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Leflore County Mississippi

McNutt51 The town of McNutt received its name from a beautiful lake upon the south side of which it was situated. The lake was probably named in honor of Alexander G. McNutt, who was governor of Mississippi from 18381-842.

When Sunflower County was created in 1844, McNutt was made its seat of justice. In the same year a log house was erected to serve the double purpose of jail and court house. At that time there was only one public road leading to the place, and paths had to be cut through the surrounding growth of cane with hunting knives before the logs could be procured with which to erect the first public building in the history of the town. A few years later the log court house was superseded by a more pretentious frame structure, and this in turn was displaced (1858), by a very substantial brick building.

When the county was divided by an act of the Legislature (1871), and the county seat of Leflore County, in which McNutt was situated, was moved to Greenwood, the brick court house became private property. It was used in turn as a school building and as a Masonic hall. For many years it was a favorite rendezvous for refugees during the inundations. Tradition says a large black bear was found asleep one morning in the wide middle hall. At a later date this building became the property of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The court room was then used for divine service and the six other rooms served the purposes of a parsonage. In April, 1901, the building became the property of Mr. C. M. Dixon. It is still in a good state of preservation. There are only a few other buildings and a cemetery left to mark the site of this extinct town. The place still has a post office.

Among the first settlers at McNutt were Randall Bluett, Thomas Randle, Eli Ethridge, Hezekiah McNabb, and Ben Jones, all of whom were farmers. At a later date (about 1850), the following men became citizens of this place: Daniel Pond, T. G. Ellesberry, J. W. Gleason, farmers; D. A. Outlaw, H. S. Smith, _____ Lightfoot, lawyers; Dave Portwood, Jno. Allen, R. M. Coile, merchants; Rutledge and Lovelady, physicians. Only two of the early inhabitants of the town. Dr. J. W. Gleason and Mrs. Elizabeth Jones, are now living.

Point Leflore52 The old village of Point Leflore was situated at the junction of the Tallahatchie and Yalobusha rivers, which form the head of the Yazoo River. The town was about two and a half miles above the present city of Greenwood. In the 30's Col. Greenwood Leflore purchased several hundred acres of land, including the site of Point Leflore. Here he built a large steam sawmill and subsequently a town. In order to make the place easily accessible he constructed a turnpike and built twelve or fourteen bridges, all at his own expense, which we are told "from first to last amounted to not less than $75,000." The mercantile firms of this place at the time of its greatest prosperity were Leflore & Godfrey, Milton & Company, and S. P. Lacock. It also had a church, a hotel and several other buildings. As Col. Leflore kept up a good road to the town, it drew a large business for many years. The Yazoo Pass was open and flatboats and barges came through it, contributing greatly to the commercial importance of Point Leflore. We are told that this place afforded a market for almost every variety of produce, corn, oats, flour, meat, lard, potatoes, onions, apples, furniture, etc.

Just before the War between the States Col. Leflore built a fine residence, which he named Malmaison, after Queen Elizabeth's home in France. After the erection of this home, which was on the edge of the hills, he began to lose interest in his town and it went down. He willed it to some of his heirs and it was afterwards sold for taxes. The site of it was later covered with a dense undergrowth which was afterwards cleared away, and it is now part of a cotton field.

Extinct Towns| AHGP Mississippi

Footnotes:
51. The information upon which this sketch is based was received from the Rev. W. L. Anderson, of Schlater, Mississippi.
52. This sketch is based upon information derived from Mr. T. C. Harris, Sr., of Greenwood, Miss., who is a son-in-law of Col. Greenwood Leflore.

Source: The Mississippi Historical Commission Publications, Volume V, Edited by Franklin L. Riley,
Secretary, 1902.

 

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