Stories of Interest from the Hickman Courier from May 4, 1872
- A hard frost covered the region on May 3rd doing considerable damage to “sensitive vegetation.” However, warm weather preceded the frost and the foliage of the trees were “as dense as it usually [was] a month later.”
- A dead body was found floating in the Mississippi River by a fisherman named Peter Nelson near Hickman on the morning of May 1st. Tied around the neck of the corpse was a large package which contained nearly two thousand dollars in cash and a note dated April 19th promising to pay a man named Henry Doppel $569.00. The note was signed by John Pohlman. A memorandum book was also found in the package, that listed various accounts and other writings. His pockets contained a pocketbook, keys, loose change, and a railroad ticket. The body was deemed to have been in the water for some time. It was believed to be a young man not more than thirty years of age, 5 feet 8 inches rather stout with black hair. The body was placed in a metallic coffin and buried in the city cemetery. It was believed that the deceased may have been on the ill-fated Steamer Oceanus which exploded near Cairo, Illinois on April 11th.
- The City of Hickman received a response from the Holly Springs & Brownsville Railroad Company to build a terminal at Hickman. The president of the company stated he would submit the proposition from the city to the company’s Board of Directors and that he planned to visit Hickman “at an early date.”
- The Hickman City Council met on May 1st and heard reports from the Street Committee, Wharfmaster, Railroad Committee and City Assessor. W. L. Gardner was paid $1.75 for the removal of dead hogs in the city. W. M. Gwinn was appointed the new Wharfmaster. An ordinance was approved by the city council to charge a licensing fee for auctioneers.
- Millet & Roulhac, a dry goods store, expanded their business location to include a corner lot in Old Hickman.
- Reverend N. N. Cowgill was scheduled to preach at the Methodist Church on the afternoon of May 5th.
- Reverend Osborne was scheduled to conduct a series of sermons at the Baptist Church beginning on May 6th.
- Thomas L. Garrett, a Baptist minister from Paducah, was a visitor in Hickman.
- Bill Gardner announced himself as candidate for Hickman City Marshal.
- John F. Tyler announced himself as candidate for Sheriff of Fulton County.
- Fishermen report poor success along the Lynch Slough, Hamby, and Blue ponds.
- John Welch, who lost his leg while at work on the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad ten days earlier, died of injuries in Nashville on April 30th.
- Elizabeth Combs of Lovelaceville stated that her husband, J. S. Combs, left April 1st with her youngest child, George Allen Combs, and had not returned.
- The Union City Courier reported that the proposed railroad South from Hickman through Obion and Dyer counties in Tennessee “would be of great advantage to the people along the proposed line of the road.”
- The Dyersburg Progress reported that a large number of caterpillars had infested the region.
- On April 28th two women were violently thrown from a runaway buggy near Metropolis, Illinois. A lady by the name of Mrs. Berry was dragged a quarter of a mile before the horse and buggy ran into a stump. She was found dead at the scene.
- The Mobile & Ohio Railroad Company planned to extend their line to Cairo, Illinois during the summer. The Jackson & Mississippi Central Railroad planned to build a new track from Humboldt, Tennessee to Cairo. The Illinois Central Railroad designed a plan to construct a bridge over the Ohio River at Cairo.
- The Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad Company declared they wished to extend the Northwestern line to connect with the Iron Mountain Railroad. The connection favored Hickman as terminal site.
- L. Walls of Cayce’s Station died on 9 o’clock on the evening of April 25th.