Stories of Interest from the Hickman Courier from January 28, 1871
• A man by the name of Turner, who resided near the Obion County border was awoken from bed and given 89 lashes and told to leave the county by a band of ruffians.
• A group of women traveling through Fulton County were reported to have been soliciting charity from residents claiming to be survivors of the steamer T. L. McGill that caught fire and burned on January 16th. They were later proven to be imposters.
• With cold weather expected in the upcoming days the Hickman Ice Rink was to be open soon at Flag Pond.
• A new civil district was to be established in the lower part of the voting district known as “the Bottom.”
• Fulton County authorities prepared to develop a road map of public roads in the county as soon as the weather permitted.
• The county assessors reported having a difficult time adjusting boundary lines below Hickman as it was difficult to locate a starting point.
• The Hickman Amateur String Band was progressing admirably.
• The proposed mail route between Hickman and Fulton Station was delayed as the postmaster did not properly fill out the United States Post Office questionnaire.
• Druggist W. R. Walker bought the exclusive rights for Fulton County to prepare and sell a remedy for Hog Cholera.
• The salaries of the City Clerk, Attorney, Treasurer, Assessor, Councilmen, and Mayor were reduced in half from the previous year. The reductions were to save the city from $800 to $1,000.
• State Senator H. A. Taylor from the Hickman district authored a bill to give the Governor authority to employ a secret detective police.
• Ed Crossland, the member of Congress elect from the First District, planned to take his seat on the first of March.
• The Tennessee Legislature passed a law requiring traveling agents of out-of-state businesses to pay a privilege tax of fifty dollars a year. The tax was expected to effect two-thirds of the trade business in Hickman.
• The number of convicts in the State penitentiary in January of 1871 was 680. 456 were males and 25 females.
• The price of the Hickman Courier was reduced to two dollars a year.
• Workmen had been delayed in constructing the bridge to Gourley’s addition due to bad weather.
• Contactors have commenced construction on the Roulhac and Cowgill’s High School Building.
• J. H. Dodds and W. B. Plumber of Hickman established a brickyard that was expected to manufacture one million bricks in 1871.
• A. Wuest, Jr. of Cincinnati established a mattress manufacturing business in Hickman.
• A mass meeting in McCracken County occurred on January 24th recommending the State Legislature pass a law admitting African Americans the right to testify in State court.
Jackson Purchase Historical Society