Tocowa, Mississippi

Tocowa, Mississippi
Ptocowa
Tocowa Springs
ghost town

Location of Panola County in Mississippi

Location of Mississippi in the United States
Coordinates: 34°13′25″N 90°03′35″W / 34.22361°N 90.05972°W / 34.22361; -90.05972Coordinates: 34°13′25″N 90°03′35″W / 34.22361°N 90.05972°W / 34.22361; -90.05972
Country United States
State Mississippi
County Panola
Founded 1865
Elevation 236 ft (71.9 m)
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-6)

Tocowa was a town located just outside Batesville in Panola County, Mississippi, United States, but it is now a ghost town.[1]

History

Center Hill Cemetery in Tocowa.

Description of Tocowa from the 1938 book, Mississippi: A Guide to the Magnolia State:[2]

TOCOWA SPRINGS (can be found) in woods of sugar maple, beech, and gum trees, where the hills meet the Delta. Above the springs, the bluffs rise from 80 to 100 feet. The springs are on the old Chickasaw-Choctaw boundary line and, having always been considered neutral grounds, were the meeting place for all Indians. The name is a combination of two Indian words, the Chickasaw ptoco, meaning healing, and the Choctaw wawa, meaning water. It was here at the healing waters that the Indians assembled after the cession of their lands in 1832, preparing for their trek westward beyond the Mississippi River. In the 1890s Tocowa Springs was a famous health resort; the old hotel still stands (this was in 1938). The lines of trees planted as markers on the Chickasaw-Choctaw boundary line have grown to giant size.

During the late 18th century, and well into the 19th century, the town grew around a natural spring. The spring was used as a socializing area by Native Americans who believed in the spring's mysterious healing powers and that the water could heal braves wounded in battle.[2][3] In the May 25, 1867 edition of The Weekly Panola Star newspaper, the spring was described as "a fine, clear, and bold running mineral spring of known and well attested medicinal virtues".[4]

Notable natives

Former Mississippi governor Ronnie Musgrove was born and raised in Tocowa. At that time, the town had a population of 42.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Mississippi Department of Archives and History
  2. 1 2 Works Progress Administration, Federal Writers' Project (May 1938). Gene Holcomb, ed. Mississippi: A Guide to the Magnolia State. American Guide series. Viking Press. p. 382. ISBN 1-60354-023-7.
  3. ↑ National Park Service PDF file
  4. ↑ "The Coal Mines". The Weekly Panola Star. 25 May 1867.
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