History of Calhoun
County, Mississippi
Calhoun County
was formed in 1852 by the Mississippi Legislature with land from Chickasaw, Lafayette
and Yalobusha Counties.
Pittsboro was established the same year by the Board of Police (Board of
Supervisors) to be the county seat which was briefly at Hartford.
The courthouse at Pittsboro, built in 1856 burned December 22, 1922, along with all records except five
books of abstracts of land records.
The first settlers came to the area that is now Calhoun
County in the 1830's. Road systems
were established as settlers arrived but flat boats and keel boats navigated Calhoun
County's two rivers, the Loosa Schoona and the Yalobusha,
in the 1800's to bring in supplies and to ship cotton from the county.
The county has always had a substantial rural population. It now has about
15,000 people. Bruce and Calhoun City
are the two largest towns with populations of around 2,200 and 2,000
respectively. Vardaman's population is about 1,000.
Pittsboro is a village with about 150 people. Other municipalities are Derma,
Slate Springs and Big Creek.
Farming remains a major industry. Other industries include lumber, furniture
and woodworks, along with textile industries. Two newspapers, a radio station
and a low powered television station give the county media coverage.
Calhoun County's
road system includes State Highway Numbers 8, 9, 9W, 32 and 330. The county is
located in North central Mississippi
about forty miles southwest of Tupelo.
The Society
The Calhoun County Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.
is dedicated to collecting and preserving historical
and genealogical information of Calhoun County,
Mississippi and the surrounding areas.
Membership is $15.00 per person a year, January to January. Anyone paying dues
at any time during the year receives the quarterly newsletters for that
year. Join
now - Membership Form
The Society publishes The Newsletter four times a year. This
publication provides members with local historical and genealogical
information. Members are also entitled to publish free queries and publicity
about personal historical and genealogical materials.
The Society meets the second Sunday afternoons at 2:00 in January, March, September and November at the former
Pittsboro Methodist
Church Building
located behind the Courthouse at Pittsboro. This building has been donated to the
Historical Society.
The Society is staffed by volunteers and is a non-profit corporation.
In December, 1997 the home of former Mississippi Governor Dennis H. Murphree at
Pittsboro was donated to The Society to be made into a historical &
genealogical research center and museum. This 1940's home has been made into
a wonderful Research Center
by many hours of volunteer labor and is overseen by Ms. Karen Norman of Big
Creek. We are currently open by appointment. If you have family ties to Calhoun
County, MS and would like to
make a monetary donation to help us maintain this center, please mail your
donation to the address at the top of this page. More information about The
Dennis Murphree House can be found on related web pages.
The Society has agreed to help with the MSGenweb research project and
has adopted the Calhoun County
page. As we collect information in and about Calhoun
County we will be able to share it
with many who would not get to make a personal visit. Anyone with items
for publication on the MSGenweb web pages, contact Rose Diamond.
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Officers:
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V. Rose Diamond
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President
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Tommy Brown
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1st Vice President
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Tommy Hallum
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2nd Vice President
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Karen Norman
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Recording Secretary
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Bobby Inmon
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Corresponding Secretary
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Karen Norman
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Treasurer
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Directors at Large:
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Billy Baldwin
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Fred Beckett
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William Jenkins
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Paul Moore Jr.
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Larry Hellums
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Hugh Bill McGuire
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Charlie Wayne Clark
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Rita Stewart
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Julia Harrison
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For more information
about this homepage, contact Rose
Diamond.
Any correspondence from this site needs to have CCH&GS website mentioned in
the message.
Updated April 9, 2009
Copyright 1998-2009, The Calhoun
County Historical &
Genealogical Society, Inc.
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