Built by a congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Wesley Chapel was the first Methodist church to serve south Madison County in the late 19th century. First built on a site near the intersection of Old Canton Road and County Line Road, Wesley Chapel moved to downtown Ridgeland in 1901.
Like many communities, Ridgeland’s early growth was due in large part to the presence of the railroad. Access to an existing railroad greatly influenced Edward Treakle and Gorton Nichols of the Highland Colony Company to develop the fertile farmland that would become the Village of Ridgeland. Many of the “first families” of Ridgeland traveled here by passenger …
Although Ridgeland was founded well after the Civil War, several actions occurred in Madison County during the war. After the war, Ridgeland was settled largely by immigrants from northern states, and a number of Union veterans became prominent citizens.
Construction of the Ross Barnett Reservoir began in 1960 under the direction of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District. Although the Army Corps of Engineers had studied flooding in the area since the 1930s, the primary purpose of the reservoir project was to create a permanent source of drinking water for the City of …
First purchased by John Dobbins Murrell in 1847, Sophia Murrell Ash and her husband, Dr. Matthew Ash, owned the Clifton plantation by 1880. The original plantation home was destroyed by a tornado in 1881 and the Ashes built a smaller home on site. By 1926, the Richardson family acquired the property, where they operated a …
In the early days of Ridgeland, school was held in the town hall on West Jackson Street. Currently, Ridgeland schools include Ridgeland High School, Old Town Middle School, Highland Elementary, Ann Smith Elementary, Christ Covenant, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.
The Natchez Trace Parkway commemorates the original Natchez Trace and stretches 444 miles from Natchez to Nashville. Construction began in 1937 with funding from the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935. With the exception of World War II, construction continued in stages into the late 20th century. The final segment of the Natchez Trace Parkway …
Brashears Stand was named for Robert Turner Brashears, who moved to this area in the late 1700s. Like other stands located along the Natchez Trace Parkway, Brashears offered travelers basic accommodations and provisions.
Built in 1984 on 100 acres of farmland and located on East County Line Road, the 957,000-square-foot Northpark Mall was a joint project of Cadillac-Fairview of White Plains, New York, and McRae’s, Inc. The mall was built to compete with Jackson’s Metrocenter Mall.
