This Week 150 Years Ago in Hickman – January 18, 1873

Stories of Interest from the Hickman Courier from January 18, 1873

• A severe storm hit the region on January 15^th which lasted for several hours. Temperatures dropped to near zero and some declared it the “severest winter” for many years.
• The Mississippi River was still locked with ice and all navigation entirely suspended.
• A man believed to be deceased floated by Hickman on a raft the week prior. People on shore called to the man but received no response. The same man arrived in town on January 12^th where he stated he was in a stupor at the time but luckily drifted ashore fifteen miles south of Hickman where he was rescued. He apparently departed from Cairo, Illinois and was caught in an ice flow for three days. His feet were reported badly frozen. Citizens of Hickman contributed money to pay for his return home.
• The City Council met on January 13^th to swear in the mayor and councilmen. Salaries were discussed and fixed for the City Clerk at $100, City Assessor at $75, City Treasurer at $50, City Tax Collector at 5% of all taxes collected, City Attorney at 25% of all fines collected, and the Market Master at 20% of all fee and rental collections. The mayor also appointed members to the Finance and Street committees.
• A special election to change the Hickman city charter regarding whether city council members serve an annual or biennial term was to be held on January 25th.
• A large ball was scheduled to be held on the night of January 23rd in Hickman. Numerous tickets were distributed to people in the city and nearby countryside.
• John F. Tyler was sworn in as sheriff of Fulton County and W. L. Gardner sworn as deputy.
• Governor Preston Leslie of Kentucky vetoed an act that would provide public aid for the construction of a levee in Fulton County on January 9^th. The governor declared the project proposed by the Mississippi River Levee Company was a private project and that public taxes should not be used to fund the construction.
• The Columbus Dispatch corrected an earlier report that M. S. Hall & Company, contractors for the Mississippi Central Railroad, had financially failed. The company had not failed and construction on railroad continued. However, certain farmers in Hickman County complained that driving piles at crossings on the Obion River to build bridges would dam up streams on their property and overflow their farmlands.
• The Mississippi Central Railroad had brought a suit against over a dozen citizens of Hickman County for right of way through their property.
• The Superintendent of Free School Districts in Hickman County reported an average attendance of 20 students at a public cost of $2.26 per pupil. The district counts 110 students between six and twenty. Some critics pronounced that some of the teachers were unqualified to instruct and lacked “moral character.”
• Moscow merchants reported business was doing well, but that some citizens were negligent about attending church services.
• The Moscow free school reported an average attendance of 14 students.
• Leaders in Mayfield grew confident that the Cairo & Tennessee River Railroad would traverse their county and town. Businessmen in Mayfield initiated plans to incorporate a savings bank to further encourage the construction of the railroad through their community.
• Lauchlan Donaldson, of Lake County, Tennessee, published an article to the citizens of Obion County to cede the territory about Reelfoot Lake to Lake County. His reasoning was that Reelfoot Lake was of no advantage to Obion County and that the proposed construction of the levee from Hickman to Madrid Bend, which was nearby the lake, would be more financially beneficial to Lake County.
• The Obion County Court voted to impose a tax for common schools, but no fixed amount was agreed upon.
• Citizens of Union City, Tennessee met to secure a location for the Western District College.
• The Union City Fair Association appointed committees to encourage the organization of Farmers Clubs and Immigration Boards in West Tennessee and Southwest Kentucky.
• The Troy Times reported that the epizootic disease still raged in Obion County.
• The small village of Crescent City, Tennessee, near Troy, was flourishing and that fifty lots had been sold and four new houses were being constructed.
• The Melrose Institute in Trenton, Tennessee promoted its spring session would begin on January 22^nd. 177 students had registered by the time of publication.