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 By GRAY & MURPHEY. 
 

MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI, 
 
 I 
 
 'N THE haze of a generalization that is indefinite and 
 unsatisfactory, suggesting only the meagre outline 
 of things, and pronounced in such description as a growing 
 city, an enterprising community, a prosperous town, etc.. 
 Meridian has gained some reputation abroad and possibly, 
 here and there, arrested the attention of those who are look- 
 ing Southward for new fields of investment and enterprise. 
 But there has been wanting that definite and specific infor- 
 mation so necessary to a just appreciation of the quantities 
 and qualities that have contributed to make this fame. It 
 is known that the city is progressive ; that slie is constantly 
 reaching out after better things; that in her municipal equip- 
 ment she is forging forward to a foremost place among the 
 more ambitious cities of the South ; that she has constantly 
 builded with a view to an increasing greatness and that to- 
 day, her plans, justified in experience, are broader and her 
 foundations laid deeper than ever before. It is also known 
 that her citizenship is self-reliant and no city of equal pre- 
 tensions in t\\6 country owes so little to outside or foreign 
 capital. 
 
 These things are commonly recognized ; but the agencies 
 at have produced these results, the causes that underlie 
 the patent and manifest eftect have never been presented 
 in such shape as to obtain that appreciation, either at home 
 or abroad, that they so eminently merit; and it is with a view 
 to accounting for Meridian's constant and continuous ad- 
 vancement and her own people's faith in the promise of the 
 future tliat this worlc is undertaken. We propose to show 
 how and why a prosperous and growing city has been built 
 on the hills of East Mississippi, and what those influences 
 are that confirm and strengthen our confidence in the possi- 
 bilities of further development. 
 
4 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 We realize that nothing can be more detrimental to the 
 permanent prosperity of any community than the affliction 
 commonly known as "a boom;" nothing more hurtful to any 
 city than this dissemination of extravagant and exagerated 
 statements relating to those things that are generally sup- 
 posed to be influential in attracting immigration or capital. 
 The experience of other adventures in this direction conveys 
 a lesson that no community can afford to ignore. The dis- 
 appointment, disaster and ruin that have followed in the 
 wake of such exploitation, involving in a common cataclysm, 
 alike, the betrayer and the betrayed, make a woeful story 
 that everywhere casts its shadows across the otherwise 
 bright record of our country's development during the last 
 decade, when the rays of Aladin's lamp were turned upon 
 every new town to mislead alike the stranger and the contid- 
 ing citizen at home; pretentious structures turned into rook- 
 eries for the owl and bat, streets haunted by the gibbing 
 spectres of departed fortunes ; corner lots that are the grave 
 yards of many a fair hope, these make the blot and blemish 
 upon the landscape in nearly every Southern and Western 
 States mute testimonies to the crime and folly of The Boom 
 during the ten years from 1880 to 1890. Hap[)ily for us, 
 during this epoch of speculation, the angel of misfortune 
 passed over our doors and permitted us to prosecute unre- 
 mittingly that healthy, vigorous and normal development 
 that our native forces made possible and inevitable. 
 
 Thankful for our escape from this pestilential influence 
 in the past and strenuously guarding against any such visita- 
 tion upon our fair city in the future, it is our purpose to pre- 
 sent Meridian and East Mississippi exactly as they are, re- 
 lying upon the native comeliness of their features, rather 
 than any extraneous accessaries of art, to commend them to 
 the reader's favor. We propose to make no claim that can- 
 not be substantiated, no statement unsustained by facts and 
 present no facts that cannot be verified upon investation. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 HISTORICAL. 
 
 Our estimation of a man's capacity for achievement is 
 usually based upon the things thftt he has accomplished; we 
 want to know something of his record before we give him 
 our perfect confidence, and so in presenting the claims of 
 Meridian for consideration it is not improper to refer briefly 
 to the results already achieved by those inherent forces that 
 make her character, and a short summary of her growth 
 from villagehood to her present dignity will not be out of 
 place. 
 
 Less than fifty years ago, what is now the city of Me- 
 ridian, was a comparative wilderness with stately pines and 
 spreading oaks upon its hills, with fields of cotton and corn 
 on its gentle slopes, while almost an impenetrable mafsli ex- 
 tended over grounds on which there have been some of our 
 best business houses and private residences erected/ The 
 plantation home of Richard McLemore, now the property of 
 John O'Neil, was the most prominent building, and there 
 was a frame house of worship on the hill just above the 
 McLemore Cemetery, known as the "Oakey Valley Baptist 
 Church." 
 
 As early as 1851, John T. Ball, then of Wahalak, Kem- 
 per county, determined to purchase lands at the proposed 
 crossing of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad and the extension 
 of what was called the Vicksburg and Montgomery railroad. 
 He did not carry out his purpose until 1853, when he se- 
 cured eighty acres of what is now known as his survey. 
 Meanwhile, Louis A. Ragsdale, of Alabama, who had arrived 
 at a similar conclusion, anticipated him a few days and pur- 
 chased the McLemore farm, the most desirable location. 
 
6 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 These gentlemen soon had their hinds surveyed into 
 lots, but were unable to give clear titles until after the close 
 of the civil war. Mr. Ball began to improve at once, build- 
 ing a double log cabin for a residence and [tutting up a 
 rough hut for a store — wliich he placed in charge of Alfred 
 Beck. The place was known in the country as "Ball's 
 Store," but tlie M. &. O. R. R. would only honor it with a 
 "flag station," and designated it as "Sowashee." On the 
 other hand, Mr. Ragsdale had his purchase mapped out as 
 "Ragsdale City." A rough depot put up by the citizens at 
 their own expense, was all that could be obtained for a 
 while, and this was in charge of W. F. Brown, without 
 direct compensation. 
 
 Such was the status of things when the writer visited 
 the place in the summer of 1856, Mr, Ragsdale kept the 
 only hotel. The Vicksburg railroad was only running to 
 Brandon. A little later lots were sold in McLemore's survey 
 towards West End, and new residences began to appear. 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Ball had secured a postoflice, giving it the 
 name of Meridian, and I. S. O. G. Greer had obtained a 
 charter from the Legislature in that name. About the same 
 time W. L. Spinks began the publication of a newspajier in 
 the town and called it "The Meridian." So, when the I'ail- 
 road from the West reached Sowashee Station, by mutual 
 consent all titles were merged into the one Meridian. 
 
 What was called the Northeastern road was built to 
 York, Ala., a distance of 27 miles, before the war. Soon 
 after hostilities commenced the Selma road was connected 
 with it there, and later the Vicksburg road joined at Me- 
 ridian. This was done partly for military purposes, which 
 made the place a stragetic point. Capt. Sjiinks having gone 
 into the army, his paper was suspended — he laid down his 
 life for his country. Col. J. J. Shannon moved here with 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 7 
 
 the "Clari(3n" from Paulding. Though its office was de- 
 stroyed by Sherman's raid, it built again and continued until 
 after the surrender, when being chosen for the State work, 
 its proprietors took it to Jackson. 
 
 An interesting contest for the court house occurred be- 
 fore the war and another soon after. In the first, Marion, 
 the old county seat, was victorious, in the latter, Marion Sta- 
 tion, on the M. & O. R. R. 
 
 During the days of reconstruction. Meridian was made 
 the county seat by an act of the Legislature. Old Marion, 
 though the capitol of Lauderdale for years, after the removal 
 of the court house, being ott the railroad, gradually disap- 
 peared, and now only the remains of a chimney mark its 
 former site. 
 
 It was only by continuous struggles that Meridian 
 urged its way. People in the country showed it little favor; 
 it was not allowed station rates of freight at first, and land 
 holders either would not sell or discouraged purchasers by 
 fancy prices. 
 
 During the war Meridian was necessarily a place of im- 
 portance. It became department headquarters. Hence it 
 was the objective point of General Sherman wheti he started 
 East from Vicksburg. The Confederate forces fell back to 
 Demopolis, and the Federal army occupied the post about a 
 week, while engaged in tearing up railroad track, destroying 
 grist mills and burning, say, seventy houses. 
 
 With the restoration ot peace, however, our city, then a 
 village of about 500 inhabitants, grew rapidly in population. 
 The completion of the Alabama and Chattanooga railroad 
 was the beginning of a new era, but, unfortunately, it was of 
 short duration, as the panic of 1873 threw it into bank- 
 ruptcy. Our people lost much thereby, and the accidental 
 burning of a remarkably successful cotton mill, with very 
 
8 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 light insurance, about the same period, brought general 
 depression, which lasted several years. 
 
 All this passed away by 1879, when Meridian entered 
 upon a basis of permanent prosperity. Business revived 
 rapidly; new lines of communication were soon established. 
 The N. 0. & N. E. railroad was completed, and the A. G. S. 
 put in full operation, which made our city a commercial 
 centre. All kinds of improvements followed, until we have 
 a large number of extensive factories, the best of school 
 houses, churches of all denominations, and a law-loving, gen- 
 erous, hospitable population of about 16,000. Building and 
 Loan Associations have enabled hundreds of wage earners 
 to secure good homes, and our banks have maintained per- 
 fect integrity, even during the nation's panic. And now 
 comes the sewerage and proposed street pavements and side 
 walks. With these well done and additional electric lights 
 and street cars, we will have a model city. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 HEALTH AND VITAL STATISTICS. 
 
 As surpassing every other consideration in the estimate of 
 the immigrant or investor, the question of health naturally 
 comes first. It is gratifying to us to be enabled to satisfy 
 every inquiry on this score by simply presenting the able 
 report of Dr^ N. L. Guice on this subject, prepared at the 
 request of the Young Men's Business League and which is 
 here printed by authority : 
 
 F^eport Upon the Sanitary CoQditiOQ of MeridioQ. 
 
 BY DR. N. L. GUICE, 
 
 Ex-President Mississippi State Medical Association; Member American 
 Public Health Association; Member American Medical Association, 
 and a distinguished writer upon Medical and Sanitary Topics. 
 
 To the Y. M. B, League : In response to your request 
 I present below a few facts relative to the past and present 
 sanitary condition of our city : 
 
 First, it may be appropriate to say that Meridian is situ- 
 ated in the midst of an immense yellow pine region, and is 
 surrounded on all sides with dense forests of the original 
 growth of pine. The surface of the country composing this 
 region is elevated and uneven. In fact, it is made up largely 
 of ridges and hills, and is abundantly drained by streams of 
 pure soft water. The atmosphere jDOSsesses that quality of 
 purity which is universally conceded to all the pine re- 
 gions of this country, and is charged with an aroma which 
 is supplied by the ever-green leaf of the pine. Thisterebin- 
 thinate principle is injurious to none and is thought to be ad- 
 vantageous to persons who are inclined to pulmonary disease. 
 
 Coming now to the city proper, we find that Meridian 
 stands upon a surface which is elevated and uneven ; in fact, 
 
10 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 it is dotted all over with hills, ridges and narrow valleys, 
 We are thus insured a most perfect system of natural drain- 
 age. All storm water flows rapidly from the surface, and 
 after reaching the larger drains, ditches and culverts in the 
 different parts of the city, it is speedily conveyed to Sowashee 
 creek. This creek is a stream of considerahle magnitude, 
 which traverses the entire Southern border of the city. 
 
 The sod of the city is freely intermixed with sand and 
 gravel and is hence porous and dry. Combining then, the ele- 
 vated and undulating nature of the surface with the sandy 
 and porous character of the soil, we have that happy combi- 
 nation whicli insures a condition of dryness, which is recog- 
 nized by all sanitarians as being most favorable to health. 
 Dr. Parkes, in his most excellent work, (Practical Hygiene) 
 says. Page 296, that "the health of a locality is intimately 
 connected with the nature of the soil on which the houses 
 are built. It is generally believed that the m jst porous soils — 
 the gravel and the sands — are the healthiest because they 
 are the dryest, and this view in the main is correct." 
 
