi location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Minter City
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Minter City
Coordinates: 33°45′1″N90°17′40″W / 33.75028°N 90.29444°W / 33.75028; -90.29444
Country United States
State Mississippi
Counties Leflore
Elevation
138 ft (42 m)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central (CST))
  Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Code
38944
Area code 662
GNIS feature ID673683 [1]

Minter City is an unincorporated community in Leflore County and Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. [2] It is part of the Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan area, and is within the Mississippi Delta.

Contents

Mississippi Highway 8 intersects U.S. Route 49E southwest of Minter City, and the Tallahatchie River flows to the east. The post office on U.S. Route 49E has the ZIP Code 38944. [3]

History

The original settlement was known as "Walnut Place Landing" and "Minter City Landing". [4]

After traveling down Charley's Trace (also known as the Old Trading Trail), Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto may have crossed the Tallahatchie River near Minter City as his party traveled west in 1541. [5] [6]

In 1849, James A. Towne bought 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) in the area for 25 cents per acre, and built a log house on the western shore of the river at Minter City. Known as "Uncle Jimmy", Towne supported the local Methodist church, and was known to give each new preacher a wagon and mule. [7] [8]

The "James Minter Ferry", documented in 1868, enabled the crossing of the Tallahatchie River at this site. [9]

Minter City became a junction for two railroads, both now abandoned. The Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Railroad was established in 1890, and the Minter City Southern and Western Railroad, a shortline railroad servicing the sawmills west of Minter City, began operating in 1904. A depot and railroad facilities were erected in Minter City. [10]

The African-American educator William H. Holtzclaw, founder of the Utica Normal and Industrial Institute for the Training of Colored Young Men and Young Women (now part of Hinds Community College) in Utica, Mississippi, wrote about his experiences establishing schools for African-Americans in Mississippi in his book The Black Man's Burden, published in 1915. In it, he describes meeting with a wealthy white plantation owner in Minter City to discuss the establishment of a school there:

I believe you are about to engage in a good work, and I would like to see the Negro educated, but, candidly, I do not think that the kind of school you would like to start would do any good in the Delta. I really think it would do harm. What I want here is Negroes who can make cotton, and they don't need education to help them make cotton. I could not use educated Negroes on my place, but since you have asked me for advice, I will tell you candidly that here in the Delta is no place to start a school. [11]

The Frank Streater Consolidated School (White) was constructed in Minter City in 1921. The abandoned building burned in 2013. [12]

Minter City was the site of a lynching in 1933. Richard Roscoe, an African-American Baptist deacon and tenant farmer, had been in a physical altercation with the white plantation manager, and both men had been injured. An hour later, Roscoe was abducted, shot dead, and then dragged through the streets of Minter City tied to the back of the sheriff's car. [13]

Education

Areas in Leflore County are is in the Greenwood-Leflore School District. Residents are zoned to Amanda Elzy High School. [14] This area was formerly served by the Leflore County School District. [15] T.Y. Fleming Elementary School was in the area, [16] but it closed in 2009. [17] The editor of the Greenwood Commonwealth criticized the closure. [18] Effective July 1, 2019 the Leflore district district consolidated into the Greenwood-Leflore School District. [19]

Areas in the Tallahatchie County portion are zoned to the West Tallahatchie School District. [20] The local schools for West Tallahatchie are R. H. Bearden Elementary School and West Tallahatchie High School. Previously Black Bayou Elementary School in Glendora served southern parts of the West Tallahatchie district. [21] The district decided to close Black Bayou in 1998. [22] Previously West District Middle School (now Bearden) served as a middle school for the West Tallahatchie area. [21]

Mississippi Delta Community College is the designated community college for Leflore County. [23] Coahoma Community College is the designated community college for Tallahatchie County. [24]

