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Yazoo County Mississippi

Beattie's Bluff84 When the county of Yazoo was first created (1832) Beattie's Bluff, which was twelve or fifteen miles northwest of Canton, was made the seat of justice. The courthouse, stores, and other buildings were made of hewn logs. In 1829 the county seat was moved to Benton and the town of Beattie's Bluff dwindled away. Not a vestige of the place is left at the present day, the old site being a cultivated field.

Benton In 1828 William Y. Gadberry removed to Yazoo County from South Carolina and entered a tract of land upon which he built a log house for his residence. This was the beginning of the town of Benton, which in 1829 was made county seat of Yazoo County. The place developed very rapidly and became the center of trade for a large section of country. In 1836 it was incorporated by the Legislature.

Other acts of the Legislature which relate to the charter of this place bear the following dates: 1837, 1842 and 1846. In a few years the first courthouse, which was built of logs, was replaced by a beautiful two story brick building. A school house, churches, and elegant residences were erected at this place. Among its leading resident lawyers were R. S. Holt, I. R. Burns, and Ronan Harden. Among the prominent merchants of this place were _____ Fisher, James Rosslen, E. and N. O'Reilly, R. T. Jennings, Alex. McGaughey, and Jas. Blundell.

In 1849 the seat of justice of Yazoo County was removed to Yazoo City. Mr. Bowman says that "with the removal of the county seat, Benton began to decline and each year its population lessens, and the few houses left are dilapidated, dingy, decaying, and tumbling down. Its population is about forty or fifty. It has two or three small stores, which do a limited neighborhood business."

Extinct Towns| AHGP Mississippi

Footnotes:
84. The writer has received much valuable information on the history of Beattie's Bluff, Madisonville, Benton, Rankin, Livingston, and Vernon, from Robert Bowman, Esq., of Yazoo City, Mississippi.

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

 

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