TRANSPORTATION, SETTLEMENT, &

GROWTH

CHAPTER 3

TRANSPORTATION

Has always been linked to:SettlementGrowth

Determines where people live and businesses develop

The main source of transportation in early MS was rivers

TRANSPORTATION

3 most important rivers for travel and trade Mississippi Yazoo Big Black

ROADS

Early roads were Indians Trails and Buffalo Paths

Rivers were better than roads for the following reasonsRoads were more difficult and dangerous

than boatCouldn’t carry as much as boatRoads were more expensive

The first roads were called post roads

ROADS

The Natchez Trace was the most famous road ever created in MSConnects Natchez to NashvilleStands (hotels or inns) were built along the

Natchez Trace

ROADS Roads then were not like today

Mainly dirt trailWidened by cutting treesMuddyCouldn’t carry muchNo bridges

○ Used ‘fords’ to cross rivers○ Ford - shallow spot of water that can be crossed

Not as efficient as water, but went were water wasn’t located

STEAMBOATS

Created by Robert Fulton Made upstream transportation possible Carry as much as several flatboats It allowed for the interior of MS to be

opened for cotton plantations

NEW ORLEANS

RAILROADS By 1900, Steamboats had mostly been

replaced as way to travel & move goods Civil War increased the need for Railroads

Reasons: ship soldiers and supplies Advantages to the Railroad

Could be built anywhereFaster & safer than steamboatsOpened settlement and economic development

to areas without rivers Economic development = more farmland

HIGHWAYS

1920’s cars, trucks, & buses began appearing in MS

Roads were a problemDirt & gravel not good enoughWashed out and couldn’t handle loadsBridges were unsafe or didn’t existNo bridges crossed MS River (now 4)Demands for government to build roads

increased

HIGHWAYS

1930’s – modern highway system began with federal money

Link major MS towns together and big towns in neighboring states

1940’s bridges built over MS River at Vicksburg, Natchez, & Greenville

HIGHWAYS

1960’s – 1970’s Federal Interstate Highway System constructedAt least 4 lane divided highway with same

system across the countryEven #s go East and WestOdd #s go North and South3 digits are bypassesAbout 42,800 miles and growing

HIGHWAYS

INTERSTATES

MS’s Interstate’s55 runs the length of the state from

Memphis to McComb20 runs across the state from Atlanta to

Texas (crossing Meridian and Vicksburg10 runs across the coastal states59 runs from Hattiesburg to New Orleans

MS Counties, Towns, & Cities Till 1940, MS almost all rural

Made living by farming○ Lived off land, shopped at country stores,

country doctorsIdentified with their county

○ Paid taxes to county, law enforcement – sheriff

○ County school districts○ Only in last 60 years have people moved to

towns and cities

COUNTIES

1st counties – Adams & Jefferson – 1799

13 counties in 1817

Wayne County was 1st county east of Pearl River

Large land areas – small population

COUNTIES Indian Treaties signed over land 1820 – Treaty of Doak’s Stand

Choctaws ceded area of west central MSOrganized into Hinds County

○ Later split into 14 counties

1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit CreekChoctaws ceded the rest of their land in MS

1832 Treaty of Pontotoc CreekChickasaw Indians cede their land in NE MSBecame 13 counties in MS

INDIAN TREATIES

COUNTIES

New land – government wanted it settled so sold land cheap to draw in new settlers

RR and lumber boom in 1880 brought in more people to Piney Woods

Big counties started splitting up because people lived to far from county seats

TOWNS

Still today more people in MS live in rural area

MS is 4th most rural state in USA Civil War only 4 towns of size:

Natchez, Vicksburg, Columbus, & JacksonRiver cities – steamboats

After Civil War – Vicksburg would be MS largest city for 40 yearsSteamboat and railroad center

TOWNS

1910 railroad made Jackson & Meridian large towns

1930 Jackson becomes and stays largest town in state

Metropolitan areasArea with population of more than 100,000Several towns and cities grown into each

other

TOWNS

MS Metropolitan AreasJackson Metro Area

○ Inside Hinds, Madison, & Rankin Counties

Gulf Coast

Desoto County – South Memphis

Hattiesburg

METROPOLITAN AREAS

2010 CENSUS About 2,967,000 people in MS

Most people in state still live in rural area even if they work in cities

Houston3,500

Chickasaw County18,000

2010 CENSUS Largest Cities

Jackson – 173,000

Gulfport – 68,000

Southaven – 49,000

Hattiesburg – 46,000

Biloxi – 44,000

Largest Counties

Hinds – 245,000

Harrison – 187,000

Desoto – 161,000

Rankin – 142,000

Jackson – 140,000