Prairie in Monroe County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)
Prairie
Photographed by Mark Hilton, October 21, 2026
1. Prairie Marker
Settled in 1860, the town of Prairie was established as a station on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at the crossing of the stage road to Aberdeen. The town was named for the surrounding fertile Black Prairie region. During the Civil War, the town was occupied by Union troops during Union Brig. Gen. Sooy Smith's Okolona expedition, and a skirmish was fought one mile west on February 21, 1864. During World War II, the Gulf Ordnance Plant, one of the nation's largest ammunition manufacturing plants, was located here.
Erected 2017 by Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & Streetcars • War, US Civil • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Mississippi State Historical Marker Program series list. A significant historical date for this entry is February 21, 1864.
Location. 33° 47.809′ N, 88° 39.993′ W. Marker is in Prairie, Mississippi, in Monroe County. It is on Mississippi Route 382 west of Railroad Circle, on the right when traveling west. Located in the front of the Prairie USPS office. Touch for map. Marker
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in East Mississippi, specifically in the Black Prairie, in the Golden Triangle, and in the North Mississippi Hills. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Black Belt. 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 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 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Gulf Ordnance Plant (approx. ¼ mile away); The Lenoir Plantation (approx. 3.2 miles away); Sandy Clay Rosenwald School (approx. 3.8 miles away); Reuben Davis (approx. 6.6 miles away); Judge Eugene O. Sykes (approx. 6.9 miles away); Aberdeen (approx. 6.9 miles away); Dr. W. A. Evans (approx. 7.1 miles away); St. John's Episcopal Church (approx. 7.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all
Photographed by Mark Hilton, October 21, 2026
2. Prairie Marker at U.S. Post Office.
Regarding Prairie. Brigadier General William Sooy Smith's Okolona expedition was a failed Union cavalry operation in February 1864 designed to support Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's Meridian campaign. Commanded by Smith, a force of 7,000 cavalry troopers set out to destroy Confederate supply networks and rendezvous with Sherman's main army in Mississippi. However, the expedition ended in disaster at the Battle of Okolona on February 22, 1864, when Smith was decisively routed by a much smaller Confederate cavalry force led by Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Gulf Ordnance Plant
Also see . . . Wikipedia article on Prairie, Mississippi. (Submitted on October 21, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Credits. This page was last revised on October 21, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 21, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 21, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
