MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 1st Extraordinary Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Stone, Barnett, Jackson (32nd)
A RESOLUTION JOINING THE CITIZENS OF HOLLY SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI, IN CELEBRATING THE 180TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CITY.
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize the 180th Anniversary of the founding of the historic North Mississippi trade center of Holly Springs, Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Holly Springs was founded by European Americans in 1836, on territory historically occupied by Chickasaw Indians for centuries before the Indian Removal Act was passed. They ceded most of their land under the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek of 1832. Most early U.S. migrants were from Virginia, supplemented by migrants from Georgia and the Carolinas. Newcomers established the Chalmers Institute, later known as the University of Holly Springs, the oldest university in Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, the area was developed into extensive Southern cotton plantations, and the settlement served as a trading center for the neighboring cotton plantations. In 1837, it was made the seat of the newly created Marshall County, named for John Marshall, the United States Supreme Court Justice. The town developed a variety of merchants and businesses to support the plantations. Its population into the early 20th Century included a community of Jewish merchants, whose ancestors were immigrants from Eastern Europe in the 19th Century. By 1855, Holly Springs was connected to Grand Junction, Tennessee, by the advancing Mississippi Central Railway. In ensuing years, the line was completed to the south of Hill Springs. Toward the end of the 19th Century, the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad was constructed to intersect this line in Holly Springs; and
WHEREAS, during the Civil War, these railroad connections were increasingly important to both North and South. Union General Ulysses Grant used Holly Springs as a supply depot and headquarters. He was mounting a major effort to take the City of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. Confederate General Earl Van Dorn raided and burned much of Grant's supplies in December 1862. As a consequence, much of the town and the courthouse were burned by the Yankees; however, many significant antebellum homes were spared and are major tourist attractions; and
WHEREAS, in 1878, the city suffered a yellow fever epidemic, part of a regional epidemic that spread through the river towns. Some 1,400 residents became ill and 300 died. The existing Marshall County Courthouse, at the center of Holly Springs' square, was used as a hospital during the epidemic. After the war and emancipation, many freedmen stayed in the area, working as sharecroppers on former plantations. As agriculture was mechanized in the early 20th Century, the number of farm labor jobs was reduced. From 1900 to 1910, a quarter of the population left the city; however, since that time, light industry has developed in the area. For the first half of the 20th Century, Holly Springs and Marshall County were still largely agrarian. By the 1970s, the public schools were integrated, and Mr. Eddie Lee Smith was elected as the first black Mayor, followed by Andre DeBerry, and the present Mayor, the Honorable Kelvin Buck. The city began to operate industrial parks in the 1970s and the Holly Springs Airport was a reality. A hospital and several doctors served the medical needs of the community. By the 1990s, Highway 78, now designated as Interstate 22, had become four lanes and the city was poised to grow economically. Between 1970 and the present, education was reflected in both public and private schools and Holly Springs continued to be the home of Rust College, an historical black college supported by the Methodist Church. Holy Family, a Catholic school serving Grades 1-8, Heritage Apostolic Academy, and Marshall Academy also provide educational foundation for students. Holly Springs is also the site for ICS Head Start for preschool children. Today, in the 21st Century, Holly Springs is a Main Street Community. Citizens work in service industries, factories, government, education, professional offices, the medical field, and child care. Nearby towns and Memphis also offer employment; and
WHEREAS, Holly Springs is proud of its heritage and service to the community and to the State of Mississippi, and it is with great pride that we join the local officials of Holly Springs in celebrating the pioneers, planners and citizens of this progressive area as it continues to move forward:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby join the citizens of Holly Springs, Mississippi, in celebrating the 180th Anniversary of the city, and extend our best wishes to the citizens of Holly Springs on this auspicious occasion.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the Mayor of Holly Springs, forwarded to the Holly Springs Board of Aldermen, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.