 When we take into consideration the unliealtliy or the 
 disease-producing tendencies of damp soils, we can better 
 appreciate the value to health of the opposite or dry soil. 
 Dr. Parkes, previously quoted, and who is one of the most 
 distinguished authorities on the sul)ject ot hygiene, claims 
 that "this condition of dam[)ness and moisture in the site and 
 air of a house, is one credited by universal experience with 
 the production of rheumatism, catarrh, neuralgia and all 
 affections of a bronchial and pulmonary nature, and is prob- 
 ably a strong predisposing factor in the production of dyp- 
 tlieria outbreaks. * * * The researches of 
 
 Dr. Bodich, of Boston, U. S. A., have conclusively shown 
 that there is an intimate connection between moisture of 
 soil and destructive diseases of the lungs." Knowing, then, 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 11 
 
 as we do, the amount of sickness, suftering and death which 
 is caused by the list of diseases above mentioned, and esti- 
 mating at their true value, in the scientific world, the men 
 whose language I have quoted, we should not fail to place 
 adequate value upon the dry soil of our city. 
 
 Meridian is remarkably free from malaria and malarial 
 diseases. This is an item of special and vast importance and 
 should be given adequate prominence in every estimate ot 
 sanitary condition of this city. 
 
 While engaged in the practice of medicine here, I have 
 been struck with the paucity of malarial fevers and other dis- 
 eases arising from that wide-spread and poisonous emanation 
 which is known as malaria, and which is truly very uncom- 
 mon within the corporate limits of the city. And such cases 
 as do occur are confined chiefly to the banks of Sowashee 
 creek which stream as before stated, runs along the extreme 
 southern border of the city. This part of the city, as we all 
 know, is far removed from the residence portion and is very 
 sparsely settled, there being only an occasional house on 
 either bank of the creek. 
 
 Malaria is known to be one of the greatest enemies of the 
 Caucasian race. It is pronounced and widely difl^used over 
 immense areas of the North American continent, and any 
 city or locality which uiay successfully establish the 
 iact that it is free from its presence and harmful influences, 
 should at once become a centre of attraction, both for capi- 
 tal and immigration. 
 
 The absence of malaria from Meridian does not rank as a 
 special providence, nor as an unaccountable phwiomenon in 
 nature, but may be truly and scientifically attributed to the 
 dry and porous character of the soil. It is maintained by 
 that distinguished hygienist. Dr. Parkes, that "the connec- 
 tion between malaria and damp, marshy soils is firmly estab- 
 
12 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 lished." The presence of much vegetable debris in the soil, 
 together with sufRcient moisture and warm temperature, are 
 the usual factors determining the development of the malarial 
 agent and the onset of ague and intermittent fevers. (Op. 
 cit. page, — ) 
 
 In many instances, in truth, as is justly claimed by Dr. 
 Parkes and other hygienists, districts which were originally 
 malarious have been rendered healthful by means of artificial 
 subsoil drainage, or even alone by the planting of trees, 
 wliich latter drain the soil by means of evaporation from the 
 green leaves of the growing timber. And the fact is estab- 
 lished that an oak tree will evaporate 8 1-2 times the volume 
 of water falling upon the area covered by the same. Thus 
 it is that the large number of oaks growing in Meridian 
 serve to contribute to the health of the city by contributing, 
 in their way, to the dryness of the soil. 
 
 Typhoid fever is rapidly disappearing from our catalogue 
 of diseases. It is questionable, in truth, whether or not there 
 was a single typical case of this fever in the city since 1893. 
 And I will assert, without fear of contradiction, that Meri- 
 dian is as free from^typhoid fever as any city of its size in this 
 country. 
 
 Typhoid fever is a preventable disease and is duo in all 
 cases to bad hygienic conditions. When it prevailed in this 
 city it was due mainly to bad water. The citizens were 
 then compelled to resort to shallow wells as the only possible 
 source of drinking water. These wells were dug upon every 
 inhabited lot and were from 25 to 75 feet deep. Every san- 
 itarian is familiar with the dangers incident to the consump- 
 tion of such water, in either city, town or village. Such wells 
 are in constant danger of contamination with filth from the 
 surface and are prolific breeders, especially of typhoid fever. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 13 
 
 Eight years ago the city was first sujSplied with pure 
 water by means of a complete waterworks system. This 
 water is obtained from a mountain rivulet of pure soft water. 
 The advent of thi» water was followed by the gradual closing 
 of the privace wells and also by the steady disappearance of 
 typhoid fever and other diseases resulting from the con- 
 sumption of impure water. But the decline of these diseases 
 would have been more rapid but for the fact that many of 
 the inhabitants refused to give up their private wells. 
 
 It should be remembered that Meridian, with a population 
 of 15,000 to 17,000 people, and with such limited hygienic 
 resources as is implied in pure water and good natural drain- 
 age has been able to maintain a death rate as low as fourteen 
 per thousand of inhabitants. Meanwhile, we have had to 
 encounter a miserable surface privy system, with absolutely 
 no means of disposing of kitchen and house garbage, to- 
 gether with all such retuse as is usually carried off through 
 the agency of a sewerage system. Truly, it would be difli- 
 cult for any city, with or without sewerage facilities, to pre- 
 sent a better mortuary record. 
 
 But this fact can be better shown and appreciated by com- 
 paring the death rate of Meridian with that of a number of 
 other cities of the United States and foreign countries. 
 
 The following table from the report of the tenth census 
 shows for each of thirty-one registration cities the number of 
 deaths during the year ending June 1st, 1880, to each thous- 
 and of population. It will be noticed that the death rates are 
 given for the whole population, and with classification, in 
 the case of six Southern cities by color : 
 
 CITIES. 
 
 Cambridge ..... 17.46 
 
 Camden . . . . . .18.17 
 
 Nashville ..... 18.22 
 
14 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI 
 
 CITIES. 
 
 Worcester ...... 18.40 
 
 Lynn ...... 18.65 
 
 Newark ...... 1920 
 
 Lowell . . . , . 19.20 
 
 St. Louis ...... 20.07 
 
 Cleveland ..... 20.14 
 
 Jersey Clity • . • > • • 20.27 
 
 Pliiladelpliia ..... 20.40 
 
 Milwaukee . . . . . , . 20.49 
 
 San Frmicisco ..... 20.50 
 
 Chicago ...... 20.77 
 
 Lawrence ..... 20.99 
 
 rittsburgh ...... 21.05 
 
 Cincinnati ..... 21.35 
 
 Wilmington ...... 21.42 
 
 Providence ..... 21.54 
 
 Piiterson ...... 22.12 
 
 Brooklyn 22.24 
 
 Indianapolis . . . . . . 22.27 
 
 Boston ...... 22.32 
 
 -r . .„ f White ..... 20.04 
 
 Lonisville ■{ r^ ^ a ^i na 
 
 \ Colored .... 34.7b 
 
 Both together ..... 22.53 
 
 w I- . (White .... 17.80 
 
 Washington | (.^,,^^.^.^^ .... 35.45 
 
 Both together .... 23.61 
 
 Fall Ri v^er . . . . • . 24.42 
 
 ,,. , , (White .... 19.12 
 
 lliclnnond | ^^i^.^^i .... 31.97 
 
 Both together . . • . 24.75 
 
 ( White . . . . 22.71 
 
 Ba tiniorc w, i i on «i 
 
 ( Colored .... 37. bl 
 
 Both together . • . . 25.12 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI, 15 
 CITIES. 
 
 New York ..... 25.37 
 
 White .... 22.41 
 
 New Orleans ^ /-^ i i oc />-i 
 
 Colored . . . 35. bl 
 
 Both together .... 25.94 
 
 ^,1 1 , [White .... 23.78 
 
 Clmrleston ■{ n i ^ ic nn 
 
 [ Colored .... .45.00 
 
 Both together .... 35.37 
 
 Mean total (thirty-one cities) , . . 22.28 
 
 For several foreign cities the death-rates m 1880 were as 
 follows : 
 
 London ...... 22.14 
 
 Liverpool . . . . • 27.22 
 
 Paris ...... 26.48 
 
 Madrid ...... 40.18 
 
 Odessa ...... 37.28 
 
 ILivana ...... 40.64 
 
 Amsterdam ...... 26.96 
 
 Dnblin . . . ... . 35.94 
 
 Berlin ...... 29.24 
 
 Bremen ...... 20.89 
 
 Vienna . . . . • . 28.17 
 
 Glasgow ...... 22.53 
 
 Edinburgh ...... 21.50 
 
 Rio de Janerio .... 33.22 
 
 Stockholm ... . . 28.79 
 
 Melbourn and suburbs . , . 19.18 
 
 The death-rate of Meridian, as above stated, is only four- 
 teen in the thousand. It is evident, therefore, by comparison 
 that this figure is decidedly lower than that of any city 
 mentioned in the foregoing tables. And it should be re- 
 membered, also, that these cites, with few exceptions, were 
 
16 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 well sewered at the time these statistics were made, thus giv- 
 ing them great advantage in the matter of facihties for main- 
 taining a good sanitary condition, or, in other words, for 
 guarding their inhabitants against sickness and death. 
 
 Heretofore, as I have previously shown. Meridian has had 
 no sewerage, but this great sanitary requirement of every 
 city is now being supplied. The contractors are rapidly 
 nearing the completion for us of what is known as the war- 
 ing system of sewerage, and in fact, the work will be com- 
 pleted within the present month (April). This system of 
 sewerage has received the endorsement — nay, more — it has 
 commanded the admiration for efficiency of hygienists and 
 sanitarians in both Europe and America, and it is iu truth 
 one of if not the best known systems. With this sewerage 
 completed and in operation the city will be able, without 
 doubt or difficulty, to maintain a most perfect sanitary con- 
 dition and even to lower the present death-rate of fourteen 
 per thousand. 
 
 Thus, gentlemen, have I sought to show that Meridian 
 offiBrs to her present and prospective inhabitants such assur- 
 ances of their ability to maintain health as are implied in 
 the combination of pure air, pure water, a dry and porous 
 soil, thorough surface drainage, absence of malaria and a 
 perfect system of sewerage. 
 
 Being already a city of churches, and hence, of good 
 morals, Meridian should justly be made a center of educa- 
 tion. Her already numerous and prosperous schools should 
 be increased by the rapid addition of others. As the mens 
 sano in sano corpore is an indispensable condition of all edu- 
 cation it behooves the parent and guardian to seek in the 
 education of their wards and children, only such locations as 
 present the most perfect sanitary conditions. With such 
 surroundings there is little danger that the growtli and de- 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 17 
 
 velopmeiit of the mind and body would be antagonized by 
 the blighting influences of physical suffering. 
 
 There is no obstacle to the constant supply of the purest 
 water for this city. Should the present supply prove, at any 
 time, inadequate, inexhaustible quantities can be furnished 
 by means of artesian wells. This important fact was estab- 
 lished last year (1894) by the sinking of the John Karaper 
 Ice Go's well. This well is located in the center of the city, 
 and is 780 feet in depth. The water issues from a bed of 
 quicksand; is clear, soft and pure, and is, hence, adapted to all 
 the wants of a city. 
 
 The following analysis of the water of this well was made' 
 by Prof. W. L. Hutchinson, of the Agricultural and Mechan- 
 ical College at Starkville, Miss., to wit : 
 
 GRAINS PER (JALLON. 
 
 Total Solids ..... 8.189, 
 
 Consisting of Soluble Silica . . .839' 
 
 Iron Oxide ..... .353 
 
 Aluminica Oxide . . , . . .335 
 
 Phosphoric Acid ..... .003 
 
 Chlorine .... . .410 
 
 Sulphur Trioxide ..... .377 
 
 Lime (Calcium Oxide) .... .513 
 
 Magnesium Oxide . . . • . .056 
 
 Pottassium Oxide . . . . -276 
 
 Sodium Oxide . . . . . 2.658 
 
 Social. 
 
