Stewart
Stewart, MS · LATEST NEWS
appalachianhistorian.org
Winona, Montgomery County: Railroads, Cotton Mills, Fires, and Fannie Lou Hamer
Appalachian Community Histories – Winona, Montgomery County: Railroads, Cotton Mills, Fires, and Fannie Lou Hamer. In the rolling hills of north-central Mississippi, the city of Winona grew from a railroad settlement into one of the region’s important commercial and political centers. Long before automobiles and interstate highways reshaped travel across the state, trains brought merchants, farmers, laborers, and visitors through a town whose streets, hotels, and businesses developed around the railroad tracks. Its position between the Mississippi Delta and the eastern portion of the state helped establish Winona as a trading center, while its selection as the county seat of Montgomery County in 1871 gave the growing community an importance that extended beyond transportation.
appalachianhistorian.org
Middleton, Montgomery County: The Rise and Fall of the Athens of Mississippi
Appalachian Community Histories – Middleton, Montgomery County: The Rise and Fall of the Athens of Mississippi. Along the modern highways west of Winona, Mississippi, there once stood a town whose importance extended far beyond its place on the map. During the nineteenth century, Middleton was a center of commerce, education, religion, and social life in what was then Carroll County. Its streets were lined with stores, professional offices, churches, and academies that attracted families from across the region. For a time, the community appeared destined to become one of the important settlements of north-central Mississippi, earning the nickname “The Athens of Mississippi” because of its educational and cultural institutions.