Clarksdale and Friar's Point, Coahoma County, Mississippi, 1891
Clarksdale is a new town, having been built up since the advent of the
railroad in 1884, but is now the metropolis of the county, with eight hundred.
It is a railroad junction of importance, and its site is well chosen, beautiful
and advantageous, on high ground above overflow at the head of navigation of
Sunflower River. Clarksdale, Coahoma County, has grown up since 1884. Until then
its site was occupied by only the store of John Clark, the owner of a plantation
including the site. The advent of the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railway,
about that time, caused the beginning of the growth of a town which now has a
population of eight hundred and is incorporated. Clarksdale lies in the very
heart of the great delta region, one hundred and seventy-seven miles from
Memphis and three hundred and eighty-three miles from New Orleans. The amount of
cotton handled reaches fifteen thousand bales per season, with good prospects
for from eighteen thousand to twenty thousand bales during the present one,
based upon the increased acreage and unusually fine crop prospects. Clarksdale
has recently been made an interior town by the New York cotton exchange,
something unusual for a place of its population. One among the largest and most
complete cotton- seed oilmills in the South is located there, and a cotton
compress has been built. There are also a large sawmill, public gin and
gristmill in Clarksdale, and a substantial banking house, the Clarksdale Bank &
Trust company, the successors of the Central City Bank, organized in 1888. The
civic societies, Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor and
others, have flourishing lodges and strong memberships.
Friar's Point
Friar's Point, the seat of justice of Coahoma County, is located on the
Mississippi River and on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad, and has a
population of seven hundred and seventy-six. Coahoma County was established
February 9, 1836, and its courthouse and public offices have been located at
various times at Delta, Port Royal, again at Delta and at Friar's Point, where
good county buildings have been erected. Since the construction of the
railroads, of which several lines intersect the county. Friar's Point has
greatly improved, and is now, with a good hotel, several manufacturing
establishments and the bank of Friar's Point, Friar's Point Improvement Company,
and the Friar's Point Building & Loan association, and many large mercantile
houses, one of the busiest towns of its size in any state.
Back to: Mississippi Counties, Cities and Towns, 1891
Source: Biographical and Historical Memories of Mississippi, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1891