 There is perhaps, no large town in the United States 
 where the social status of the individual is more emphati- 
 cally fixed by moral worth than in Meridian. Equally re. 
 moved from the extremes of wealth and poverty, owning 
 neither paupers nor millionaires, there are no class distinc- 
 tions save those that distinguish the worker from the loafer. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 19 
 
 tile honest man from the rogue, the moral from the immoral, 
 the educated from the ignorant. But in our social economy, 
 worthiness is the supreme test, and it is inexorably applied 
 in every relation of life. A potent moral influence domi- 
 nates the community, and all who seek social position here 
 must conform to it. 
 
 A. cordial welcome and the kindliest hospitality awaits 
 every new comer in the midst of us; the right hand of fel- 
 lowship is at once extended and never withdrawn except for 
 sufficient cause. No one ever asks any question as to the 
 })olitics, place of birth or religion of the stranger; whether 
 Democrat, Republican or Populist, whether from Maine or 
 Florida, whether Jew or Gentile, the same welcome and 
 kindly consideration awaits hin. if only he will make a good 
 citizen. It may be said right here that a large proportion of 
 our most influential citizens in every line of business came 
 from north of Mason and Dixon line, and the social status 
 of their families is unquestioned. 
 
 The refinements of society prevail here ; and culture, 
 along the lines of music, art and literature is stimulated by 
 clubs or societies devoted to the study of each, whose mem- 
 bership embraces ladies and gentlemen of every calling. The 
 homes of Meridian, in their exquisite gardens and beautiful 
 grounds, their architectural beauty and the taste displayed 
 in their interior finish, furnishing and decoration abund- 
 antly attest the appreciation in which these things are held. 
 The two leading social clubs, each of which owns handsome 
 (piarters, luxuriously funished with all the accessories of 
 comfort and ease, are the Calumet and the Standard, to the 
 one or the other which most of the leading young men of 
 the city belong. 
 
 The drama is here encouraged and one of the handsomest 
 and best appointed theatres afibrds, during a season of seven 
 months, entertainment by the best histrionic talent in the 
 
20 MERIMAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 country. A regularly organized Lyceum bureau contributes 
 every winter to intellectual entertainment by bringing 
 hither some of the most distinguished platform orators known 
 to faUie. 
 
 Locatioo- 
 
 Situated at the junction of five railroads, within 135 
 miles of Mobile and 196 miles of New Orleans, within easy 
 reach of the coal and iron fields of Alabama and in the very 
 heart of the finest timber regions of the South, surrounded 
 by cotton fields producing the finest varieties of upland 
 cotton, built upon an elevation of nearly 400 feet above the 
 sea and absolutely free of malaria. Meridian's future is abso- 
 lutely secure. There are conditions that are universally 
 recognized as infallible in fixing the commercial and indus- 
 trial destiny ot a city, and those noted confirm confidence in 
 the continued growth and development so auspiciously 
 begun. 
 
 MoQufacturiog pacilties. 
 
 While surrounded by a thrifty and prosperous agricultural 
 people whose trade must inevitably assure a large degree of 
 commercial activity, sufiicient always to sustain a town of 
 respectable proportions, our people have not ignored the 
 wonderful advantages enjoyed for manufactures, and the 
 energies of our citizenship are directed towards building 
 here a city whose strength will abide in its internal indus- 
 trial resources. We possess these advantages : 
 
 Ist. Proximity to the raw material. 
 
 2nd. Easy accessibility to the markets of the world and 
 low rates of freight. 
 
 3d. Cheap fuel. 
 
 4th. A.i abundance of labor unaflected by the disorders 
 that embarrass industrial operations elsewhere. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 21 
 
 5th. Exemption of all factories from taxation by the 
 State Constitution for ten years. 
 
 6th. An all pervading public sentiment that fosters and 
 encourages every manufacturing enterprise that seeks loca- 
 tion here. 
 
 7th. The absence of any legislation or any suggestion 
 thereof, tending to embarrass the employment of labor. 
 
 Recognizing these things, local capital has not been slow 
 to take advantage of them, and the city points with just 
 pride to the splendid success achieved by every I'actory es- 
 tablished in Meridian during the past ten years. Their 
 growth has been constant, and the markets reached by their 
 products constantly enlarging as their capacity expanded. 
 
 The following is a list of the manufacturing enterprises 
 in successful operation to-day, giving employment to thous- 
 ands of people in town and country alike, and it makes no 
 mean sliowing for a town of 16,000 people, less than 20 years' 
 actual growth, and relying entirely upon its own resources 
 for development : 
 
 Meridian Oil Mills. 
 
 Capital, $200,000 ; business in 1894 $500,000; employs 
 160 hands; weekly pay roll $1,000. This institu- 
 tion uses cotton seed making oil and feed and is the general 
 office for eleven of the mills in the State, 
 
 The Eagle CottoQ Oil Co. 
 
 Capital $75,000 ; business $150,000 ; weekly pay roll $350; 
 employs 60 hands ; products, oil and feed. 
 
 Queen ar)d Crescent Shops. 
 
 Employs an average of 400 hands; pay roll about $520,000 
 annually. This is the general repair shop of the entire sys- 
 tem. Engines and cars arc all sent there for over-hauling. 
 
22 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 New cars are made complete. It is classed the best in the 
 South. An increase in capacity is being prepared for. 
 
 Meridian Sast)ar)d Blind pactory. 
 
 Employs 150 hands ; pay roll $1,200 weekly. The con- 
 cern is a close corporation. It is rated at $250,000 by agen- 
 ries. It is estimated to be worth $500,0000. It is all home 
 capital, built up from a small saw mill. It is the largest con- 
 cern of the kind in the South. Its market is the United 
 States. The finest class of carving is done. It put in the 
 finished work of the Forestry Building at the Worlds Fair. 
 
 Soutfjern Manufacturing Connpar)y. 
 
 Makes cow feed and horse feed from cotton seed halls, 
 cotton seed meal and other ingredients. The business last 
 year exceeded $100,000, an increase of $30,000 over 1893. 
 The works employ 30 hands, with a weekly pay roll of $200. 
 The profit is very good and there is a demand for every 
 pound of product made. Capital $25,000. 
 
 Meridian) pertilizer pactory. 
 
 Sells 12,000 tons annually, worth $16.00 per ton. The 
 demand for such fertilizers is increasing very rapidly, and 
 there is profit in the product. The factory employs 40 
 hands, paying out weekly in wages $250.00. Tliis plant 
 sells forty per cent, of the fertilizer sold in the State. The 
 business could be largely increased. Capital $190,000. 
 
 Progress Manufacturing Compaoy. 
 
 Manufactures hay presses, self-tramping cotton presses, 
 engines, boilers, castings of all kinds. Capital stock $75- 
 000 ; surplus $5,000 ; annual business $100,000 ; employs 
 60 hands on a weekly pay roll of $700.00. All the money 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI L \ 
 
 ever put into the business was $16,000, the business having 
 grown from that sum to its present proportions and is con- 
 stantly increasing business and territory. An increase is 
 contemplated at an early day in capacity. 
 
 Meridian) poundry and MacfjiQe Sf)ops, 
 
 The capital stock is $20,000 ; the weekly pay roll $400.00 
 employs 25 hands, and an annual business of $150,000. The 
 company manufactures patent hay presses, engines, boilers 
 and castings. The business has grown from a small be- 
 ginning and is now in its 13th year. The plant has doubled 
 recently. 
 
 Meridiar) purniture pactory. 
 
 Has a cayjital stock of $50,000, with an annual output of 
 $100,000, employing 60 hands with a pay roll of $700.00. 
 The plant manufactures all kinds of furniture, from 
 the cheapest to the best, including bank and ottice furniture. 
 The business is continually increasing in business and ca- 
 pacity. 
 
 Meridian Wheel WorKs. 
 
 Manufacturerers ot wheels, hubs and spokes. The plant 
 is new and well equipped. This company employs 40 hands, 
 with a pay roll of $400.00 per week. The capital is $50,000. 
 Output $65,000. 
 
 Meridian SpoKe pactory. 
 
 Has a capital of $15,000, employing 15 hands, with a 
 weekly pay roll of $125.00. The company manufactures 
 spokes, hubs and rims. Business $30,000. 
 
 The Meridian Lurober Company. 
 
 Has a capital stock of $100,000, with annual output of 
 $200,0000, employing 90 hands, and with a weekly pay roll 
 of ^500.00. 
 
24 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI, 
 
 Soule & Wall. 
 
 Manufacturers of kindling wood from pine logs and stumps 
 by patent j)rocess. Capital stock $2,200, employing twelv^e 
 hands on a weekly pay roll of $125.00, 
 
 Soule Steam peed WorKs. 
 
 Manufacturers of patent saw mill steam feed. Capital 
 $25,000, with a pay roll of |250.00, employing fifteen liands. 
 
 Jol)n K.arnper Ice Co. 
 
 Capital $30,000, hands employed, fifteen ; pay roll $120.00 
 weekly; capacity thirty tons of ice per day. 
 
 Interstate Iron WorKs. 
 
 Capital $50,000, just started ; charter increased to $250,000 ; 
 capacity fifty liands ; pay roll $(300.00 weekly; manufactures 
 heavy irrigating and pumping machinery, dredges and sugar 
 machinery. This is a new industy, growing out of the con- 
 solidation of the Ivens Machine Works, of New Orleans, and 
 the Iludnub Iron Co. of Big Rapids, Michigan, chosing this 
 point as a suitable location. This firm does Government 
 contract work. 
 
 Southerr) Standard Press Co. 
 
 Has a capital of $15,000 ; employs twelve hands on a 
 weekly pay roll of $150.00. The company manufactures 
 presses for baling cotton. There is a big demand for the 
 output. 
 
 The Love Manufacturiog Co. 
 
 Corn millers and grain dealers. The capital is $50,000 : 
 does a business of $125,000 annually, wnth a pay roll of 
 $200.00 weekly, employing twenty hands. This firm cannot 
 supply the demand for their products. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 25 
 
 Meridian Pottery Co. 
 
 Mannfiictiires all kinds of stoneware, fire and paving 
 brick and tiling from native material. The capital is $20,- 
 000, doing a business of $75,000 annually, employing thirty- 
 five hands on a weekly pay roll of $400.00. 
 
 Meridian Broon) Worlds. 
 
 Is a new institution just started; moved herefrom Tupelo, 
 Miss. Arrangements have been made to grow broom corn 
 locally to supply the factory, and the output will be taken 
 locally. Capital $5,000.00, employing eight hands on a pay 
 rpll of $100.00 weekly, with an oiitput of thirty-five dozen 
 brooms per day. 
 
 Meridian Chair and Mattress factory. 
 
 Manufacture all grades of mattresses with good sales in 
 contiguous territory. Make staple chairs, handled largely 
 by surrounding merchants. Capital $10,000, employing 
 ten hands on a weekly pay roll of $125.00, 
 
 Meridian Bottling WorKs. 
 
 Puts up all kinds cider, soda water and summer drinks. 
 Large local trade. Capital $5,000.00, employing ten hands 
 at a weekly pay roll of $100.00. 
 
 Daisy hjuller Company. 
 
 Manufactures the Daisy Cotton Seed Huller. This insti- 
 tution has just started under a local patent and sells rights to 
 manufacture in other cotton States. The output locally in 
 1894 was $24,000 ; pay roll about $100.00 per week ; eight 
 hands. 
 
 Ruffer BricK Co. 
 
 Makes fire and building brick and drain tiles. Capital 
 $10,000, employing fifty men during season on a pay roll of 
 $450.00 per week. 
 
26 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 The Mattress Factory 
 
 Recently established by Messrs. McDade and Walker is an 
 
 enterprise the growth and development of which is assured 
 by the energy and intelligence of its promoters. 
 
