Ridgeland in Madison County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)

Highland Colony Company

— Ridgeland History Trail —

Photographed by Mark Hilton, October 25, 2024

1. Highland Colony Company Marker

Inscription.
In 1896, two Chicago investors named Edward M. Treakle and Gorton W. Nichols purchased land from James B. Yellowley, who had moved to Madison County in 1853 from North Carolina. In 1900, Nichols, R.H. Thompson and W.H. Shergold formed the Highland Colony Company and began marketing the property to settlers from midwestern states.

After surveying the property and dividing it into lots, the developers layed out what would later become the Village of Ridgeland. Enticed by the promise of good farmland in the sunny south, northern immigrants began moving into the area and Ridgeland was officially chartered as a village in 1899. The Highland Colony Company chose the name Ridgeland because the townsite was located on one of the highest ridges in central Mississippi.

You are standing at the 1896 location of the Highland Colony Company office and hotel.

[Inset] "Eight miles north of Jackson on the Illinois Central Railroad, this town site [has been] beautifully laid off with wide streets and boulevards. The business lots are all located on Jackson Street...A handsome three-story hotel has just

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been completed...Residences are going up and the merry sound of the hammer, saw, and the axe are daily waking the echoes that heretofore answered only the bark of the Squirrel and whistle of the Partridge."
- From promotional material for the Highland Colony Company

Erected 2024 by the City of Ridgeland. (Marker Number 3.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1896.

Location. 32° 25.663′ N, 90° 7.967′ W. Marker is in Ridgeland, Mississippi, in Madison County. It is on Old Town Crossing south of West Jackson Street, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 192 Old Town Xing, Ridgeland MS 39157, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Natchez Trace Corridor

and in Greater Jackson.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory

Photographed by Mark Hilton, October 25, 2024

2. Highland Colony Company Marker

Now the location is a retail store known as the "Bike Crossing".

of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Ridgeland and the Railroad (within shouting distance of this marker); Early Commerce and Trade (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Ridgeland (about 400 feet away); Wesley Chapel Methodist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Natchez Trace Parkway (approx. 0.2 miles away); Historic Churches (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named Ridgeland (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Pecan – Our City Tree (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ridgeland.

Looking south towards the Natchez Trace road and bike trail crossings. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, October 25, 2024

3. Looking south towards the Natchez Trace road and bike trail crossings.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 27, 2024, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 196 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 27, 2024, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.