This Week 150 Years Ago in Hickman – February 18, 1871
Stories of Interest from the Hickman Courier from February 18, 1871
• The steamer Henry Ames ran aground at the head of Island No. 8 on the Mississippi River 8 miles below Hickman.
• Sheriff William Roper of Fulton County was seriously ill at his residence in Hickman.
• A man by the name James Cunningham was charged with robbery and murder in Hickman County and sent to Clinton for trial.
• A large quantity of cotton and other items were delayed at the railyards in Hickman due to a lack of railcars. The Nashville & Northwestern Railroad discouraged shippers from bringing further items to the rail station.
• Dealers in seeds in Hickman reported that they have sold larger quantities of seeds this season than for many years previous.
• A hen killed at Belmont, Missouri was found to have fifteen dollars in gold in her gizzard.
• Major Thomas E. Moss, a member of the State Legislature, was to be married on February 28th to Maggie A. Bright of Covington, Kentucky.
• A grand ball was planned at the Commercial Hotel for February 21st.
• The people of Graves County voted to oppose the State’s common school system. Fulton County organized a Teacher’s Institute to meet once a year to be presided over by the Common School Commissioners.
• Tap Bynum announced that he would be a candidate for Circuit Court Clerk.
• A large body of the people of Fulton County agreed to support the building of public roads in the county.
• A new mail route was projected to run from Cairo, Illinois to Hickman by land passing through Ballard, Hickman and Fulton counties.
• A number of traders from different parts of the South met in Hickman to buy corn. The price was 55 cents a bushel.
• A proposition was submitted to the City of Hickman to construct public scales to weigh cattle at the river port.
• S. X. Hall was to deliver a lecture on the subject of Odd Fellowship at the Methodist Church on February 22nd at 7:00 p.m. All members and citizens were invited to attend.
• The McKenzie Times proposed a new county be formed from portions of Henry, Carroll, Weakley, Benton, Henderson and Gibson counties to called Stonewall.
• Rebecca Wilson, considered to be the oldest lady in Fulton County, died at her residence on February 17th.
• A number of prominent citizens of Graves County called upon Major Robert T. Johnson to become a candidate for the State Legislature.
• The Henderson Reporter prophesized “political death” to public officials who support the admission of African-American evidence in State courts.
• Property owners in McCracken County held a public meeting to discuss a county tax to aid in the construction of a rail line for the Elizabeth & Paducah Railroad.