Editing Panola County, Mississippi (section)

==History==
Following [[Indian Removal|forced removal of most of the historic Chickasaw tribe]] to territory west of the Mississippi River, Panola County was established February 9, 1836, by the state legislature. It is one of the twelve large northern [[Mississippi]] counties created that year from the territory of the [[Chickasaw]] Cession of 1832. The original act defined its limits as follows:
''{{blockquote|text=Beginning at the point where the line between ranges 9 and 10 strikes the center of section 6, and running thence south with the said range line, and from its termination in a direct line to the northern boundary of [[Tallahatchie County, Mississippi|Tallahatchie County]] and thence along the northern boundary of [[Tallahatchie County, Mississippi|Tallahatchie]] and [[Yalobusha County, Mississippi|Yalobusha]] counties, to the center of range 5 west; thence north through the center of range 5 west, according to the sectional lines, to the center of township six; thence west through the center of township six, according to the sectional lines, to the beginning.}}''

On February 1, 1877, when [[Quitman County, Mississippi|Quitman County]] was organized by the legislature, it took a small fraction of Panola's southwestern area, reducing Panola from an area of {{convert|756|sqmi|km2}} to its present land surface of {{convert|705|sqmi|km2}}. By 1920 the county had a population of 27,845. Its inhabitants gradually increased in numbers from 1850 to 1910, from 11,444 to 31,274, reaching a peak of population in 1940. Through this period the area was based on agriculture. From then until 1980, population declined markedly, as many African Americans moved west and north in the second wave of the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]], to take jobs on the West Coast in the burgeoning defense industry. Whites also left the rural area. In 2020, the county was 48.3% African American and 47.1% white.

Starting in 1803, sixteenth sections in each township in Mississippi were established for school purposes. These sections of land were to be used exclusively for school projects.<ref name="federal"/> In essence, schools were later founded on land that had been Chickasaw territory.

Two of the oldest settlements in Panola County were at Belmont and Panola, which were a few miles apart and located on opposite sides of the [[Tallahatchie River]]. For several years there was a spirited contest between these two towns to gain the county court of Panola County.

With the advent of the Mississippi and Tennessee (now the Illinois Central railroad), Belmont was absorbed by [[Sardis, Mississippi|Sardis]], and Panola was absorbed by [[Batesville, Mississippi|Batesville]]. The legislature authorized two judicial districts for the county, with Sardis designated as the seat of justice for the first judicial district, and Batesville for the second judicial district.

===Early education===
During the early period of county formation, most education was done at home. There was no public education, and only wealthier families hired tutors or sent their sons to seminaries or academies. The informal education consisted of basic math, basic reading, and study of biblical concepts. Through the antebellum period, the state generally forbade education of slaves and [[free people of color]].

By 1840, four small private schools with a combined student population of 92 pupils were operating in the county.<ref>James Herron, "Private Academies in Panola County" ''The Panola Story'' 2 (1) (March 1973): 2-4; Wren, "Panola Education", pg. 11</ref><ref>Panola County Historical and Genealogical Society (Pan‑Gens), comp., "Schools: The Early Years," in ''Panola County History'' (Dallas: Curtis Media Corp., 1987), 139;</ref><ref name="Fowler">Fowler, "Schools and Churches: Education Efforts, 1840‑60," in ''History of Panola County, 1836‑1860'', Unpublished master's thesis (University of Mississippi, 1965), pg. 63</ref><ref>Sara L. Vance, "Early Schools of Panola County," ''The Panola Story'' 9, no. 1 (January‑March 1980): 1.</ref> Documentation has not survived about these schools. During the early 1840s, the first school‑related advertisements were published r in the county newspapers. The ads attempted to present the virtues of these early schools.

During this period, Judge James S.B. Thacher, a highly educated Bostonian, devised a popular educational program for the state of Mississippi. The proposed scheme received considerable discussion and was finally incorporated by the state legislature (March 4, 1846) into "An Act to establish a System of Common Schools."<ref name="Rowland">Rowland, ''History of Mississippi: The Heart of the South'' (Chicago‑Jackson: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1925), vol. II, pg. 647.</ref><ref name="Rowland2">Rowland, ''The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi‑1912'' (Nashville: Brandon, 1912), pg. 286.</ref>

The act "provided for a board of five school commissioners in each county, to license teachers and have charge of schools, lease the school lands and have charge of the school funds in each county."<ref name="Rowland"/><ref name="Rowland2"/> To a large degree, this act was passed because A.G. Brown, a candidate for Mississippi governor, decided to make the establishment of a general school system a campaign issue. By 1846, Governor Brown (1844‑48), succeeded in getting the Act passed.<ref name="federal">Federal Writers' Project (Worker's Project Administration), ''Mississippi ‑‑ A Guide to the Magnolia State'' (New York: Hasting House, 1949), pg. 120.</ref>

Schools established under this rule "had no uniformity since they differed as the counties differed in wealth and efficiency of management."<ref name="federal"/>

Although the Act had proved to be of little assistance in Panola County, progress was being made for wealthier white students. By 1850, the seventh census in Panola County listed 18 schools and a total student population of 439 pupils<ref>Pan Gens, "Schools: The Early Years," 139; Vance, "Early Schools", pg. 1.</ref> (approximately four times that of the 1840 census). This census (unpublished returns) recorded that 18 individuals stated their occupation as educators or teachers.<ref>Fowler, "Schools and Churches: Education Efforts, 1840‑60", ''History of Panola County, 1836‑1860,'' Unpublished master's thesis (University of Mississippi, 1965), pg. 65</ref> By the spring of 1854, several members of the local Shiloh community (Capt Thomas F. Wilson, Dr H. Moseley, and Jesse Smith) constructed a small log cabin to be used as the community's school house.<ref>"Early Schools", ''The Panolian'', September 11, 1975; Vance, "Early Schools", pg. 1.</ref>

This school, known as the Jones' School, at first employed only one teacher. It slowly grew in size and popularity. Several years later, the facility was moved to Peach Creek, where the school was informally known as the "Greasy Smith Schoolhouse," being named for the local village blacksmith.<ref>Pan Gens, ''Schools: The Early Years'', pg. 139.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed, if any --></ref> In 1882, the facility was moved to Pleasant Grove.