Lauderdale, Mississippi

History

Early history

Lauderdale was first inhabited by Native Americans. The first recorded Native Americans in the area were the Choctaw, who had a village named Panti on Ponta Creek near the present site of Lauderdale. In 1800, Samuel Dale guided some of the first European settlers to the area, including James Lauderdale. Lauderdale was originally from Tennessee but settled at the mineral springs in the area and named them Lauderdale Springs. During the War of 1812, Lauderdale served under Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Talladega and was killed at the Battle of New Orleans.

In 1837, a post office opened under the name Mingo Houma, then under the name Springs Depot from 1856 to 1859. A resort was then built at the mineral springs and included a two-story, 300 foot long hotel with surrounding cottages. Jefferson Davis, Octavia Walton Le Vert, and other notable people attended the springs for gatherings and political events. The post office began operating under the name Lauderdale Springs in 1859 and used that name until 1894.

Civil War

During the Civil War, the resort was converted to a Confederate hospital that operated until the end of the war.

During William Tecumseh Sherman's Meridian campaign, the 32nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment burned Lauderdale Springs. Joseph Emory Davis, Jefferson Davis' older brother, stayed for a time in Lauderdale Springs after moving from Hurricane Plantation after the Siege of Vicksburg.

Company C of the 5th Mississippi Infantry Regiment was mustered into service at Lauderdale Springs on August 6, 1861. The 1st and 4th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Consolidated) and 2nd and 6th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Consolidated) were both stationed at Lauderdale Springs for a time.

Post-Civil War

After the Civil war, the resort grounds were used by the Mississippi Baptist Convention as the Home for Confederate Orphans. Company H of the 16th Infantry Regiment were assigned to the Post of Lauderdale during Reconstruction from 1868 to 1870 and occupied the former hospital buildings. The post office name was changed to Lauderdale in 1894. The East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway ceased service in Lauderdale in 1898.

20th century

In 1900, Lauderdale had several stores, two churches, a grist mill, and a population of 288.

By 1936, it had a population of 1,000, two cotton gins, a saw mill, planing mill, three churches, a school, and a hotel. The community was also home to a lumber company and pottery factory.

Geography

Lauderdale is located in northeastern Lauderdale County at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has an area of 7.4 km2, all of it recorded as land. The community is in the valley of Possum Creek, just south of where it joins Ponta Creek, an east-flowing tributary of the Sucarnoochee River, part of the Tombigbee River watershed.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 395 people, 165 households, and 71 families residing in the CDP.

Notable people

• Lovell Harden, former Negro league pitcher
• Peggy Wilson, professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour

Gallery

File:Railroad crossing in Lauderdale, Mississippi.jpg|Kansas City Southern Railway crossing in Lauderdale File:Lauderdale, Mississippi Post Office.jpg|Lauderdale Post Office File:Former Lauderdale Methodist Church, Lauderdale, Mississippi.jpg| Former Lauderdale Methodist Church, now closed. The current Lauderdale Methodist Church is located in a newer building south of this location. File:Lauderdale Presbyterian Church.jpg|Lauderdale Presbyterian Church, PCA File:Lauderdale Springs Cemetery.jpg|Lauderdale Springs Cemetery, founded in 1835 File:Lauderdale Springs Confederate-Union Cemetery.jpg|Lauderdale Springs Confederate-Union Cemetery File:Lauderdale Springs Confederate-Union Cemetery informational sign.jpg|Informational sign for the Lauderdale Springs Confederate-Union Cemetery

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Total Population: 2010 Census DEC Summary File 1 (P1), Lauderdale CDP, Mississippi". U.S. Census Bureau.
3. {{cite gnis. 672316. Lauderdale, Mississippi
4. (2002). "A History of Lauderdale Springs, Mississippi". Lauderdale County Department of Archives & History, Inc..
5. "Lauderdale, Mississippi".
6. (1875). "The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. (1861-65)". United States Government Printing Office.
7. (1908). "The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi". Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
8. (1879). "History of the First and Second Missouri Confederate Brigades: 1861-1865". Bryan, Brand & Company.
9. Rowland, Dunbar. (1907). "Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form". Southern Historical Publishing Association.
10. (2002). "A History of Lauderdale Springs, Mississippi". Lauderdale County Department of Archives & History, Inc..
11. "U.S. Gazetteer Files: 2019: Places: Mississippi".
12. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
13. "Explore Census Data".
14. https://www.census.gov/ {{nonspecific. (August 2022)
15. "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin".
16. "Lovell Harden Career Stats".
17. Elliott, Len. (1976). "Who's Who in Golf". Arlington House.