Braxton

Braxton. . , Early Development: Braxton has its origins in the late nineteenth century, the community having formed around the medical.clinic and subsequent residence of Dr. E. L. Standifer, who moved his family from the Cato Community. When a post office was established, the community was named Braxton after the doctor's son, Ira Braxton Standifer. Dr. Standifer's house, spared by the Braxton Cyclone, still stands. At the turn of the century, the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad was built through the area. On December 19, 1901, the town was incorporated and chartered by Governor A. H. Longino. , The Braxton Cyclone: By 1921, Braxton was among the fastest growing rural areas in the state. Then, at 2:30 p.m., on April 26, 1921, a devastating tornado, the Braxton Cyclone, struck the community: the entire business district, both churches, the school house, the railroad station, and most homes were destroyed. On the heels of this disaster came the Great Depression. Today, in the Community Center, there is a museum room dedicated to the early days of Braxton and to the aftermath of the cyclone., Piney Woods School: Nationally known Piney Woods School is adjacent to Braxton. In the early 1920's, when Professor Lawrence C. Jones came to the area to found Piney Woods School, he was met and received in Braxton, and he was supported and encouraged by many families in Braxton. Piney Woods school is a Mississippi Blues Trail Site, and their farm is part of the wild horse and burro reclamation program. , Braxton Today: Though never fully recovering from the combined devastation of the cyclone and the depression, Braxton remains a lively and progressive community and is one of the four incorporated municipalities in the county. Visitors to Braxton should be sure to see the Community Center with the Braxton Museum Room; the memorial to the Braxton Cyclone; and the beautiful Braxton Village Park. Braxton serves as the northern terminus and information center for the Simpson County Heritage Trail. , Inset An Anecdotal History of Simpson County , From the Columns of Bee King , The Simpson County News , 1937-1948 , . [Althougb Hernando DeSoto only passed through, be left a reminder of bis presence that lasted for centuries.] , The early settlers in the area found wild hogs, which they called "razorbacks." The Indians called the wild hogs living in the woods "DeSoto hogs" because they believed the breed was brought to this county by Hernando DeSoto. On May 30, 1539, Hernando DeSoto landed on the west coast of Florida with six hundred men. He crossed the present states of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and parts of Texas. To insure his men against starvation, he brought more than one thousand hogs from Spain. When he died on the banks of the Mississippi River on May 21, 1542, he still had more than seven hundred hogs. After his death, when the Spaniards returned to Spain, the hogs were left along the banks of the Mississippi. Over the course of three hundred years they became very numerous and very wild.