 The W. P. hjayQes Plaining Mills 
 
 Is another flourishing and rapidly growing industry that 
 gives employment to bO hands, with a pay roll of ^420, 
 
 But confimed in the conviction that where such splendid 
 results have been achieved upon a limited local capital, still 
 greater possibilities are in store for a larger investment, ex- 
 amination of the resources, opportunities and advantages 
 here afforded is earnestly invited, and the Young Men's Bus- 
 iness League is organized for the purpose of facilitating this 
 inquiry. The secretary will always find pleasure in answer- 
 ing, in fullest detail, every question addressed to him. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 27 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 Educational facilities are always an important considera- 
 tion with that class of citizens whom we most cordially in- 
 vite to make their homes with us. The State of Mississippi 
 spends more money upon public education in proportion to 
 assessed valuation of property than any other State in the 
 Union, the appropriations for this purpose for the scholastic 
 year of 1892-93, the last of which complete report has been 
 made aggregating $1,320,973, or 7.1 mills as the total assess- 
 ment of the State. While every community is animated by 
 the same spirit of advancement in this direction, nowhere 
 
 ^ — CENTRAL, HIGH SCHOOL,. — ® 
 
 has there been such achievement in the way of educational 
 progress as has marked the history of Meridian during the 
 past five years. The superb public schools of this city are 
 
28 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 equal to the best in the country and are acknowledged models 
 for every city in the State. Five splendid brick structures, 
 admirably furnished and equipped with every modern fa- 
 cility for teaching, testify the liberality of our people in this 
 direction. In these schools the graded or progressive sys- 
 tem is employed and the curriculum is equal to that of man}' 
 colleges, while in point ot thoroughness the instruction is 
 far superior. 
 
 The following figures from the report of the County Su- 
 perintendent of Public Education, Hon. W. G. Stevenson, 
 are of interest in this connection : 
 
 Nundier of educable male children in county . . 5,281 
 Number of educable female children in county . 4,751 
 
 Total ..... 10,032 
 
 Number of educable male children in ^city . . 1,771 
 
 Number ot educable female children in city . . 1,816 
 
 Total ..... 3,587 
 
 Number of teachers employed in public schools 170 
 
 Number of Public School houses . 107 
 
 Value of Public School property . . . S 200,000 
 Annual amount spent for public schools . 47,000 
 
 Annual valuation of property, county and city . 9,322,116 
 
 In addition to this splendid equipment for free education, 
 there are a number of high grade institutions which rank 
 with the best of their kind in the country and receive a lib- 
 eral patronage from all parts of this and other States. Among 
 these are : 
 
 Wyatt's Business College. 
 
 The East Mississippi Female College. 
 
 The Stone Female College. 
 
 The St. Aloysius Academy, under the auspices, respect- 
 ively, of the Methodist, Baptist and Catholic churches. 
 
MElllDlAN AND EAST MiriSlSSiri'I. 29 
 
 KeligioQS. 
 
 Meridian has an abundance of churches, embracing the 
 following list : Four Methodist, six Baptist, two Presbyte- 
 rian, one Episcopal, one Catholic, one Methodist Protestant, 
 one Cumberland Presbyterian, one Christian, one German 
 Lutheran, one Jewish Synagogue, one Orthodox Tews, and 
 eleven negro churches, seven Baptist, three Methodist and 
 one Congregationalist. The property is valued at $114,- 
 500. The Y, M. C. A. own their own property, valued at 
 $8,000. There are 2,000 members of the Methodist church, 
 about the same number, or a few more in Baptist churches, 
 about 1,000 Presbyterians and about 1000 of the other 
 denominations. The largest Sunday-school in the South is 
 here, the Methodist Central having 600 scholars. A con- 
 siderable majority of the population are members of the 
 different churches. 
 
 Berjevolence 
 
 Is a characteristic of this people. They do not allow any one 
 to suiter among them. There is not a pauper or a beggar. 
 There is no necessity to beg. If distress overtakes anyone, 
 relief is promptly given. There are several aged poor at the 
 county farm, but none in the city. The East Mississippi 
 Insane Asylum is located here. It has spacious grounds. 
 The building cost $90,000, and the property as it stands is 
 worth $125,000. The State appropriates $35,000 per year 
 to maintain the institution. 
 
 piQance. 
 
 As before stated, we have no millionaires and not a pau- 
 per. There are none w^ealthy ; and few extremely poor. 
 Wealth is divided very generally. A man is guaged by his 
 integrity more than by his bank balance. The financial insti- 
 
(^ CENTUAL METHODIST CHURCH © 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 31 
 
 tutions are : The First National Bank, the Meridian Na- 
 tional Bank and the Citizens Savings Bank. The aggre- 
 gated capital is ^450,000 and the deposits subject to check 
 run about $750,000. The State rate of interest is 6 percent., 
 but the contract rate is 10 per cent. Money is in demand and 
 opportunities are always abundant to place good loans at the 
 latter rate. Money is needed for developing. There are 
 three local Building and Loan Associations, all of which are 
 very strong, two series of each having expired. They are 
 the Mechanics, the Savings and the Peoples. There are sev- 
 eral branches of national associations. These different insti- 
 tutions are aiding largely in building the city, as they keep 
 no idle money. 
 
 Capital in Trade. 
 
 The wholesale trade of Meridian amounted last year to 
 $3,500,000 and the retail trade will bring the figures to 
 near $10,000,000. There are five wholesale grocery houses, 
 one wholesale dry goods house and two feed and grain 
 
 houses. There are about 200 retail merchants. Failures 
 are very rare, as those who buy on time usually secure the 
 dealer. 
 
 Building. 
 
 There are ten contractors and builders. One of these, who 
 says his business is about an average, did $20,000 in build- 
 ing in 1894, and pays out about $150 a week to labor. That 
 would make $200,000 in materials and $78,000 in pay roll. 
 There is now under construction $39,050 in building and a 
 little over $200,000 under contract for fiis season. The 
 Federal Government has made an appropriation for an 
 $80,000 Federal Building here, which will contain a Federal 
 Court room. 
 
MElllUiAN A.\L» EAST MIdiSI8Hll'Pl. 33 
 
 The Cost of Liviog. 
 
 Living expenses are an important consideration in select- 
 ing a lionie, and the moderate cost of maintaining a family 
 in Meridian is among the best reeonuuendations of this city 
 
 'dii a place of residence. The market gardens in the suburbs 
 jii'ovide a liberal supply of seasonable vegetables at low 
 
 prices, while the farmers' wagons bring daily to toAvn an 
 abundaiice of chickens, eggs, butter and other farm products 
 that are largely sold directly to t-he consumer at his door. 
 Cliickens raiigs in price from $1.25 to |i2.50 per doz. Butter 
 from 17 to 25 cents per pound; eggs from 8 to 25 cents per 
 dozen, according to the season. House rent is by no means 
 high — a comfortable -cottage of tive rooms may be had in a 
 good neighborhood for $10 per niontli. Fuel is cheap, coal 
 selling at from $3.25 to $o.50 per ton, and Asood at from $1.50 
 to ?2.00 per cord delivered. GoodcOoks may be employed 
 at from $5.00 to $7.00 per month and other heJp ifi like pro- 
 portion. 
 
 Coromercial. * 
 
 The sources of the commercial strength and prosperity 
 which exist here today, and the guarantee of their continuous 
 growth lie in the location, the environment and the rich 
 products of the country surrounding. 
 
 A glance at the map that makes the frontispiece of this 
 work shows that the nearest competitive point on the South 
 is Mobile, distant 135 miles, on the west Vicksburg , 140 
 miles ; on the east Montgomery, Ala., 160 miles, and on the 
 noith Birmingham, that is 155 miles away. Here are cen- 
 tered railroads piercing the intermediate territory betwe<;ri 
 these cities and Meridian, and Meridian's drummers are sell- 
 ing goods almost at the doors of these competitors. Tiic 
 enterprise ot our merchants, relying upon no single local 
 source of trade, lias been encouraged to avail itself of every 
 
34 
 
 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI, 
 
 field open to its cultivation, and gathers tribute from the 
 mines and fields of west Alabama, the prairie .region of East 
 Mississippi, the lumber to the South of us and the cotton that 
 is produced on every side. Here also is found a market for 
 large quantities of fruit and vegetables produced in the im- 
 mediate vicinity of the city, and it is nt)ticeable that this 
 
 ® — SOMXHEKN HOTEL.. — ® 
 
 contribution to local trade is annually becoming a more and 
 more important commercial "factor. It is daily meeting with 
 more liberal encouragement, 'and many farmers are turning 
 their attefttion to the orchard and truck patch as a means of 
 pfovisioiii for current expenses in making their cotton crops, 
 instead of borrowing money to operate upon as has been the 
 rule in the past. Poultry, eggs and dairy products are also 
 no inconsiderable factors in the same direction, each contrib 
 uting to relieve, very materially, the comparative "dullness ol 
 summer business. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 36 
 
 But the important fact in the consideration ot Meridian's 
 conimercial development is that it goes constantly forward. 
 The panic of 1893 could not interrupt this onward move-t 
 ment and the aggregate trade has shown a constant and ma- 
 terial increase every year during the past decade. 
 
 While the energies of the people are largely devoted to 
 huilding up manufactures of various' kinds, no opportunity 
 is neglected to extend the city's mercantile interests, and a 
 hirge territory is annually conquered in this behalf. Every 
 inducement is offered the farmer to bring his product here 
 and the lumberman is convinced that Meridian affords not 
 only a liberal market for what he has to sell, but is a ^XP^ 
 ckiss point at which to get the worth of the money that, be 
 spends. The country merchant is convinced that he v^an 
 buy to better advantage in Meridian than in more; distjiini 
 markets, and the jobbing business of the city is daily assum-' 
 ing larger proportions. : . .: 
 
 Cottor). 
 
 . The location of Meridian in the center of an extensive cot- 
 ton growing district joined with its splendid transportatij&ft 
 facilities and the excellence of the country roads that peij-e^ 
 trate the cotton fields of adjacent counties! naturally mafe4s 
 this city an important market for the South's great stable. 
 Here are found the largest cotton compresses in the State 
 and during "the season," a number of buyers from Europe 
 as well as the E'ast make their headquarters here. The cotton 
 exchange iifiords the same facilities that are enjoyed by 
 larger cities for buyers and sellers, while every large mer- 
 chant, wholesale or retail, handles the staple. On a fair day, 
 at the height of the season, any stranger dropping upon -the 
 city could not but be impressed by the 'blockade of tiie 
 streets with cotton wagons, floats and drays, and immedi- 
 ately draw the conclusion that "King Cotton" had' by' 'no' 
 
36 
 
 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 means been deposed in this part ot the South, but still ruled 
 with a beniticent sway, the commercial destinies of an enter- 
 prising city. And right here it may be said that the ad- 
 junct factors of the South's commercial progress are in no 
 sense designed to overthrow the royalty of its chief product? 
 but are rather intended to supplement its dominion and 
 strengthen its kingdom. By diversified farming and the lim- 
 itation of the cotton acreage by the agriculturist and the con- 
 version of the raw material into the manufactured article by 
 
 m- — AVEUY ItFSIDCKCE. 
 
 the towns, the South is not weakening but strengthening 
 the dominion of cotton and making it more and more a 
 source of its commercial prosperity. And it is noticeable, 
 that notwithstanding the agricultural departure of recent 
 yeans in the direction of more diversified crops and a home- 
 making of the things consumed upon the farm, a more inten- 
 sified system of farming and a more diminished reliance upon 
 cotton for every need, the staple continues to make annually 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MI8&ISSIPPI. 87 
 
 a more important factor in Meridian's trade. The receipts 
 for the season of 1894-95 up to tlie first of May aggregated 
 nearly 100,000 bales, fifty per cent more than the total 
 receipts of the year previous. Indeed, except for a logical 
 reduction in a single year, due to a short crop, the records 
 show a constant and continuous growth of cotton receipts 
 since the cotton exchange was organized twelve years ago. 
 In recent years the volume of the business has aggregated 
 between |2,500,000 to |3,000,000 annually, most of which 
 has gone into the channels of local trade. 
 
