—Simpson County Heritage Trail —
What is the Simpson County Heritage Trail?
The Simpson County Heritage Trail
was established through the Simpson
County Development Foundation
in 2011. Each stop along the trail is
of historic significance to Simpson
County, showcasing points of interest
and facts about the origins of the
County.
Choctaw Heritage
The Choctaw nation was divided into northern, central and
southern divisions. The area that is now Simpson County
was in the extreme SW portion of the southern division,
part of the Six Towns district. The famous Pushmataha
was a chief of the Six Towns district. While there are some
mounds in the county and Choctaw artifacts have been
found, there is no definite evidence of Choctaw towns. The
well-known Three-Chopped-Way may have crossed the SW
corner of the county. An 1824 map of Mississippi shows an
"old Indian path" crossing Simpson County.
Through a series of treaties between 1786 and 1830, the
Choctaw Nations progressively ceded its lands to the
United States. The area that is now Simpson County was in
the extreme southeast corner of the territory ceded in 1820
by the Treaty of Doak's Stand.
Weathersby
Subsequent to the Treaty of Doak's Stand, the last Choctaw
encampment in Simpson County was south of Weathersby.
This area was settled in the early 1800s by the Hayes
and Weathersby families. A town grew up in the area
including stores, mills, a hotel, a church, and a school. The
first post office was established in 1897, and the town was
incorporated in 1901.
Today Weathersby has been incorporated into Mendenhall;
however, it is still a distinct community centering around
the historic Weathersby Baptist Church, which is located
directly on U. S. Highway 49.
Inset
An Anecdotal History of Simpson County
From the Columns of Bee King
The Simpson County News
1937-1948
Long before the coming of the white men to this county, there was an Indian encampment at or near what was afterwards known as Westville. Two or three well-defined Indian trails crossed there, one running from a point on Pearl River near Rockport to the northeast through the Six Towns capital near the old gravel pit south of Weathersby, and another from the northwest and on in a southeast direction toward Mobile. Still another ran eastward through Smith and Jasper counties. These trails were used by the traders and trappers, and by 1820 the Indian trails had been developed into roads over which wagons could pass without much difficulty.
Photo caption
Portrait of Pushmataha unveiled April
1,
2001. It hangs in the Mississippi
Hall of Fame, Old Capitol Museum,
in Jackson, Mississippi. The portrait
was presented by the Mississippi
Band of Choctaw Indians. Portrait
by Mississippian Katherine Roche
Buchanan.
Courtesy Missisippi
Department of Archives and History.
Map
Map of U.S. states Arkansas, Mississippi,
and Oklahoma in relation to Choctaw
land ceded to the U.S. According to the
Treaty of Doak's Stand the area in orange
was ceded to the United States, and the
area in green was ceded to the Choctaw
nation.
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