Hometown Mississippi: Benton and Bolivar Counties

This blog post originally appeared 12/3/07.

Moving on alphabetically in our Hometown Mississippi series, we'll take a brief look at some interesting names in Benton and Bolivar counties, MS.


Benton County

Michigan City
Five men from (guess where) Michigan settled this town in 1959 with the intentions of starting up a flour mill. The flour mill did not appear until 1870, but General Grant occupied the grand home of one of the original settlers, Hugh Davis, for many months during the Civil War.

Bolivar County

Alligator
Began as a railroad stop in 1883 and derives its name from Alligator Lake and its many inhabitants.

Catfish Point
This town, settled on land granted by the government in 1832, was named for the many inhabitants of nearby waters as well. However, a broken levee and the subsequent building of a new levee in 1890 could not save Catfish Point from becoming part of the waters of its namesake.
 
Chambers
This settlement is interesting simply for its name changes. First named Winstonville in 1908, for Mike Winston, a local landowner, then changed to Chambers in 1910 for a local salesman, and finally a third name, Wyandotte, adopted in 1931. The Post Office at Chambers officially became Winstonville once more in 1925. I suppose you can still call it Wyandotte if you're feeling brave.

Christmas Crossing
This place is merely the site of the plantation of Judge Christmas, named for him in 1885.

Content Landing
The Content Plantation adopted Content Landing on the river in 1884. Sadly, like old Catfish Point, the landing fell victim to the flood in 1927.

Germania
This town was settled in 1900 by a group of (only one guess this time) German colonists.

Grapeland
Settled in 1833 by a single family, it is said to be named for the grape vine covering a large sycamore tree in the founding family's yard.

Gum Pond
Established in 1903 around a sawmill, the name is derived from the large quanitity of gum trees and the location's low altitude.

Mound Bayou
This name sounds almost like an oxymoron, but in actuality is derived from the many Indian mounds surrounding the location.

Stop's Landing
The history behind the name of this landing, established in 1833, is unknown, although could possibly be some crafty advertising. It too is among those settlements taken by the Mississippi River Flood of 1927.

Stringtown
Established in 1849, this settlement possibly derives its name from a long building-lined ditch on the original property, or a large plantation owner by the name of Stringer.
 
Brieger, James. Hometown Mississippi. 1980.