Jackson Purchase Historical Society

Stories of Interest from the Hickman Courier from January 4, 1873

• The river trade in Hickman for the year 1872 was estimated to be near two million dollars.
• The Mayor of Hickman, H. A. Tyler, published a report of the financial affairs of the City in the Hickman Courier. He wrote that $10,895 was derived from taxes, fines, licenses, wharfage fees, and rental charges of the Market House and City Hall. The disbursements paid by the city for salaries, services rendered, and required equipment was $10,670.27. The standing balance was $224.73. The total indebtedness of the city for funded and unfunded bonds, interest, etc. was $42,756.10.
• The stockholders of the Mississippi Levee Company met at Hickman on December 30^th and elected H. A. Tyler, George Warren, A. D. Kingman, Henry Campbell, James F. Bushart, Thomas M. French, and John Boyer as permanent board members. The object of the company was to work toward a consolidation with the Tennessee company organized for the same purpose.
• The Hickman Library and Reading Room had its grand opening on January 1^st. The library was “splendidly furnished with carpet, desks, tables, chairs, pictures, etc., and besides 400 volumes of new books, has some fifteen or twenty of the leading dailies, and a number of weekly and monthly publications.” There were between 115 and 120 subscribed members at the time of publication.
• A tax was enacted in Hickman to erect a free school building in the city.
• The trustees of the Hickman Common School District hired John W. Cowgill, Thomas French, and Miss Emma Fuqua as teachers. Classes were to commence at Beech Wood Seminary on January 13^th. The school was scheduled to be taught for five months and tuition to be one dollar.
• Municipal elections were planned in Hickman for the following week.
• County Sheriff John Tyler was to take office on January 13^th.
• John C. Gardner began work in the commission house of J. H. Plaut & Brothers.
• Construction resumed on the Hickman wharf.
• A large number of steamboats were reported destroyed on the Mississippi River by “ice gorges.”
• The daily packets Glascow, Hickman, and Cairo were delayed at Hickman due to river ice.
• The wharf and warehouses in Hickman were crowded with freight as the Mississippi River was not navigable due to ice flows.
• Factories and mills in the region were idle due to freezing temperatures.
• The Good Templars concert was postponed until January 8^th due to weather conditions.
• Christmas eve was celebrated at the ‘Old Club’ of John Heinze. “Music, toasts, and good order, prevailed.”
• The Hickman Brass Band and Hickman String Band were scheduled to perform at a Temperance Concert on January 8^th.
• The New Year’s Ball organized by Professor Theodore Margraff was declared a “gay and joyous occasion” and the “music excellent.” Inclement weather prevented many from attending the event.
• The International Order of Odd Fellows of Hickman elected Samuel Landrum, H. C. Bailey, N. P. Harness, William H. Roach, W. L. McCutchen, and E. Case as officers for upcoming year on December 26^th.
• The Hickman Chapter of the Royal Masons elected S. N. White as Priest, L. Rosenberg as King, C. Baltzer as Scribe and George Warren as Secretary.
• A “grand masque procession” was being arranged for Valentine’s Day in Hickman.
• Thomas Madison Hale of Paducah died on December 25^th at age 63. He was reported to have a life insurance policy of $10,000.
• Ed McGraw, an engineer on the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad was accidently killed at McKenzie, Tennessee on December 31^st when attempting to cross from one railroad car to another.
• Thomas Cole married Martha A. Bradley in Fulton County on December 31^st at the residence of the bride.
• Three marriages occurred in Fulton County over Christmas week. The bridegrooms were age 64, 66, and 70.