 In addition to this royal contribution to our commercial 
 prosperity, cotton seed find here a market at the best prices ; 
 two of the best equipped oil mills in the South being located 
 in Meridian, and when the oil is expressed for shipment, 
 much of the product is returned again to the fields in the 
 shape of cotton seed meal, for fertilizing purposes, and the 
 hulls from the seed sell at from |3.50 to $4.00 per ton. 
 These by-products of the cotton crop of the South have never 
 been sufficiently considered in the estimate of our crop val- 
 ues, because they happen to be overshadowed by their greater 
 and parent product. Meridian and the farmers of East Mis- 
 sissippi, however, know its worth and appreciate its contri- 
 bution, both to commercial and agricultural wealth. 
 
 Cotton MaQufacturc. 
 
 Elsewhere have been noted some of the advantages pos- 
 sessed by this city for the establishment of factories. It has 
 been sought to show how capital invested in almost any line 
 of manufacture might count on certain advantages not else- 
 where obtainable. We have ako given a list of those enter- 
 prises covering a large variety of product already in success- 
 ful operation here. We have shown that no undertaking 
 along this line, properly directed, has failed. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 ^->.,= •, @^ — mCRIDIAN NATIONAL BANK.^ — ® 
 
 '-''"But Meridian has no cotton factory. And yet it may Be 
 
 >doubted if there is a single point in the whole Sonth where 
 
 the opportunities for the successful operation of such' an en- 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 2>9 
 
 terprise are greater. The absence of this important factor in 
 oiir industrial and conimercial economy is inexplicable except 
 upon the ground that our local capital has been profitably 
 occupied iji other directions and no sufficient advertisement 
 of our advantages for profitable cotton manufacture has been 
 made abroad, . - ., ,. 
 
 The essential factors in the success of any manufacturing 
 enterprise in any locality are ; . . 
 
 1st. Cheap and desirable raw material... 
 .2nd, Minimum cost of motive power. .. 
 
 . 3rd. An adequate supply of reliable labor at reasonable 
 wages. ■ , • ' 
 
 4th. Reasonable freight rates and abundant transporta- 
 tion facilities. 
 
 5th. The absence of legislation embarrassing the relations 
 of capital and labor. 
 
 6th. The temper and attitude of the people towards the 
 enterprise undertaken. 
 7th. Taxation. 
 8th. A healthful locality. 
 
 If these are, as we assume them to be, the chief considera- 
 tions of capital in seeking investment in cotton manufacture, 
 then Meridian should be second to no city in the South in its 
 output of cotton fabrics. To each question suggested by the 
 above enumeration, only a 'favorable answer could be re- 
 turned. 
 
 We have here the Orleans upland cotton at a minimum 
 price. 
 
 The cost of steam coal is less than |2.00 per ton. 
 There has never been a strike in any factory in Meridian. 
 Our freight rates are better than most interior towns enjoy, 
 by reason of our proximity to water transportation. 
 
 There is not a single act upon our statute books that inter- 
 feres with the rights of the employer of labor. 
 
40 MERIDIAN ANT> EAHT MlH;!>iIf<Hll»Pr. 
 
 The pnljlic spirit of the 'jity is eager and jilert to secure 
 th.e establishment of factoriefi, and free sites are <']icerfullj 
 given. 
 
 All factories are exempt from taxation for a period often 
 years by constitutional enactment. 
 
 The facts and tigures given in preceding pages establish 
 the healthfulness of the city and place it, in this respect, ip 
 the front rank of American cities. 
 
 These things considered, only an investigation of the ad- 
 vantages that Meridian possesses is asked of those contem- 
 plating investment in Southern cotton manufacture, to con- 
 vince them that no more desirable point for such enterprise 
 could be found in the United States. 
 
East J^ississippi. 
 
 Its Agricultural, Stock Raisiog and Lurr)ber F^esources. 
 
 Throvighout East Mississippi diversified farming is rapidly 
 be(!oraing the rule. There are here a few large plantations, 
 devoted exclusively to cotton, and nowhere does the planta- 
 tion system of cultivation prevail. The farmers, as a rule, 
 own the lands that they cultivate, and wherever intelligence 
 and thrift guide the conduct of the farm, comfort and abund- 
 ance are found. Lands are very cheap. Good farms can be 
 bought from fire to ten dollars per acre appreciating in 
 value, however,, in direct ratio with proximity to market and 
 ([uaility of soil and improvements thereon. Well improved 
 places within a few miles of town can be purchased for fif- 
 teen dollars per acre. This low price is attributable to the 
 fact that there is a great abundance of unimproved land that 
 may be had as low as two dollars per acre. In addition to 
 this there are many thousand acres throughout East Miams- 
 sippi yet capable of Homestead entry, and for the benefit of 
 those seeking free homes we give the following 
 
 SYNOPSIS OF THE HOMESTEAD LAWS AS RENDERED BY AN ACT 
 
 OP CONGRESS APPROVED MARCH 3, 1891, SHOWING 
 
 HOW TO OBTAIN LANDS. 
 
 Under the Homestead Act, a citizen, or one who has de- 
 clared his intention of becoming such, and who is not the 
 owner or proprietor of 160 acres of land, in any state or 
 territory, can homestead 160 acres by filing his application 
 and affidavit at the Local Land Oflice, and within six 
 months thereafter commencing settlement and improvement 
 
42 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 and continuing the same for five years. The only cost is 
 the United States Land Office fees, which are from $18 to $22 
 per 160 acres. After the expiration of 14 months from the 
 date of entry the kiw allows the homesteader to secure a 
 title to the tract, if so desired, by paying for it in cash at 
 the rate of $1.25 per acre on making proof of settlement, 
 residence and cultivation for that period. A soldier having 
 served in the United States Army or Navy, during the. late 
 war bet\y(?en the States, for over 90 days, can obtain 160 
 acres of any of the public lands by filing (himself or by his 
 attorney) a declaratory statement, and within six months 
 following, filing his affidavit and application, commencing 
 settlement and cultivation, and continuing the same for five 
 years, less the time he served in the army or navy, but 
 such time in no case to exceed four years. Uis widow can 
 take advantage of the; above. In case of his death in, the 
 army, or discharge therefrom, on account of wounds or disa- 
 bility incurred in the line of duty, the term of his enlistment 
 is deducted. In case of death of a soldier, his widow, if un- 
 married, or in case of her death, or marriage, then hig minor 
 orphan children, by a guardian duly appointed and officially 
 ac,cr.edited at the Department of the Interior, shall be en- 
 titled to all the benefits given soldiers under Homestead 
 laws. An unmarried woman of age can take the benefit of 
 the Homestead law; if she marries before she has acquired 
 title and continues her residence on her claim, she can pro- 
 ceed to prove up at the proper time, the same as if she had 
 remained single, but husband and wife cannot secure sepa- 
 
 jrate tracts by maintaining separate residences at the same 
 
 time. All sons and daughters of a family, who are of -age, 
 
 "are entitled to take up land under the United States Land 
 
 Laws. The Pre-emption Laws and the Timber culture Acts 
 
 were repealed by an Act of the 51st Congress. 
 
MERIDIAN AND, EAST MISSISSIPPI. ^'4 
 
 . TUB PINE BELT. 
 
 . From Meridian to Mobile, a distance, ot 135 niiles and 
 from Merdian to New Orleans is what is known as the 
 Pine Belt, The country is covered with long-leaf yellow 
 pinei , The country is rolling, but not hilly, and abounds 
 in s]3rings brooks and creeks of clear, pure water as. soft 
 as melted snow. : The large trees in this section have 
 been taken out by the saw mill men, and where the fields 
 have. not been cleared the country is covered with pine trees 
 under fifteen inches in diameter, and is free from underbrush. 
 The soil is a sandy loam, underlaid with a clay sub-soil, and 
 for the best success in agriculture needs to be fertilized, -This 
 however, can be done without buying artificial fertilizers, as 
 't\vo crops of clover or field peas can be grown in a season, 
 adding great fertility to the soil. In this whole region you 
 eahproduce from two to three crops each year. It is as 
 well adapted to fruit-raising as any portion of America, and 
 •all farm crops can be gi:own successfully and. profitably. 
 •;; The diversity of products, the equable climate, the equal 
 and favorable seasons, the distribution of rainfall and the 
 freedom from the ravages of the devastating insects that 
 prey -upon the crops of othdr sections, all combine ;to make 
 this, a . favored • region for the remunerative employnient 
 of the energies of the farmer. Aside from cotton every- 
 where, a staple in the South,. we niay note a few advantageiB 
 that are ejajoyed for the cultivation of other crops in this 
 favored region. , , . 
 
 Hay. No portion of the North has as favorable condi- 
 tions for the -production of hay as the South. ManyNorth- 
 ..ern.pet)pl.e".are>in dined to answer this assertion by as.king 
 : why, the South during the past years has purchased immense 
 qqantitities of hay from the North. That has simply been 
 -done because many of the Southern planters were dev^oting 
 their entire attention to. the one crop of cotton, and pur- 
 
44 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 chasing the food necessary for themselves and stock. That 
 da}' is rapidl}' passing away, and to-day you can iind along 
 the Mobile and Ohio Railroad as good grass pastures and as 
 line clover fields as can be found anywhere. 
 
 Red (/LOVER. A greater variety of clovers can be grown 
 in the South than in the North, and there is but little dilier- 
 euce between the different varieties. Red clover is not a 
 success in the pine region. In the prairie region of Missis- 
 sippi it is as successful and produces more hay than the 
 Korth. The price of the hay will average |15.00 per ton. 
 The yield will often reach 5038 pounds of dry hay per acre. 
 At least another ton of hay can be cut from such fields the 
 same year before August 28th. Is it possible anywhere in 
 the North to produce two tons and a half of clover hay frorn 
 an acre in a little over seven months from the time the seed 
 is sown ? The value of red clover as a soil renovator is too 
 well understood to need comment here. 
 
 Mexican Clover is specially adapted to sandy soils. It 
 seeds itself and comes up after crops are laid by. It makes 
 a rank growth till late in the season, and yields fully two 
 tons of excellent ha}^ per acre, coming in as a second crop. 
 
 Melilotus, on lands that are rich in Hme, is the most val- 
 uable of all the clover family either for hay, pastures, or for 
 restoring worn out lands. The roots of the melilotus pene- 
 trate deeper into the soil than other clovers, and the 
 mechanical action on the soil is of very great value in addi- 
 tion to the fertility imparted. The seed is soAvn in the 
 spring, and the growth is sufficient to give one or two cut- 
 tings for hay by fall, and three cuttings the following year. 
 
 Japan (Jlover when once established reseeds itself annu- 
 ally, coming late in the spring and affording most excellent 
 summer pastures until frost. It is relished by all farm ani^ 
 nials, and thrives during hot, dry weather of summer. If 
 cut for hay it will make from two to three tons per acre. It 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 45 
 
 succeeds on almost any kind of soil, and will do fairly well 
 on soils too poor for the growth of any other clover. 
 
 Burr Clover nndces its principal growth in the winter 
 and early spring. It matures its seeds in May and then dies. 
 It is of special value to grow with late maturing clovers or 
 grasses, thus aftbrding pasture almost the entire year. 
 
 Alfalfa succeeds as well in East Mississippi as it 
 does in the West. It can he cut four times during the year, 
 and will make a ton or more of choice hay to the acre at 
 each cutting. It makes a line winter pasture. An acre will 
 produce ten bushels of seed worth five dollars per bushel. 
 
 Crimson Clover is a valuable plant that is a great success 
 on the light sandy soils of this section, either for hay or 
 as a soil restorative. The hay is almost equal to bran for 
 feeding, and from one to two tons can be made from an acre 
 of very poor land. 
 
