Stories of Interest from the Hickman Courier from July 22, 1871
• Governor Preston H. Leslie addressed a large audience at the Fulton County Courthouse in Hickman on July 19th. He discussed the finances of the State, common schools, a bill “for the protection of the purity of elections,” a Federal Ku Klux bill, and a plea that the 14th and 15th amendments be repealed. The next day the governor visited Clinton and spoke at the Hickman County Courthouse where several hundred people listened to a similar speech.
• A terrific rain and thunderstorm struck Hickman and surrounding communities on July 18th. Longtime residents of the city declared they had never witnessed such “scene of vivid lightning and crashes of thunder.” South of the city, it was reported that a considerable amount of damage was done to the cornfields.
• The July drawing of Golladay’s Lottery was to occur on July 24th. The “gold ticket” is to be picked by young girls selected by the audience to insure fairness.
• City Council agreed that $1.50 should be placed on all taxable property, a 5 percent fee on income from United States Bonds, $1.50 for each dog, and $1.50 on each male over the age of twenty-one. The Council also issued Frank Miller a license to serve lager beer for six months and C. A. Holcombe was paid $57.90 for putting rock along the riverbed near old Hickman.
• Graves County farmers report that the corn crop was “looking splendidly” but tobacco may only be half the crop of past years as insects have infested many farms.
• Engineers employed by the Illinois Central Railroad arrived in Columbus from Cairo, Illinois to survey a route to construct a railroad to connect the Mobile & Ohio Railroad with the Illinois Central.
• Z. F. Smith, Superintendent of Public Instruction, designated Paducah as the place to hold the “Teachers Institute” for the First Congressional District from September 25th to the 30th.
• A “Grand Free Barbeque” was scheduled for July 26th at Moscow. The music was planned to be provided by the Dresden Cornet Band.
• The Beech Wood Seminary in Hickman advertised that they will begin classes on September 4th.
• The Mississippi River Railroad was declared a total failure as citizens of Dyer County, Tennessee decided not to vote upon a tax to support the railroad.
• On July 7th J. B. Maxey, a hotelkeeper from Bellville, Tennessee, and James Neal were startled by a strange aquatic animal that appeared to have human-like appearances while fishing on the Forked Dear River between Bellville and Brownsville. The Brownsville Bee reported that the locals have to come call it the ‘Mermaid of the Forked Deer.’
• The Dyersburg Gazette reported that an altercation between Bud Lumley and Jim Turner led to bullet wound to Lumley in the chest.
• The Thespian Company at Friendship, Dyer County, Tennessee made enough money by its performances to pay off the debt of the local Methodist Church.
• A “ghost in regulation white” was observed in a house in Trenton, Tennessee by a transient who attempted to pass the night in the dwelling. The man reportedly fired his navy revolver at the floating spirit without effect.
Jackson Purchase Historical Society