MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1998 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Representative Williams

House Resolution 23

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING TATE COUNTY ON THE CELEBRATION OF ITS 125TH ANNIVERSARY. 

WHEREAS, Tate County, Mississippi, is located in an area of gently rolling fertile farmland in the extreme northwest corner of Mississippi and was established in December 1873 and is celebrating its 125th Anniversary; and

WHEREAS, records reveal that land in northern Mississippi had belonged to the Chickasaw Nation until the Pontotoc Treaty of 1832; and

WHEREAS, in 1836, this land was divided by the Mississippi Legislature, creating ten counties, three of which were DeSoto, Marshall and Tunica; and

WHEREAS, in December of 1873, these three neighboring counties were reduced in size, and Tate County was one of the new counties created; and

WHEREAS, originally a rest camp on the Choctaw Indian Trail between what is now Pontotoc, Mississippi, and Helena, Arkansas, the Town of Senatobia, in the south central portion of the new Tate County, became the county seat, and two years later in 1875, under the direction of J. H. Cooke, the present day courthouse was constructed; and

WHEREAS, as a result of spending the winter in Senatobia, settlers from Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia and northern Alabama on their way west made permanent homes in the community; and

WHEREAS, Colonel Charles Merriweather, who directed the building of the first levee for the railroad, was given the privilege of naming the new town; and

WHEREAS, Colonel Merriweather chose the name for the spring-fed Sen-a-ta-ho-ba, meaning "White Sycamore," an Indian symbol of rest for the weary; and

WHEREAS, chartered in 1860 as the Civil War was beginning, Senatobia was the site where General Nathan Bedford Forrest and 1,500 Confederate troops camped; and

WHEREAS, General Ulysses S. Grant came through Senatobia on his way to Vicksburg, resulting in a battle that left many Confederate troops dead; and

WHEREAS, the Union forces then proceeded to occupy and almost completely burn the Town of Senatobia, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, present day Senatobia is a proud and active community, known as the "Five Star City," as it progressively addresses the areas of citizenship, education, agriculture, industry and recreation:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we commend and congratulate Tate County on the celebration of its 125th Anniversary.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Tate County and the Capitol Press Corps.