 TuE Cow Pea is exceedingly valuable, whether grown for 
 enriching the soil, for hay or for the crop of peas. Two 
 crops can be grown each year. It does not seem to be 
 atYected by hot weather or drouth. 
 
 With all these valuable plants of the clover family the 
 Southern farmer is in a much better position to cheaply ren- 
 ovate worn out soil and to maintain the fertility of his lauds, 
 and can produce a larger crop of hay that is worth more per 
 ton than the Northern farmer. 
 
 TrucK Fai'i^''^9- 
 
 This important industry was begun about live years ago 
 on a very small scale and from a shipment of a tew boxes 
 has grown until the shipments are now in car load lots. 
 English Peas, Beans, Irish Potatoes, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, 
 Sweet Corn, Turnips, and Sweet Potiltoes all prove profitable, 
 and arc marketed in time to plant Corn or other crops. 
 Strawberries have been shipped in small quanities with good 
 
46 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 results and the soil found to be specially adapted to them, 
 having a clu}^ sub-soil. Peaches, Apples, Grapes and Plums 
 are' all gown successfully and a number of persons are 
 setting out good sized orchards. 
 
 Profitable farming is demonstrated by Fred Kamper, who 
 lives fifteen miles from Meridian, Miss. Mr. ' Kamper {&■ d 
 man of means, and one whose word ig never doubted by 
 those who know him. He owns several farms and is mak- 
 ing them all pay by cultivating them in an intelligent pro- 
 gressive manner. He is raising a good deal of thoroughbred 
 stock, and has his home surrounded with an abundance of 
 fiowors and fruit. ^ ■ 
 
 Last year he made Over 3,000 gallons of syrup from five 
 acres of ribbon cane. This is the cane from which sugar is 
 made, and it succeeds well on all of the 'lands in the vicinity 
 of Meridian. Nearly every farmer will grow a patch of this 
 cane, usually about an eighth of an acre, from which he can 
 make all the syrup needed on the farm during the year, and 
 usually have some to sell. Many farmers also manufacture 
 their own sugar. 
 
 Mr, Kamper had a photograph taken of a field of corn 
 that yielded seventy-five bushels of corn to the acre; This 
 was grown after a crop of English peas was raised and har- 
 vested.' The English peas were not as profitable this year .as 
 usual, on account of being injured by a late frost, and only 
 gave a net return of tw^enty-five dollars per acre, after pay- 
 ing for the fertilizer and all other expenses connected with 
 growing and marketing the crops. This leaves the corn 
 crop all clear profit in addition to tlie twenty-five dollars per 
 acre made on the peas. The corn will be harvested in tinle 
 to get a crop of volunteer grass that will make at least a to-.i 
 of hay to the acre. 
 
 Last year this same field produced a crop of English peas 
 that gave a net profit of eighty dollars per acre above all eX- 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI, 47 
 
 penses of fertilizing and shipping, and the corn grown as 
 a second crop produced 108 bushels per acre. 
 
 The experience of Mr. Kamper is cited to indicate the 
 possibilities of farming in this section, not as an average 
 result. Success in this direction, here, as well as elsewhere, 
 depends upon many things besides the soil ; but given equal 
 energy, intelligence and industry, there is no reason why the 
 same results should not be achieved by any one. 
 
 Irish potatoes are grown very largely by the truck farmers 
 throughout East Mississippi. They are planted from the 
 middle of January to the first ot March and are harvested 
 from the first of May until the middle of June. The crop is 
 thus removed from the ground in ample time for the pro- 
 duction of a second crop. Irish potatoes, in this section, are 
 never troubled by the Colorado beetle, which causes so much 
 damage in the potato fields in the North. The average pro- 
 duction is from fifty to 100 barrels per acre. Prices vary 
 with the seasons. Some years they are sold as high as |4 or 
 $5 per barrel, delivered at the railroad stations, and other 
 seasons as low as $2 ; but they return a good average profit 
 and can be produced with as great ease as any of the crops 
 grown by the truck farmers. It is the custom with a great 
 many potato growers to save the small potatoes from the 
 early crop and grow a late crop that will often-times bring 
 a greater profit than the first. The early potatoes will not 
 keep over until the next year, but the late crop will, keep 
 longer than those grown in the North. Where two crops of 
 potatoes are grown on the same land in the year the second 
 crop is removed in time to produce a crop of turnips or 
 ruta-bagas 
 
 Intcrestiog Correspondence. 
 
 The following correspondence pertinent to the agricul- 
 tural, dimatic and other conditions of the South applies 
 
48 MERIDIAiS^ AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 peculiarly to East Mississippi, and we here produce ic with 
 acknowledgments to Mr, E. E. Posey, General Passenger 
 Agent of the M. & 0. R. K., than whom no one has done 
 more to present the South in a fair and just light to home- 
 seekers : 
 
 Centre Point, Clay County, Ind., March 4, 1894. 
 
 Mr. E. E. Posev, General Passenger Agent, Mobile & Ohio Railroaci, 
 Mobile, Ala. : 
 
 Bear Sir — Yours of recent date received. I was very 
 much pleased with your description of that part of the coun- 
 try, but would like to know more ahout it. I am a man of 
 moderate means, and would like to know what kind of em- 
 ployment I could get there. 
 
 Are there any saw mills in tliat part of the country, so if 
 a man took some of the timbered land he could get his logs 
 sawed? At what price does the pine lumber sell? Is the 
 water supplied by springs or do people dig wells? Is the 
 water warm or cold? Is it foggy in that part of the coun- 
 try, and are the mosquitoes bad ? Can you lind any wild 
 game, nuts and berries in the forests there? Would a nur- 
 sery pay in that part of the country? How long would it 
 take two men to clear ten acres of that pine land ? Does the 
 pine make good lire wood, or what is used for fuel ? Is there 
 any coal in that part of the country ? What is the average 
 price of horses, cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry ? Would it 
 pay a man better to ship his furniture, stock and tarm imple- 
 ments, or buy them there ? Are there any churches ox 
 schoois, and what is the average price paid teachers? Will 
 the land produce good crops without fertilizing, and what is 
 used for fertilizing? What would you consider the best 
 investment for a man of small capital ? What kind of im- 
 provements are usually found on the places for sale ? Are 
 the houses made of lumber oV logs ? Is it an unhealthy cli- 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 49 
 
 mate, or what is the cause of such cheap farms? Would a 
 fruit farm be profitable, or could milk and butter be made 
 profitable ? Is yellow fever prevalent in that region of 
 country? Is there any government land to be obtained 
 there? Do you have any severe storms there, cyclones and 
 such ? Is the society good ? 
 
 Please answer my numerous questions as I am greatly in- 
 terested in the country and want to know all about it. Please 
 let me hear from you soon. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 (Signed) A. C Ambrose, 
 Centre Point, Clay County, lud. 
 
 MOBILE & OHIO RAILROAD. 
 
 General Passenger Department, 
 Mobile, Ala., March 8, 1894. 
 
 Mr. A. C. Ambrose, Centrf Point, Clay County, Ind. : 
 
 Dear Sir — Replying to yours of March 4th. There is no 
 portion of America where the conditions are so favorable 
 for a man of moderate means as the South. Lands being 
 cheap, with an opportunity for twelve months out-door 
 labor, a garden all winter, and the best fuel in the world cost- 
 ing nothing, gives a man an opportunity to secure a large 
 income from his labor with very small expenses. There are 
 saw mills every few miles all along the line of oar road. 
 Pine lumber is very cheap as compared with the prices in the 
 North, ranging in price from $5 to $10 per thousand feet, 
 with an opportunity to secure cull lumber suitable for fenc- 
 ing, sheds, etc.. at any of the mills free. There is no better 
 water in the world than that to be found along our road, 
 whether from wells, springs, or brooks. Wells are from fif- 
 teen to thirty feet deep ; the water is pure, soft and cold. 
 
50 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 Fogs are rare. Mosquitoes, flies and snakes are not as numer- 
 ous as they are in your State. There is probably no place 
 affording better opportunities for hunting and fishing than 
 this region. The streams are full of the choicest fish. Dur- 
 ing the winter season, quail, partridges, wild turkeys, squir- 
 rels, rabbits, opossums and coons are very numerous, and 
 back a few miles from the railroad you can find deer and 
 other game. Along the streams you will find plenty of 
 hickory-nuts, walnuts and pecans, while dewberries, black- 
 berries, st'-awberries, plums and grapes are plentiful every- 
 where. 
 
 The country is settling up rapidly, and every one is setting 
 out more or less fruit, and the few nurseries along the line of 
 the road are making money. 
 
 The usual method of clearing up the pine land is to cut 
 down and burn up the trees, and after a few months, Avheu 
 the stumps get dry, dig around them a little and burn them 
 out. This can be done rapidly and chea} ly. There is no 
 better fuel than the yellow pine. All of the old logs and 
 dead trees and stumps are what is called "lightwood," being 
 so full of rosin and tar that you can light a log of it with a 
 match. A few pieces will make a very hot fire. There is 
 no coal along the line of our road, but in the central part of 
 Alabama there are large coal fields of the very finest kinds 
 of coal. All kinds of stock is from twenty-five to fifty per 
 cent higher in the South than in the North, and yet it does 
 not cost more than half as much to raise stock in this coun- 
 try. 
 
 You can charter a car to carry your movables, including 
 ten head of stock and one attendant, at very low rates, and I 
 would advise you by all. means to bring your household fur- 
 niture, farm implements and some young stock with you. 
 You will find churches and schools numerous in all of the 
 small towns along the line, although the school system of 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 51 
 
 the South is not as perfect, and I think the price paid teach- 
 ers is somewhat lower than in the North. 
 
 The land through the prairie region of Eastern Mississippi 
 is very rich and productive, while the land in the pine region 
 requires fertilizing. By plowing under clovers and field 
 peas it is an easy matter to produce big crops at very little 
 trouble and expense for the fertilizing, and as you can grow 
 three crops every year from the same land the little expense 
 of fertilizer will not be considered any hardship. 
 
 The best investment for a man of small capital is to buy a 
 small place and grow fruits and vegetables for the Northern 
 markets. I think more money can be made in this way 
 than in any other. Many men. who began truck farming in 
 this region a few years ago with very limited means have 
 grown wealthy. The improved places for sale will usually 
 have a number of acres cleared and a comfortable frame 
 house with a number of small tenant houses. The death rate 
 of Mississippi and Alabama is as low as any States in the 
 Union. Fruit of all kinds is very profitable, and so is stock- 
 raising and dairying. Milk sells from thirty to forty cents 
 per gallon, and good butter from twenty-five to forty cents 
 per pound the year round. There has been no yellow fever 
 in this section for many years. It is not produced in this 
 country, but is brought here irom the South American ports, 
 and it is only necessary to have careful quarantine ar- 
 rangements to keep it out. In case the quarantine officers 
 become careless and allow it to get a foothold it is not allowed 
 to spread over t'ae country as it was in former years. The 
 death rate from yellow fever is from six to seven out of each 
 hundred cases. It never spreads through the country, and 
 if people keep half a mile away from it they are perfectly 
 safe. The quarantine regulations are so perfect at the gulf 
 ports that yellow fever will probably never again gain a 
 foothold in this region. 
 
52 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 There is a great deal of government land along tlie line of 
 the road subject to homestead entry. The country is not 
 visited with such severe storms as you have in the North. 
 The Southern people are the most hospitable and open- 
 hearted to be found anywhere, and gladly welcome all 
 respectable people from an}'- part of the country. 
 
 Trusting that you will come down to look our counti;y 
 over, and will remain long enough to thoroughly investigate 
 the conditions and possibilities of this country, and assuring 
 you that if you do so you will be pleased and will find a sat- 
 islactory location, I am 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 E. E. Posey, Gen. Pass. Agent. 
 
 porest Products. 
 
