Jackson Purchase Historical Society

Stories of Interest from the Hickman Courier from December 21, 1872

• The Mississippi River was reported as being lower than any of the oldest inhabitants of Hickman could recall.
• The mayor of Hickman suspended ordinances requiring licenses for drays, wagons, etc. “during the prevalence of the epizootic.”
• Parents were warned to prohibit their sons from jumping on and off trains for “you will mourn the death of a child one of these days.”
• A beautiful brick residence two miles from Hickman was to be “sold to the highest bidder” on January 6^th.
• The Overton & Steele Company of Hickman purchased a steamboat to encourage a regular trade route between Hickman and Cairo. The name of the steamer was the Glasgow and commanded by James A. Overton.
• The Hickman Library and Reading Room were selling year-long subscriptions for $5.00 as a Christmas promotion. The library was housed in William Frenz’s Bookstore on Clinton Street.
• A large quantity of railroad equipment was received in Hickman for construction on the Mississippi Central Railroad in the upper part of Fulton County.
• A grand ball was planned for the evening of December 31^st at the Hickman City Hall to celebrate the New Year. The ball was organized by Theodore Margraff, instructor of the Hickman Brass and String Bands. Tickets to the event were $1.00.
• The Hickman Order of Good Templars advertised that they would be holding two nights of entertainment on January 1^st and 2^nd. The advertisement stated that the music, both vocal and instrumental, would be of the “best quality that Hickman can furnish.” The public was invited and “the doors will be thrown open to all.”
• It was reported that the Fulton County Fair held a deficit of $986.44 in 1871 and $668.20 in 1872. It was suggested that stockholders be charged more, and salaries of commission officers be reduced.
• An editorial over whether a direct tax should be imposed to build and maintain county roads was discussed in the Hickman Courier.
• An election was called on December 30^th to select commissioners for a permanent board of directors for the Mississippi Levee Company. The proposal to construct a levee along the lowlands between Hickman and New Madrid Bend was expected to take ten or more years.
• M. Norton leased the city ferry at Columbus for five years at a $1.00 per month.
• The work on the Mississippi Central Railroad in Hickman County was severely decelerated by the epizootic outbreak.
• The Columbus Dispatch stated the finances of the city were in a “bad fix” but suggestions to abolish the city charter would not remedy the problem.
• A meeting was held in Mayfield on December 7^th to appoint delegates to a convention to be held in Paris, Tennessee to consider the construction of a narrow-gauge railway from St. Louis to Atlanta. The route was intended run through Blandville, Mayfield, and Paris. A committee of Mayfield citizens passed a resolution in favor of the railroad through the city.
• The Mayfield Band engaged the services of Professor James, the former leader of the Hickman Band, as an instructor. James was considered to be the “best E flat blowers in the west.”
• John V. Rogers, of Calloway County, was released from the McCracken County Jail after being pardoned by President Grant.
• The forthcoming municipal election in Paducah was predicted to be a “bitter political contest.”
• The President of the Holly Springs & Brownsville Railroad was scheduled to address the citizens of Union City, Tennessee on the construction of a narrow-gauge rail line from Cairo, Illinois to Ship Island, Mississippi on December 17^th.
• Union City Courier reported that the “city was thrown into a state of wild commotion” by the appearance of eight bales of cotton placed in the city streets which snarled traffic in the city. The act was believed to have been done by “doughty farmers” as a prank.
• The African American community of Union City, Tennessee organized a brass band.
• A “grand select mask ball” was set for December 25^th in Union City, Tennessee.
• The Union City Fair Association elected Andrew Lawson as president for 1873.
• The Dyersburg Progress reported that Reverend G. W. D. Harris, brother of former Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris, and his wife died within twenty-four hours of each other in Dyersburg, Tennessee. They had been married for fifty-three years.
• N. Bard married Lou Craig, of Lake County, Tennessee, at Fulton Station. Daniel M. French married Florence Shaw, of Hickman County, at the father of the bride’s residence on December 11^th. Robert A. Faris married Phebe A. Weaver on December 18^th in Fulton County. John W. Prather married Annie L. Winston on December 18^th in Fulton County.