Notable people

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tallahatchie County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Tallahatchie County is a county in the U.S. state of Mississippi. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,715. Its county seats are Charleston and Sumner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunflower County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Sunflower County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,971. Its largest city and county seat is Indianola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leflore County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Leflore County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,339. The county seat is Greenwood. The county is named for Choctaw leader Greenwood LeFlore, who signed a treaty to cede his people's land to the United States in exchange for land in Indian Territory. LeFlore stayed in Mississippi, settling on land reserved for him in Tallahatchie County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schlater, Mississippi</span> Town in Mississippi, United States

Schlater is a town in Leflore County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 310 at the 2010 census, down from 388 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glendora, Mississippi</span> Village in Mississippi, United States

Glendora is a village in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. The population was 285 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumner, Mississippi</span> Town in Mississippi, United States

Sumner is a town in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. The population was 407 at the 2000 census. Sumner is one of the two county seats of Tallahatchie County. It is located on the west side of the county and the Tallahatchie River, which runs through the county north–south. The other county seat is Charleston, located east of the river. Charleston was the first county seat, as settlement came from the east, and it is the larger of the two towns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenwood, Mississippi</span> City in Mississippi, United States

Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverport of Memphis, Tennessee. It was a center of cotton planter culture in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 49</span> Highway in the United States

U.S. Route 49 is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Piggott, Arkansas, at an intersection with US Route 62/Highway 1/Highway 139 (US 62/AR 1/AR 139). Its southern terminus is in Gulfport, Mississippi, at an intersection with U.S. Route 90. US 49 is approximately 516 miles (830 km) in length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Money, Mississippi</span> Unincorporated community in Mississippi, United States

Money is an unincorporated community near Greenwood in Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta. It has fewer than 100 residents, down from 400 in the early 1950s when a cotton mill operated there. Money is located on a railroad line along the Tallahatchie River, a tributary of the Yazoo River in the eastern part of the Mississippi Delta. The community has ZIP code 38945 in the Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi Highway 7</span> Highway in Mississippi

Mississippi Highway 7 runs generally north–south from the Tennessee state line in Benton County to Belzoni, Mississippi. It travels approximately 168 miles (270 km), serving Humphreys, Leflore, Carroll, Grenada, Yalobusha, Lafayette, Marshall, and Benton counties while serving several points of interest, including Florewood River Plantation State Park, the University of Mississippi, and Wall Doxey State Park. MS 7 runs nearly parallel to the rarely used Mississippi Central Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 49E</span> U.S. Highway in Mississippi

U.S. Route 49E is an 89.6-mile-long (144.2 km) U.S. Highway in the Delta region of Mississippi. It travels through Yazoo, Holmes, Leflore, and Tallahatchie counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 49W</span> U.S. Highway in Mississippi

U.S. Route 49W is an 89.3-mile-long (143.7 km) U.S. Highway in the Delta region of Mississippi, passing through Yazoo, Humphreys, Sunflower, and Tallahatchie counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philipp, Mississippi</span> Unincorporated community in Mississippi, United States

Philipp is an unincorporated community in southern Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, United States, along Mississippi Highway 8. Philipp is 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Minter City and 14 miles (23 km) west of Holcomb. Although Philipp is an unincorporated community, it has a post office with a ZIP code of 38950.

The Leflore County School District (LCSD) was a public school district headquartered in Greenwood, Mississippi, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazil, Mississippi</span> Unincorporated community in Mississippi, United States

Brazil is an unincorporated community in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. Brazil is on Mississippi Highway 321 approximately 8 miles (13 km) north of Webb and 12 miles (19 km) south of Lambert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shellmound, Mississippi</span> Unincorporated community in Mississippi, United States

Shellmound is an unincorporated community located in Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Greenwood and approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Schlater near U.S. Highway 49E.

Amanda Elzy High School (AEHS) is a high school in unincorporated Leflore County, Mississippi, south of Greenwood, and part of the Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District.

Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District (GLCSD) is a school district serves Greenwood, Mississippi and the rest of Leflore County. It was established on July 1, 2019, as a merger of the Greenwood Public School District and the Leflore County School District.

West Tallahatchie High School (WTHS) is a public high school in unincorporated Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, near Webb. A part of the West Tallahatchie School District, its nickname is "West Tally".

