Editing Kosciusko, Mississippi (section)

== History ==
Shortly before the War of 1812, David Choate, a [[French people|French]] trader along with his wife, a [[Choctaw]], opened the Choate Stand, an inn along the [[Natchez Trace]]. They chose a location near the intersection of the trace and a cross path that led to the [[Muscogee|Creek Indian Nation]], where there was a natural spring to provide fresh water, at the approximate location of the current town square. Journals from the war of 1812 indicate that [[Andrew Jackson]] received supplies at Choate Stand. In 1850, the Choate family was forcibly removed to [[Indian Territory]] in [[Oklahoma]] by the [[Indian Removal Act]], signed by [[Andrew Jackson]]. In 2017 Kosciusko inaugurated an annual ''Return to Redbud Springs Festival'' to honor this history.<ref name="Cathey">{{cite web |last1=Cathey |first1=Mike |title=Choate family -- Natchez Trace to Choate Prairie, Indian Territory |url=https://www.mcalesternews.com/opinion/columns/choate-family----natchez-trace-to-choate-prairie-indian-territory/article_f5e44e67-2c2a-5cfa-a003-50c0684c4fbb.html |publisher=McAlester News-Capital |access-date=10 August 2021 |date=July 7, 2019}}</ref>

The [[Human settlement|settlement]] was at one time named Red Bud Springs for a natural spring that was present in the city. Later, Redbud Springs was renamed Kosciusko, for General [[Tadeusz Kościuszko]], a Polish officer who served with the [[Continental Army]] and assisted its military efforts during the [[American Revolution]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]] | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n176 177]}}</ref> His name has been anglicized as 'Kosciusko'.

Throughout the 19th century, cotton was the predominant crop, and remains important in the area.{{Citation needed|reason=This statement is very vague and broad. It needs to be narrowed and/or backed up by a citation.|date=December 2019}}

In 1893, [[Central Mississippi College]] opened in Kosciusko; it was a private segregated school for African American students established by the local [[Baptist]] associations.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uT4LPyzvEWUC |title=An Era of Progress and Promise: 1863–1910 |date= |publisher=Priscilla Pub. Co. |year=1910 |editor-last=Hartshorn |editor-first=W. N. |location=Boston, MA |pages=271 |language=en |oclc=5343815 |editor-last2=Penniman |editor-first2=George W.}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Education |first=United States Office of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hoFKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA372 |title=Negro Education: A Study of the Private and Higher Schools for Colored People in the United States |date=1917 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |volume=2 |pages=372–373 |language=en}}</ref> Kosciusko was the location of [[Magnolia Bible College]] from 1976 to 2008.