 One of the most inviting lields for the investment of cap- 
 ital in East Mississippi is found in the lumber business. 
 There are still standing in this section many thousand acres 
 of virgin forest untouched by the axe, notwithstanding the 
 enormons output of the mills along the railroads during the 
 past ten ysars. The extent of this business, its contribution 
 to the wealth of the State and the number of people obtain- 
 ing a livelihood out of it are not appreciated by the average 
 statistician, because it has slowly and almost imperceptibly 
 grown over a constantly widening area and the absence of 
 any striking concentration at any point has contributed to 
 obscure its importance and dimensions in the eyes of the cas- 
 ual obsever. 
 
 But those who live in the midst of this activity and real- 
 ize the value of its contribution to local wealth, who see vil- 
 lages and towns springing up around the mill centres, along 
 the railroads, and thousands of people receiving their weekly 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 53 
 
 wages from the mills, while the laud owner receives for the 
 trees upon his land frequently more than the land originally 
 cost him, and the small farmer finds in the woods or at the 
 mill employment not only for himself but for his teams also, 
 during the idle season; those who see things have a genuine 
 appreciation of the magnitude and importance of our lum- 
 ber interests. 
 
 Nor is the development of this interest confined entirely 
 to the sawing of rough lumber. In nearly every town there 
 are shingle and planing mills for the finishing of the saw mill 
 product, while in Meridian several large factories, as previ- 
 ously noted, are devoted exclusively to the manufacture of 
 wood products, and nearly every investment in this direction 
 has proved a profitable one. 
 
 While the pine is the chief basis of our lumber industry, 
 it is by no means the only source of wealth afforded by the 
 forests of East Mississippi. The turpentine and rosin pro- 
 duct is no mean contribution to the wealth of the rural dis- 
 tricts 
 
 The hard woods, in infinite variety, such as hickory, oak, 
 ash, gum, etc., abound, in large quantity, throughout East 
 Mississippi, and a ready market is found for such forest pro- 
 duct at goot prices. 
 
 StocK Raisiog. 
 
 The prairie region of East Mississippi has demonstrated 
 its adaptability to enterprise in this direction in the splendid 
 results realized by those, who, of late years, have given their 
 cotton fields largely to pasturage and to forage crops. Splen- 
 did specimens ot home raised horses, mules and cows are 
 exhibited at the annual fairs, and the small cost of their rear- 
 ing is a revelation to those engaged in the same business 
 elsewhere. In the pine region, nearer Meridian, a splendid 
 natural pasturage is found, in the woods, for hogs and cattle 
 
54 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 all the year round. The "mast" is abundant and the wild 
 cane, growing in "the bottoms" along the numerous creeks 
 and rivers that water all of this section, affords the best of 
 winter pasturage lor cows, reducing the cost of their keep 
 during the winter months to a minimum. It is a fact that 
 many farmers do not feed milch cows at any season of the 
 year where the wild cane abounds, the pasturage keeping 
 this class of stock in good condition. 
 
 The raising of hogs and cattle, both for home consump- 
 tion and the market, is annually receiving more attention, as 
 the advantages of making cotton the surplus cash crop are 
 being better realized by our farmers. Hundreds of farmers 
 in the territory tributary to Meridian last year not only 
 made at home all the bacon, hams and lard required for their 
 own and their hands' use ; but sold a considerable surplus to 
 merchants in Meridian and elsewhere. There is always here 
 a splendid market for these home made hog products, they 
 being generally esteemed better than the Western product. 
 The butchers in Meridian buy largely of the beef cattle 
 raised in the country adjacent, and always pay good prices 
 for steers, cows and calves that are in condition for slaugh- 
 tering. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 55 
 
 W. W. George, President. Edwin McMorries, Cashier. 
 
 Jno. Kamper, Vice-President. H. L. Bardwell, Asst. Cashier. 
 
 C. W. Robinson, 2nd Vice-President. 
 
 H 
 
 OF 
 
 ivdiEiK.iiDi^isr, Dvciss. 
 
 bcir^Cst i §tron^esf |4afiot\al ISank 
 
 (^. — IN — '® 
 
 IXEISSISSII^P^^I. 
 
 Capital, 
 
 Surplus, not including profits, 
 
 $130,000 
 100,000 
 
 Total, 
 
 1230,000 
 
 Accounts of Farmers, Merchants and Others Solicited. 
 
56 
 
 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 ReftL esTftTe. 
 
 INSURf^NCe 
 
 B. J. Carter, Notary Public. W. E. Broach. H. F. Broaeh, Jr 
 
 CARTER & BROACH 
 
 GENERAL INSURANCE, 
 
 AND 
 
 LOAN AGENTS. 
 
 You would do well to call on or address us if you 
 
 Have money to loan. 
 
 Want to borrow money. 
 
 Want to buy a lot. 
 
 Want to buy a house and lot. 
 
 Want to buy a farm. 
 
 Want to insure your property. 
 
 Want an Accident Policy. 
 
 We Represent One of tha Best National Building and Loan 
 Associations in Anierica* 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED. RESPECTFULLY, 
 
 GT^RTER Sd BROMCH. 
 
 p. O. Box .350. Telepliouc 96. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 57 
 
 T. WISTfIR BROWN. Presider)t. J. H- WRIGMT. Vice-Prest. 
 Philadelphia, Pa. Meridiar), Miss. 
 
 E. B. McRflVEN, Cashier. 
 THE 
 
 Meridian National Bank, 
 
 MERIDIAN, MISS. 
 
 Capital, - - - $100,000.00 
 
 Surplus, - - - 50,000.00 
 
 Uudivided Profits, - - 15,000.00 
 
 DIRECTORS : 
 
 T» Wistar Brown^ J: H, Wright^ 
 
 B* F, Ormonde A* B, Wagner^ 
 
 L Marks^ G* Q> Hall^ 
 
 Geo, S, Covert^ !♦ A, Wetherbee^ 
 
 E, B. McRaven, 
 
 Among the stockholders are T. Wistar Brown, of the Provident Life 
 and Trust Co , and John Farnum & Co., Philadelphia ; G. M. Troutman, 
 President of the Central National Bank, Philadelphia ; S. G. Bayne, Presi- 
 dent Seaboard National Bank of New York City ; Jos. Seep, of the Stand- 
 ard Oil Co.; John McKeown. capitalist, Bradford, Pa.; Chas Smith, capi- 
 talist, Philadelphia. 
 
 This bank combines the strongest local interests and Eastern 
 
 capital of the very highest character and financial 
 
 responsibility. 
 
58 
 
 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 DO YOU WANT TO 
 
 0i§Rg Fmn\ed (3H^a5Se:pe 
 
 TOM EASON, 
 
 MERIDIAN, 
 
 MISS. 
 
 
 m. wmmwam 
 
 CITY BILL POSTER 
 
 AND 
 
 DISTRIBUTOR, 
 
 PHONE 35. 
 
 MERIDIAN, MISS. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 69 
 
 FEimUgE FAafOlY, 
 
 9 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 Standard Home Mixture Guano, 
 
 Southern Soluble Guano, 
 
 Blood, Bone and B. Guano. 
 
 THE GREAT COTTON AHD COM FERTILIZERS 
 
 AND 
 
 HIGH GRADE ACID PHOSPHATES. 
 
 IHRUIDIAN, MISS. 
 
 THe MISSISSIPPI 
 
 COTTON 01b e©. 
 
 Head Office at MERIDIAN, MISS. 
 
 With mills at 
 
 Meridian, West Point, Columbus, Natchez, Jackson, Yazoo 
 City, Port Gibson, Grenada, Greenville and Clarksdale, 
 
 Miss. 
 
 The Best Prices Paid for Cotton Seed. 
 
 Cotton Seed Meal Loose and Baled Hulls tor Sale or Ex- 
 changed for Cotton Seed on Liberal Basis. 
 
60 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 A. M. GEORGE & GO.. 
 
 WHOLESALE DEALERS 
 
 GEORGE'S HORSE FEED. . 
 
 It is used without hay or any roughness. A horse can be fed on this 
 feed for $5 per month with better results than on grain, hav, etc., at $10 per 
 month. 
 
 GEORGE'S PREPARED CO"W AND CATTLE 
 
 FEED 
 
 For work oxen, fattening cattle and dairy purposes, it has no equal 
 either in cost of feeding or nutritive value. 
 
 Cotton Seed lUeal and Cotton Seed Hulls in Car Load Lots. 
 
 uBm 601 Toi en. m. 
 
 Independent of Combi^iations. 
 Liberal price paid for Cotton Seed or ex- 
 changed for Cotton Seed Hulls 
 and Meal. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED. 
 F. W. Williams, Sec'y. C. C. Williams, Prest. E. C. Williams, Supt 
 
 Meridian Sash & Blind Factory. 
 
 iUANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 SASH, DOORS, BLINDS, LUMBER, 
 
 ^INe INSIDE I=INISH. 
 
 WOOD 1IIANTFI.S, ETC. 
 
 Saw Mills on Leaf River. Daily Capacity, 50,000 peet. 
 
 AND 
 
 WHOLESALE GROCERS. 
 
 Agents for King Powder Co. Walter A. Wood Mowers 
 
 and Rakes. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 61 
 
 AND 
 
 GENT'S TAIIiORmC ESTABLISHMENT, 
 
 Where all garments for men, ladies and children are cut and made to actual 
 measurement without any trying on or refitting. I also have a Cutting 
 School in connection, where I teach the art of Scientific Cutting in all 
 
 branches. F. M. RAGSDALE, InventOF, 
 
 And Sole Proprietor of Ragsdale's French Tailoring System. 
 3324 FRONT STREET. 
 
 MERIDIAN,"ll!SS^- 
 
 A MANUFACTURING TOWN OF 
 
 15.000 POPaLATION 
 
 FIVE RAILROADS. 
 
 Steam Coal, of excellent quality, costs, delivered, $1.85 
 per ton. 
 
 The Constitution of Mississippi exempts factories from 
 
 ALL TAXATION FOR TEN YEARS. 
 
 Citizens will donate sites for factories. 
 
 Death rate 14 per 1,000. 
 
 Excellent Free School System. 
 
 Five Brick Public School Houses. 
 
 The Only Exclusive Retail 
 
 CLOTHIER i HATTER 
 
 NO. 409 25TH AVENUE. 
 
 Mail orders solicited and promptly attended to. Goods sent 
 on approbation, if desired. 
 
62 
 
 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 The Glass Front Store. 
 
 Wliolesalc and Retail Dealerft in 
 
 Off Goods, Notions. Shoes, Clotliog, Gent's Punistiiogs, Grocenes, Etc. 
 
 303 A: 305 25TH AVENUE. 
 
 Meridian, Miss. 
 
 CO 
 
 GK.H:jPi.T k.jPlci^h:t stok.h:s, 
 
 JTleridian, Canton and Cry«>tal Springs. 
 
 WHITFIELD & LIDE, 
 
 IDK^XJO-a-ISTS. 
 
 Leading and Largest Garden Seed Dealers in East Mississippi 
 
 One thousand (1000) pounds, eight varieties, fine 1895 
 
 crop Turnip Seed for Fall and Winter planting just 
 
 received at prices surpassingly low. 
 
 ITIcridian, Miss. 
 
 Yellow Pine Lumber Planing Mill and Yard 
 
 IN WEST END. 
 
 Dressing for the trade a specialty. Flooring, Timbers and 
 Crowned Joists. 
 
 jneridlan. 
 
 Miss. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 63 
 
 The Central Gallery, 
 
 BROOKSHIRE, MATTHEWS & CO., 
 
 FINE PHOTOCRHPHERS 
 
 incRiDiAN, miss. 
 
 The oldest and best known Gallery in East Mississippi. Known as the 
 'Old Reliable." Established about thirty years ago. All work guaranteed 
 first-class. Our motto, "Satisfaction and to please our customers." Great 
 inducements in large pictures. All kinds of frames, etc., for sale. Call 
 and see our work and prices. 
 
