Americus in Jackson County

[redbronco]

Has anyone ever tried to find the old settlement of Americus in Jackson County. I am coming up a good bit of info/mythology on it but if anyone knows the exact location, it has never been told. Might need Shaggy and Scooby for this mystery.

 

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[Shortstack]

Do you have this information?
There are enough points of information in this article to zero in on the spot. Start with the names of the land owners and run them through the U.S. Land Patents for purchasing public land from the government. Those patents would have survey references. Otherwise, use the physical references. That Methodist Campground would be a great place to detect for old coins and jewelry, too.


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Americus (04-09-88)

No evidence remains of first county seat


Mythology has its lost Atlantis. Jackson County has its lost Americus.

Americus, located on the south side of Cedar Creek just east of what is now Old Americus Road, was the seat of county government for more than half a century. Yet, today there are no visible signs that it ever existed.

Americus was the seat of Jackson County government from 1826 to 1870 when the courthouse was moved to Pascagoula because of the newly constructed railroad along the coast, and for other reasons.

Americus was a small rural community, where many settlers voted, paid their taxes, and bought coffee, sugar and flour for their kitchens, powder and shots for their guns and calico, needles and thread to make their clothes.

The town consisted of a courthouse, jail, and general store, which also served as the "Courthouse Post Office."

Jackson County was created on Dec. 12, 1812. It extended from Perry and Greene counties on the north to Hancock County on the west and included what is now George County.

The first seat of government was established in the home of Thomas Bilbo who lived near what is nor Benndale in George County.

In 1819, a committee was appointed by the Mississippi Legislature to build a jail at Brewer's Bluff on the west side of the Pascagoula River and in 1822 the courthouse was moved from Benndale to Brewer's Bluff, sometimes referred to as Brewton. Its location is believed to be about 20 miles from the coast across the river from the Parker Lake area.

Just four years later, probably because of population shifts and fire which reportedly destroyed the government building on Brewer's Bluff court records were transferred to the home of Moss Ward, located east of the Pascagoula River on Cedar Creek at Americus,

About the same time, Salem Campgrounds, the oldest Methodist campground in Mississippi was established just north of Americus.

Americus withered and died, while Salem Campgrounds, once a part of the Methodists' Americus District, still thrives after 162 years.

It is generally agreed that Americus was located south of Cedar Creek on the east side of what today is Old Americus Road. Persons traveling to and from Salem pass very close to what was once the courthouse and jail but no one knows the exact location.

John Knox McLeod, the great-grandson of Ellis Fairbanks who operated a general store and ran the post office at Americus, believes the accepted location is correct.

"When I was a boy, before the woods took over, you could see signs that indicated a building or buildings once stood on a ridge in the area," McLeod said. "I believe there was the site of the courthouse. It's just a wilderness now."

McLeod, the son of a former Jackson County sheriff and supervisor and grandson of one of the area's first doctors, found at the site what he believes to be tangible evidence of the jail, in the form of a heavy, four-inch long brass key which could well be a jail key.

Cammie Fairbanks, daughter of Ellis Fairbanks and wife of John Fairbanks, is McLeod's grandmother. The McLeods live on the Fairley homestead just off, Mississippi 63. The Fairleys' home, more than 100 years old still stands although unoccupied.

Mrs. McLeod, who is keenly interested in family and area history, found several ledgers kept by the Fairbanks General Store and other documents which reveal much of the history of Americus in the Fairley home.

The information contained in the ledgers and documents are available at the regional library in Pascagoula, thanks to librarian Else Martin who copied them for reference material.

"I consider them very valuable because they document an era of county history prior to the burning of the courthouses," Mrs. Martin said.

It has already been suggested that the courthouse at Brewer's Bluff burned. In 1837, the infamous outlaw James Copeland and his gang burned the courthouse at Americus to destroy evidence against Copeland in a pending trial. The courthouse in Pascagoula burned at least twice.

Although Americus never had its own newspaper, there was a column in the Democratic-Star, the Pascagoula newspaper, under the heading of "Americus News" which detailed events in the county seat.

These and other newspaper clippings are included in Mrs. Martin's file on Americus.

The only known official county records to survive the 1837 courthouse fire were found years later in a barn on the property of the late Col. Abner Sneed who lived in the area.

Mrs. Martin Sneed, who raised a unit and fought in the Civil War, apparently once served as a justice of the peace.

"Most of the records seem to be justice court records, although some are old deeds," Mrs. Martin said.

Mrs. Martin copied the records and they are a part of the Americus file at the courthouse.

While Americus brought government closer to the settlers who pushed their way into south Mississippi form Georgia and the Carolinas, the center of commerce in Jackson County remained along the coast and navigable waterways.

"Americus probably was just a rural community," Mrs. Martin said. "The store ledgers show that the area was populated with farmers, probably poor farmers.

"It was a center for them to buy what they needed and to gather. We know they had an annual picnic. That tradition continued for years after the courthouse was gone. When I was a little girl we went to Americus for the picnic.

"The newspaper clippings tell us they had contests such as climbing a greased pole, foot races and baseball. One story tells of 200 spectators who watched the Americus baseball team play on a Sunday afternoon."

Americus, she said, was probably located on the route between Mobile and New Orleans and saw its share of weary travelers.

One account tells of the preacher who stopped to bathe in Cedar Creek and eat a watermelon he got from Mr. Fairbanks.

Matthew Carter, one of the first settlers in the area, married the daughter of Simon Cumbest. "Most of the people around Americus were related to the Carter-Cumbest family," Mrs. Martin said.

One of the documents found by Mrs. McLeod was a deed, dated Feb. 5, 1872 (two years after the courthouse was moved to Pascagoula), in which the board of supervisors (Reuben Bryd, John M. Goff, Adolph Krebs, S. Bradford and Washington Cooper) conveyed the county property at Americus, including the courthouse and jail, to David McDonald. McDonald was later elected to the board of supervisors.

Courthouse records show the deed was recorded, or perhaps recorded, in 1945.

Another document shows that Fairbanks purchased 80 acres of land, which is still in the McLeod family, for $20 a month on March 17, 1860, and a 14-year-old female slave for $700. Still another document reveals that Fairbanks paid eight and a half pounds in wool tax to the Confederacy in 1863.

 

[redbronco]

I have that article and it has a good bit of history and info. I downloaded some satelite images of the area to try and find some possible sites. The church campgrounds sounds like a good idea. When I get some time, I want to go to Pascagoula to the library and do some info searching. Thanks

 

[Fubar007]

I have worked the area a few times a couple of years ago. Never found anything of interest. I know where some old houses were there, brick fireplaces are still there. I guess if a group of people sniped the area out, perhaps they could isolate some promising spots. Rumor has it the Copland Gang hung around that area. I think I could locate the old Hanging tree. The old telegraph glass isolaters are still nailed in the trees.

Danny

 

[msgulfcoastcachehunters]

N 30° 42.780 W 088° 35.682

These are the coordinates for the courthouse slab. It's a viscous hike. I'm still without a detector, but a hunt in the area would definitely be on my list of things to do.

 

[redbronco]

Thanks for the info. I have been away for awhile but back and ready to roll.