Winston County Tidbits......
On November 23, 1926, the status of Louisville was officially raised from
town to city.
The first Courthouse was built in 1887 and served the public for more than
75 years. It was replaced by the present Courthouse in 1964.
Winston clay is used for the manufacture of the very special Stewart Pottery,
family artisans in the county since 1888.
I have been contacted by a geologist with the State of MS with a report
of an alleged topological violation. He reports that there are at least
7 other counties with elevations higher than those in Winston.
| TISHOMINGO 806 |
PRENTISS 791 |
| TIPPAH 787 |
ALCORN 785 |
| BENTON 769 |
UNION 760 |
| CHOCTAW 726 |
WINSTON 722 |
The highest elevation in Winston County is not Mars Hill; it is a
separate hill just NE of Mars Hill, close to Plattsburg (722 feet). Mars Hill
is closer to 690 feet.
I will defer to the Chamber of Commerce to deal with this infraction but
did want to report the facts here.
The third highest point in the state is located in Winston County at Mars
Hill.
The Winston County Journal, the local newspaper, was established to give
the Democratic Party a voice in the County. It has never missed an issue
being pulished each week.
That the center of government in Louisville was first recognized at a state
convention held in Washington, Mississippi, and the Secretary of the convention
was Louis Winston, for whom the county and the county seat are named.
The resort area here in Winston County was home to John Brown Smyth's family,
and in 1835, he built the family's home now standing on the north shore of Lake
Tiak O'Khata. Grierson's Raiders stayed in the Smyth home during the Civil
War. Louisville was also visited by Union General William T. Sherman's
troops and Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
On December 23, 1832, Winston County became a county. Only 15 years
later, a local resort was opened at Sulphur Springs and remained a favorite
vacation and recreational spot until the end of the century. Many people
came to sit, soak an swim in the natural springs running through the area, believing
it contained medicinal and healing powers. for many years, this area was
considered as quite romantic by sweethearts of days gone by.
The first Board of Supervisors governing the county was called the Board
of Police.
Nanih Waiya State Park is known as the birthplace of the Choctaw Nation.
Louisville High School had its beginnings in the Community House as Magnolia
Female Academy in 1851. Its name was changed to Louisville Training School,
which evolved to LHS.
Louisville High School's football program is the only school in the Mississippi
High School Athletic Association to reach the playoffs each year (20 and counting)
since the new postseason system was installed.
In addition, LHS' football team is one of only two schools in the MHSAA that
has won five state championships.
Betheden Institute was a co-ed college located in the Betheden Community
of Winston County.
The county now is just over 20,000 in total population - a far cry from the
first census in April 1837 that showed there were 3,152 people in Winston County.
We have a modern medical complex, libraries, active churches, an active Chamber
of Commerce and an Economic Industrial Development Program.
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