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55 lines
1.9 KiB
55 lines
1.9 KiB
Olive Branch, Mississippi
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History of Area
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What A Unique Name, You Say.
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And You're Right! Only One
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Other Community In The
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United States Is Also
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Named Olive Branch
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Like many other cities, Olive Branch had a
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different name when it was first founded near
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where several old Chickasaw Indian Trails
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crossed. It was originally called Watson's
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Crossroad. Then, in 1846, when the first Post
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Office was established, Mrs. Frances Wilson
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Blocker - a descendant of one of the
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community's founders - suggested the name Olive
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Branch. She thought, it is said, that the new
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name symbolized a dove bringing a Branch to the
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seagoing Noah.
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Whatever the reason for her choice, the name
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was informally adopted by the 185 residents. On
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May 1, 1874 Olive Branch was incorporated as a
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town and on March 6, 1888 it progressed to
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Village status.
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But there was a lot of history before Olive
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Branch was formally named. Mississippi had
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become a State on December 10, 1817. Until then
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it had been known as Mississippi Territory and
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included what is now Alabama.
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Fourteen years before the Olive Branch Post
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Office opened, President Andrew Jackson was
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just beginning his second term. He decided that
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extensive Indian-held land east of the
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Mississippi River should be given to frontier
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settlers for clearing and farming so he
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dispatched General John Coffee to northern
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Mississippi. General Coffee's assignment was to
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persuade the Chickasaw Indians to sell some of
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their land. He succeeded when in October, 1832
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the tribal chieftains signed the Pontotoc
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Treaty which allowed them to keep certain
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designated lands. The remainder was opened to
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settlers.
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A Spanish Explorer Leaves His Mark...
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Seventeen counties were created soon after the
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Treaty including, in 1836, DeSoto County. The
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name was derived from the famous Spanish
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explorer Hernando DeSoto. And Hernando,
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Mississippi became the DeSoto County Seat.
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