—Simpson County Heritage Trail —
Early Development: Braxton has its origins in the
late nineteenth century, the community having formed
around the medical.clinic and subsequent residence
of Dr. E. L. Standifer, who moved his family from the
Cato Community. When a post office was established,
the community was named Braxton after the doctor's
son, Ira Braxton Standifer. Dr. Standifer's house, spared
by the Braxton Cyclone, still stands. At the turn of the
century, the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad was built
through the area. On December 19, 1901, the town was
incorporated and chartered by Governor A. H. Longino.
The Braxton Cyclone: By 1921, Braxton was among the fastest growing
rural areas in the state. Then, at 2:30 p.m., on April 26, 1921, a devastating
tornado—the Braxton Cyclone—struck the community: the entire business
district, both churches, the school house, the railroad station, and most homes
were destroyed. On the heels of this disaster came the Great Depression. Today,
in the Community Center, there is a museum room dedicated to the early days of Braxton and to the aftermath of the cyclone.
Piney Woods School: Nationally known Piney Woods School is adjacent to
Braxton. In the early 1920's, when Professor Lawrence C. Jones came to the
area to found Piney Woods
School, he was met and received in Braxton, and
he was supported and encouraged by many families in Braxton. Piney Woods
school is a Mississippi Blues Trail Site, and their farm is part of the wild horse
and burro reclamation program.
Braxton Today: Though never fully recovering from the combined devastation
of the cyclone and the depression, Braxton remains a lively and progressive
community and is one of the four incorporated municipalities in the county.
Visitors to Braxton should be sure to see
the Community Center with the Braxton
Museum Room; the memorial to the
Braxton Cyclone; and the beautiful Braxton
Village Park. Braxton serves as the northern
terminus and information center for the
Simpson County Heritage Trail.
Inset
An Anecdotal History of Simpson County
From the Columns of Bee King
The Simpson County News
1937-1948
[Althougb Hernando DeSoto only passed through, be
left a reminder of bis presence that lasted for centuries.]
The early settlers in the area found wild hogs, which
they called "razorbacks." The Indians called the wild
hogs living in the woods "DeSoto hogs" because
they believed the breed was brought to this county
by Hernando DeSoto. On May 30, 1539, Hernando
DeSoto landed on the west coast of Florida with
six hundred
men. He crossed the present states
of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas,
Louisiana, and parts of Texas. To insure his men
against starvation, he brought more than one
thousand hogs from Spain. When he died on the
banks of the Mississippi River on May 21, 1542, he
still had more than seven hundred hogs. After his
death, when the Spaniards returned to Spain, the
hogs were left along the banks of the Mississippi.
Over the course of three hundred years they became
very numerous and very wild.
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