I have always considered myself to be a child of the prairie. My great great-grandfather moved from Georgia to the prairies of northern Noxubee and southern Lowndes counties around 1835. Though I grew up in Columbus, I spent much of my childhood wandering the prairie fields and creeks of ancestral farm land. That heritage has left me fascinated by early descriptions of the old Black Prairie west of Columbus.
I recently came across a letter dated “Tuscaloosa, 25th May, 1835,” published in the June 12, 1835, Alexandra Virginia Gazette. It was written by a person who had just traveled through the prairies west of Columbus, and it is one of the best early descriptions of the prairies that I have seen. The letter begins:
“Leaving Columbus, Mississippi, after breakfast, on the 16th of May, we crossed the Tombeckbee, and immediately entered upon the Choctaw Territory. …About three miles after crossing the river, a handsome Prairie of considerable extent, called the Pichlyn Prairie, deriving its name from Major Pichlyn, who has been about 77 years a resident among the Indians, and who died at 80, and was interred yesterday in the Chickasaw country about six miles from this, attracts your attention. This Prairie is now in a cultivated state, and presents to the eye luxuriant fields of cotton and corn. From this we passed several Prairies of lesser note, and generally in an uncultivated state, till we came to Mayhew. This is one of the most splendid and fertile Prairies in this part of the world …
Approaching Mayhew from the East, you all at once emerge from the forest, and a scene of the most splendid beauty presents itself. Before you is a bed of flowers, seeming to grow upon the bosom of a gently undulating sea. To the right is presented the interesting view of the Mission House and its appendages. To the left is a tall forest, bounding the view on that side, and to the west is open ground of about five miles in extent, skirting which are ranges of trees, and beyond which, at a great distance, the view is limited by a range of hills, running northwardly into the Chickasaw country. This Prairie contains from 8,000 to 10,000 acres of land, of the first quality. The land being gently rolling, increases its beauty and worth; and it is every where spread over with the most luxuriant grass. The Prairie would almost be monotonous from its unvarying scenery, decked as it nevertheless is, with a profusion of flowers interspersed among the grass; but as if nothing should be wanting to complete the scene, occasional clumps of two or three trees are found, presenting an oasis-like view to the eye; and here and there are to be scene, grazing upon the hills, the finest herds of cattle , of a quality superior to any mine eyes ever beheld …
Mayhew (the site of this former Choctaw Indian Mission, established in 1820, is on the south side of Tibbee Creek (west of Highway 45A between West Point and Starkville) and has quite a village-like appearance — the Missionaries have erected here their dwelling houses, school rooms, steward’s hall, a large barn, Mill. … Here also a store and two houses for the accommodation of travelers are now in operation, a smith-shop. … The Oaktibbeehaw (Tibbee Creek) is navigable for keelboats to Mayhew …
Tis a singular fact in relation to the Prairies that to view them from the surrounding woodland of a warm day, they would seem, for want of shade, to be distressingly warm; but there is scarcely a moment in the day but that an agreeable current of air is to be felt passing over their surface — and the nights in all this section of the country are so cool as to afford pleasant sleeping, and most generally ‘a blanket is essential to comfort.'”
In the letter, the writer also discussed the cultivation of crops on the prairie. He stated that “a good hand can cultivate, of a good season, 12 acres in cotton, and 8 acres in corn.” He also believed properly worked prairie land would produce 1,200 to 1,300 pounds of cotton (in the 1830s cotton bales weighed about 500 pounds each) or 50 to 60 bushels of corn per-acre. The letter paints a vivid picture of the old Black Prairie’s appearance as it was in transition from the Choctaw and Chickasaw homeland to Anglo-American farmland.
Rufus Ward is a local historian. Email your questions about local history to him at [email protected].
Rufus Ward is a Columbus native a local historian. E-mail your questions about local history to Rufus at [email protected].
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