64 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI, 
 
 m. /n. GREEN. 
 
 COU. 4TH ST. & 25TH AVE. 
 
 DEALER IN 
 
 F^ T!J ]R. M f ^ I!J R El. 
 
 Agent for the Everett Piano and Esty Organ. 
 
 C. L. WHITE, 
 
 DR.UGGIST. 
 
 Fourth Street. 
 
 Meridian, Miss, 
 
 JnO. WINKLER 
 THE LEJflDIIJ<S; T/IILOI^. 
 
 Foreign and Domestic Suitings and Trouserings at 
 Moderate Prices. 
 
 7VYMIL. ORDERS SOLICITED. 
 
 JTIeridiaii, Miss. 
 
 W. A. LYERLY, 
 
 I^ardwarc, Gaivs, /Immuivitioiv, 
 
 And All Kinds of sporting Goods, 
 2216 Fiftb St. 
 
MERIDIAN AN-D EAST MISSISSIPPI. 65 
 
 M. G. HHYES. 
 
 PKOPRIETOR 
 
 epidiar^) (§te0m ©akepy, 
 
 601 23rd Avenue, JTIerldiaii, nisti. 
 
 Manufactures 700 pounds of Bread a day and Hundreds of 
 Cakes and Pies. All goods delivered free. Out of town or- 
 ders solicited. 
 
 ~~J. B. ORMOND & CO., 
 
 AVliolesa.le and Retail Dealers in 
 
 BEST GRABES OF COAL, DOMESTIC AND STEAM 
 
 PORTLAND AND LOUISVILLE CEMENTS, 
 
 Plaster Paris, Hair, etc., Cord and Stove Wood. 
 lUERIDIAIV, mSS. 
 
 Meridian poffer\; ^ Mar\ufacturit\^(;0 
 
 MANLJFACTCJRERS OF 
 
 JugSi Jars, Cliuros, IVIilli Pans, Butter Bowls, Hangiog Baskets, 
 
 Flower Pots, Fire Brick, Paving Brick, Building Brick, 
 pire Clay, and J. C. Schuler Patent TurpentiQe Cups. 
 
 MERIDIAN, miss. 
 
 C. F WOODS. 
 
 J^1'TOI^IsrE]"Y'-J^T-Ij-A-"W, 
 
 No. 215 23rd Avenue. 
 
 MERIDIAN, MISS. 
 
 Will biij, sell and rent Real Estate, Loan Money, Pay Taxes, Make Collec- 
 tions, Redeem Property sold for taxes, Examine Title.s, and Furnish Ab- 
 stracts. Commissions charged on all property placed for sale, whether 
 made by owner or myself, unless otherwise ordered. Ten per cent, com- 
 mission for collecting rents. No charges for drawing papers in land sales 
 made through this office. Prompt and careful attention given to all busi- 
 ness I undertake. 
 
 I{,Q£Q];>Q]2^(>Qg( ; Meridian National Bank, First National Bank. 
 
66 
 
 rr 
 
 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 ,„ 
 
 IE 
 
 DHILY ^^ MGEKLY, 
 
 Live, Progressive, Enterprising. 
 
 The Only IVlorning Paper Published in East 
 Mississippi. 
 
 
 SUBSCRIRTION. 
 
 
 Daily, 
 
 . 
 
 $7 00 
 
 Weekly, 
 
 • • • • 
 
 1 00 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 67 
 
 Donald Mineral Springs, 
 
 WEEMS STATION, MISS., on N. O. and N. E. R. R. 
 
 The^e celebrated Mineral waters are a cure for nervous prostration, torpid 
 Liver, Bright's Disease, Diabetes, Calrali, Constipation and kindred ail- 
 ments. Water shipped in cases, carboys and barrels. Address, 
 DONALD MINERAL SPRINGS Co. 
 
 Weems, Miss. 
 
 SOUTHERN HOTEL. 
 
 PIKST-CLftSS IN eueRY FftRTICULftK 
 
 Special attention given to Commercial Travelers. Large and 
 
 commodious Sample Rooms. 
 
 L-. M. HUUSE, 
 
 Proprietor. 
 
 MRS- B, K Rose, 
 
 MNeMlbblNeRY 
 
 2508 Fifth Street- 
 
68 MEMDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI 
 
 m WW m 
 
 Machinery Supplies, 
 }^e\?o^ene ^ LcVibricating Qd^. 
 
 
 Best ftlahama Enals 
 
 J Plumhing Ennds. 
 
 Inquiries from Mill Men for Lubricating 
 Oils Solicited. 
 
 MERIDIAN. - . . . MISS. 
 
 U/.G.CASTEEL. 
 
 2318 Fourth Street. 
 
 General Hardware. House Furnishing. 
 Sporting Goods. Lamps and Oils. 
 
 Meridian, Miss. 
 
 COCHRAN & BOZEMAN, 
 
 Attorneys at Law, 
 
 Owners of the only set of Abstract Books in Meridian and 
 Lauderdale County, Mississippi. 
 
 Specialties: 
 
 Investigating Land title and Commercial Litigation. 
 MERIDIAN. MISS. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 69 
 
 LUMBER! 
 
 GOOD LUMBER ! 
 
 HIGH GRADE LUMBER! 
 
 LONG LEAF YELLOW PINE LUMBER 
 
 WRITE TO US FOR PRICES ON 
 
 ►ifYEIiMW PINE MMBE^4^' 
 
 OF ALL KINDS. 
 
 OUR MERIDIAN Mill IS tk LARGEST IN W SOUTH. 
 
 Our Grades are Uniform and Our Mill 
 Work is Strictly First-Class, 
 
 We carry a large stock of lumber on hand 
 
 at all times and can make prompt 
 
 shipments. 
 
 MEI^lplAM LlJMpEI^ CO. 
 
70 
 
 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 FOUNDRY, 
 i MACHINE 
 BOILER 
 
 AND 
 
 Blacksmith 
 SHOPS. 
 
 Large Assortment 
 of Patterns. 
 
 MERIDIAN MACHINE SHOPS, 
 
 p. O. Box C'. Meridian, Miss. 
 
 MERIDIAN, MISS^ 
 
 A MANUFACTURING TOWN OF 
 
 I5.000 POP6ILATI0N 
 
 FIVE RAILROADS. 
 
 Steam Coal, of excellent quality, costs, delivered, f 1.85 
 per ton. 
 
 The Constitution of Mississippi exempts factories from 
 
 ALL TAXATION FOR TEN YEARS. 
 
 Citizens will donnle sites fi)r factories.. 
 
 Death rate 14 per 1,000. 
 
 Excellent Free School System. 
 
 Five Brick Public School Houses. 
 
 C. W. ROBINSON, Real Estate 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 71 
 
 Reftb • esTATe, 
 
 City Property, both Business und Residence, Vacant and 
 
 Improved. 
 
 FARMING AND TIMBERED LANDS 
 
 ©■ — IN — -® 
 
 East ^ South Mississippi 
 
 Producing Fruit, Vegetables of All Kinds. 
 
 Good Stock Farms For Sale. 
 
 Improved Lands From $3*00 to $10 psr Acre* 
 
 Signal Service Reports prove that we have cooler weather in 
 
 summer and warmer in winter than the States 
 
 further North. 
 
 If you want to know anything about Mississippi, write ne. 
 
 GEO. L DONALD, Jr., 
 
 Meridian. Miss. 
 
72 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 When visiting our city call on 
 
 RUTLAND. IhE SHOE MAN. 
 
 The Largest Exclusive SHOE Dealer in 
 the City. 
 
 Fifth Street, 0pp. Southern Hotel. 
 Meridian Miss. 
 
 Threefoot Bros. & Co., 
 
 UHRGEST 
 
 (/9l7olesaIe (afocers in {\ie §tafG. 
 
 Also Largest Handlers of Plug and Smoking Tobacco, Coffee, Tea, Spices. 
 inRUIDIAN, IHISS. 
 
 Manufacturer of 
 
 Tin, Copper and Sheet Iron Ware, Roofing, Guttering and 
 Cornice work a Specialty. Special attention to all kinds of 
 
 Repairing. 
 
 meridian, ITIiss. 
 
 BROACH BROS. 
 
 DEALERS IN 
 
 D[j Goods, Gfocefies, Saddlery, aod Uaroess. ftlso the Celebrated 
 
 Studerbaker Wagons and Buggies. 
 
 ^ !t3!igHe:st P^rice; lE^aid. for Cotton. ^ 
 
 meridian, .... ... Miss. 
 
 Or. c. i^E:N:nDjPi.LL, 
 
 SOUTHERN HOTEL BUUIDING. 
 
 mCRIDIAN, MISS. 
 
MEtllDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 73 
 
 D, 
 
 ro^r«$$ Manufacturing Co. 
 
 JYICRIDIAN, ITIIkSS. 
 
 Manufacturers aQd Dealers in 
 
 Machinery & Machine Supplies 
 
 GENERAL FOUNDRY, 
 
 Boiler and Repair Works. 
 
 Meridian, Miss., j\Iay 17, 1S95. 
 Some time ago one of our mules was struck in the side with a piece of 
 wood. The hole was large enough to run my hand in. I injected jour 
 "Antiseptic Aseptine" three times and it healed up quickly without any 
 inflammation. Another one of our mules was hurt by a pitchfork and I 
 treated it the same way, with the sa,me result. I have used it a great deal, 
 and think it is the greatest healer I have ever see-n. 
 
 C. W DUNN. 
 
74 
 
 MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 MeRIOIftN, MISS 
 
 irx l^^ississippi- 
 
 JOHN M. MURPHEY 
 
 Printer and Siaiioner. 
 
 3511 Fifth Street, ITIeridian, ITIiss. 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 75 
 
 CflPITAL, $50,000.00. 
 
 SIJRPL.US AND UNUIVIDED PROFITS, »8,000.00. 
 
 Geo. VV. Meyer, President. W. A. Brown, Cashier. 
 
 H. M. Threefoot, Vice President. Henky G. Meyer, Asst. Cashier. 
 
 CITIZENS SAVINGS BANK, 
 
 7VTERIDIMN, 7VTISS. 
 
 Prompt attention given to all business entrusted to us. 
 
 CdiLPEPPER MOTEL 
 
 THE BESTSl HOUSE 
 
 IN THE SOUTH. 
 
 W. S. HARRIS & BRO. 
 
 GRAIN DEALERS 
 
 AND 
 
 Cotton Commission Merchants. 
 
 ESTABLISHED IN 1879. 
 meridisiii, _.._.. JTIississippi. 
 
 DR. J.N.GIDDKNS 
 
 -^-IDElsrTIST.-^^ 
 
 Offic:e; Ove:r Lill-ytx^di's ID ru-g Store;, 
 
 Meridian, Miss. 
 
76 
 
 MERIDIAN AND EASff MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 mERIDIAN 
 
 (8 Bo. 
 
 Furnishes to tlie Citizens of Meridian the 
 
 THE PUREST WATER IN MISSISSIPPI 
 
 For All Domestic and Manufacturing Purposes 
 
 AT A TRIFLING COST. 
 
 Chemical Analysis has shown that this water is purer 
 than that used by nine-tenths of the oities of the United 
 States ; but its best value as a conservator of health may be 
 realized by reference to page 13 of this book, where a distin- 
 guished physician and sanitarian incidentally refers to its use- 
 fulness as an agency in the dimunition in the prevalence of 
 virulent fevers in the city. 
 
 3477-251 
 
MERIDIAN AND EAST MISSISSIPPI. 77 
 
 . , . JOHN M. MURPHEY, . . . 
 
 Printer and Stationer, 
 
 . . . MERIDIAN, MISS. . . . 
 

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 Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
 Neutralizing Agent: Magnesium Oxide 
 Treatment Date: 
 
 JUL 
 
 PRESERVATION TECHNOI OGIES, 
 111 Thomson Park Drive 
 Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
 (724)779-2111 
 

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