The Columbus dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 19??-1922, 1920-01-11
CHAPTFR VIM

Columbus, the County Site-Early
Facts-Land Sales.
. In January 1880, Lowndes County
was organized out Of the southern
portion Of Monroe County, south of
the Buttahatchie and TombigBee riv-
ers. The following citizens were sp-
pointed commissioners to select the
county site: Samuel Lauderdale, Will
lam Ht Craven, Chas. H. Albert,
George Goode, Titus Howard, Edward
B. Randolph, and Henry Greer, Sr.
This same act provided that the court
of the county should be held in Col
umbus until a court house should be
erected. Without any recorded OPP
position, Columbus was chosen as the
county site.
| In October 1881, commission, ell
ected to locate the public buildings
of the county at the county site
was composed Of the following per-
sons: Thomas Sampson, Richard Bar
Try, Samuel D. Lauderdale, John Null
len and William w. Nelson, who
contracted with Robert D. Haden,
president, and George Shaeffer, sec
rotary Of the board of selectmen of
the town of Columbus for lots and 2
in square No. 8 north of Main Street
fer a site for the courthouse, Jail, etc.
This square had been reserved in the
original susvey as a public. square.
The conditions Of the contract was
that the ground should be free from
jail rent or lease as long as the county
used it for the specified purposes.
The original deed or conveyance end
is the property of Hon. James C.
Nelson, son Of William w. Nelson,
one Of the Commissioners.
The first court house was built in
1892, by county tax and subscrip-
ton by. the citizens Of Columbus, as
the town was not subject to tax of
any kind. This latter fact appears
in the books of Albert and Shaeffer,
merchants of Columbus in 1882, in
which an entry occurs, paying a sub
scription of S25 each for building the
court house. This book is still extant
and\is good guide to the names Of
citizens and other facts in the history
of Columbus at that time. The book
is the property of Col. George Albert,
son of Charles Albert, member of
the firm Of Albert and Shaeffer.
The first officers in Lowndes
county were: Nimrod Davis, sheriff;
William Dowsing, circuit clerk; Thorn
as 0. Sampson, probate judge, Isaac
R. Nicholson, circuit judge. The first
probate court was held in February,
1880, in the house of Joseph Bryan,
on the southwest corner of Main and
Franklin Streets. The first circuit
court was held the second Monday in
May, 1880, in a store house where the
Columbus Clothing Co. store now
stands, 1901. The lawyers in attend
ance at this court were: Stephen
Cooke, j. F. Trotter, and T. M. Tuck
err. The records of the circuit court
Of Lowndes county are in good
state of preservation from 1880 to
the present time. The records Of the
cEancery court are also in good state
of preservation. Deed book, No. is
transcript of books !, 2, 3, and Is,
from 1882 to 1857. Original land en-
tries are in book No. IL, pages to
SO. Deeds transferred from Monroe
county to Lowndes county records are
in a special book for that purpose.
All these books have been indexed
and an abstract of title can be easily
obtained. from the present time back
to the original patent or sale. The
writer of these chapters is indebted
to Messrs. Cooper and Moore for
much courtesy and assistance.
The first court house was located
on the southwest corner Of the pres
ent court house square. 1T was 8
plain two-story brick building about
forty by sixty feet in dimensions.
The lower story was occupied as a
court room, the east half, being used
for court purposes, while the west
half was entirely empty, except for
stairway to the offices above. The
entrances were by central doors
on the north, south and west. In
1S47, the present spacious, commodi-
Gus. and remarkably well built struc-
ture superseded the old building. 1t
was erected by James S. Lull, archi-
tect.
After 1890, the town of Columbus
increased very rapidly in population,
and buildings of every kind. Hotels
and boarding houses, stores of al
kinds of merchandise, and shops foi
mechanics and artisans were very
huriiedly and rapidly erected
Public attention, especially in the