Weathersby and Choctaw Heritage

Weathersby and Choctaw Heritage. . , What is the Simpson County Heritage Trail? , The Simpson County Heritage Trail was established through the Simpson County Development Foundation in 2011. Each stop along the trail is of historic significance to Simpson County, showcasing points of interest and facts about the origins of the County., Choctaw Heritage , The Choctaw nation was divided into northern, central and southern divisions. The area that is now Simpson County was in the extreme SW portion of the southern division, part of the Six Towns district. The famous Pushmataha was a chief of the Six Towns district. While there are some mounds in the county and Choctaw artifacts have been found, there is no definite evidence of Choctaw towns. The well-known Three-Chopped-Way may have crossed the SW corner of the county. An 1824 map of Mississippi shows an "old Indian path" crossing Simpson County. , Through a series of treaties between 1786 and 1830, the Choctaw Nations progressively ceded its lands to the United States. The area that is now Simpson County was in the extreme southeast corner of the territory ceded in 1820 by the Treaty of Doak's Stand. , Weathersby , Subsequent to the Treaty of Doak's Stand, the last Choctaw encampment in Simpson County was south of Weathersby. This area was settled in the early 1800s by the Hayes and Weathersby families. A town grew up in the area including stores, mills, a hotel, a church, and a school. The first post office was established in 1897, and the town was incorporated in 1901. , Today Weathersby has been incorporated into Mendenhall; however, it is still a distinct community centering around the historic Weathersby Baptist Church, which is located directly on U. S. Highway 49., Inset An Anecdotal History of Simpson County , From the Columns of Bee King , The Simpson County News , 1937-1948 , . Long before the coming of the white men to this county, there was an Indian encampment at or near what was afterwards known as Westville. Two or three well-defined Indian trails crossed there, one running from a point on Pearl River near Rockport to the northeast through the Six Towns capital near the old gravel pit south of Weathersby, and another from the northwest and on in a southeast direction toward Mobile. Still another ran eastward through Smith and Jasper counties. These trails were used by the traders and trappers, and by 1820 the Indian trails had been developed into roads over which wagons could pass without much difficulty., Photo caption , Portrait of Pushmataha unveiled April 1, 2001. It hangs in the Mississippi Hall of Fame, Old Capitol Museum, in Jackson, Mississippi. The portrait was presented by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Portrait by Mississippian Katherine Roche Buchanan. Courtesy Missisippi Department of Archives and History. , Map , Map of U.S. states Arkansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma in relation to Choctaw land ceded to the U.S. According to the Treaty of Doak's Stand the area in orange was ceded to the United States, and the area in green was ceded to the Choctaw nation.