References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Minter City, Mississippi
  2. "Minter City". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  3. "Free ZIP Code Lookup with area code, county, geocode, MSA/PMSA, population". Zipinfo.com. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  4. "Minter City Landing". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  5. Brown, Ian W. (2008). "Chapter 16. Culture Contact Along the I-69 Corridor: Protohistoric and Historic Use of the Northern Yazoo Basin, Mississippi". In Rafferty, Janet; Peacock, Evan (eds.). Time's River: Archaeological Syntheses from the Lower Mississippi Valley. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. p. 378. ISBN   978-0-8173-8112-7.
  6. Fordyce, John (2001). O'Brien, Michael J.; Lyman, R. Lee (eds.). Trailing DeSoto : Setting the Agenda for American Archaeology: The National Research Council Archaeological Conferences of 1929, 1932, and 1935. University of Alabama Press. p. 153. ISBN   9780817310844.
  7. Mississippi: A Guide to the Magnolia State. Viking. 1938. p. 421. ISBN   9781623760236.
  8. Fraiser, Jim (2000). Mississippi River Country Tales: A Celebration of 500 Years of Deep South History. Pelican. p. 125. ISBN   9781455608911.
  9. "James Minter Ferry (historical)". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  10. Howe, Tony. "Minter City, Mississippi". Mississippi Rails. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  11. Holtzclaw, William H. (1915). "The Black Man's Burden". Neale.
  12. Baughn, Jennifer (October 22, 2008). "Frank Streater Consolidated School (White)". Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
  13. Finnegan, Terence (2013). A Deed So Accursed: Lynching in Mississippi and South Carolina, 1881-1940. University of Virginia Press. ISBN   9780813933849.
  14. "School Profile". Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District . Retrieved May 18, 2021. Amanda Elzy currently services [...] including the towns of [...] Minter City.
  15. "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Leflore County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  16. "Home". T.Y. Fleming School. May 23, 2001. Archived from the original on May 23, 2001. Retrieved May 18, 2021. Route 2 Box 1A Minter City, MS 38944
  17. Darden, Bob (June 27, 2009). "T.Y. Fleming to close doors for final time". Greenwood Commonwealth . Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  18. Kalich, Tim (February 14, 2009). "Closing T.Y. Fleming isn't the only option". Greenwood Commonwealth . Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  19. "School District Consolidation in Mississippi Archived 2017-07-02 at the Wayback Machine ." Mississippi Professional Educators. December 2016. Retrieved on July 2, 2017. Page 2 (PDF p. 3/6).
  20. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Tallahatchie County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  21. 1 2 Mikell, Ray S. (August 14, 1988). "West Tallahatchie students face longer classes, new staff". The Greenwood Commonwealth . Greenwood, Mississippi. p. 7A. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  22. "West Tallahatchie schools launch building projects". The Charleston Sun-Sentinel. February 12, 1998. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  23. "About MDCC". Mississippi Delta Community College . Retrieved May 12, 2021. Service District Bolivar, [...]
  24. "Student Residency" (Archive). Coahoma Community College. Retrieved on July 8, 2017. "Out-of-District Resident: A student who does not live within Bolivar, Coahoma, Quitman, Tallahatchie, and Tunica Counties but does live in some other county in Mississippi."
  25. Ford, Richard (1996). Independence Day. New York: Vintage Books. p. 303.
  26. Larkin, Colin (2013). The Virgin Encyclopedia of The Blues. Random House. ISBN   9781448132744.
  27. Sorensen, Dan (May 1977). "Give the Ball to Lusia". NBA.com.
  28. Thompson, Julius Eric (2001). Black Life in Mississippi: Essays on Political, Social, and Cultural Studies in a Deep South State. University Press of America. ISBN   9780761819226.
  29. Malone, Randolph Augustus (1996). Malone and Allied Families. R.A. Malone.
  30. "Solomon C. Osborne". State.ms.us. Mississippi House of Representatives. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  31. Robertson, Steve. "Diamond Dawg Tales: Homer Spragins". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 16, 2023.