Heidelberg, Mississippi
The ancestral roots of Heidelberg can be
traced back to the Palatinate region of Germany. Following the
French invasion of the1680’s, and the religious persecution
that followed, many Protestant Germans fled the Rhine River
region. Large numbers of these refugees immigrated to England
and, later, sailed to the new world colonies located in North
Carolina. The majority earned a living by farming, slowly
migrating westward, clearing new lands as the unfertilized soils
lost their ability to sustain a decent yield.
The first recorded Heidelberg was a colonist
named Christian Heidelberg, appearing in records during the early
1700’s. Christian fathered two sons, one of which was named
John Christian Heidelberg. John’s son, Thomas Christian, was
born in North Carolina during the late 1760’s. In 1800, he
moved his wife and children to Georgia. Around 1817, the family
moved westward into the piney woods of the Mississippi Territory.
He established himself in this new land and was living near Bogue
Homa Creek as late as 1830.
Thomas’ son, Thomas Christian
Heidelberg, Jr., established his home on Beaver creek, between
the present location of Heidelberg and Vossburg. He married a
young woman by the name of Jane Risher, from the Vossburg
area. One of their daughter’s married Captain Edward
Stafford, for whom Stafford
Springs is named. Another son of Thomas, Samuel
Christian Heidelberg, established a large farm in the Paulding
area. Samuel would father and raise fifteen children, five of
whom served in Army of the Confederate States. Despite engaging
in numerous battles and being twice wounded, one of these sons,
Washington Irving Heidelberg, returned to found the town of Heidelberg.
Around 1870, W.I. Heidelberg settled on a
plot of Jasper County land that he had purchased prior to the
war. With a demonstration of strong character, he persevered the
difficult times afforded by the difficult years of reconstruction
period. He managed to construct a fine home, marry, and began a
family. His business ventures would grow to include a
considerable farming enterprise, a general mercantile store, a
cotton gin, and a gristmill.
-
-
In 1882, on his own land, he laid out the
present location of Heidelberg town. Included in this plan was a
right of way that he presented to the New Orleans and
Northwestern Railroad. This gesture ensured that a proposed
Paulding to Mobile railway line would route through his
community. A grid work of Streets was surveyed and numbered one
through twelve. In all, the town encompassed one square mile,
extending from Beaver Creek to old Highway Eleven
The railroad accepted his offer and with
this key asset came enterprise and commerce. Farmers in the
surrounding areas were soon routing their goods through Heidelberg.
Numerous travelers were also passing through the fledgling town.
Realizing yet another opportunity, Washington built a camp house
to accommodate those who were in need of shelter. Other business
would soon spring up along Ochs Street, the main street through
town. T.M. Heidelberg, a brother of W.I., would establish
another general mercantile. Abney & Travis would establish a
business that included an undertaking service. Gaston and
Sprinkle General Mercantile was another prominent establishment.
Ochs
Street – circa 1900
Heidelberg
Rail Depot
It is recorded that Heidelberg had six
doctors and one dentist. A local inventor, C.R. Reid, operated a
small manufacturing operation for seed planters. The first
barbershop in town was owned and operated by Irving Reid, a black
barber. In 1900, S.C. Wilkins opened a two-story hotel across the
street from W.I. Heidelberg’s General Store. W.A. Morrison
operated a horse and buggy rental service to salesmen and other
travelers who needed transportation to the outlying communities.
Four cotton gins, several restaurants, a beef market, a millinery
shop, and an ice plant were also opened.
One
of the four cotton gins
A post office was also built on Ochs Street.
The first postmaster was Daniel.W.Gatlin. In 1900, S.C. Wilkens,
owner of the hotel, was appointed postmaster. He relocated the
post office to his business until the facility was destroyed by
fire. Before residing in the present day location, the post
office occupied space in the Bethea Grocery, W.A. Morison’s
store, and the Common Wealth Bank building.
The
Wilkens Hotel – Post Office
Heidelberg’s first bank was opened in
1904 with S.W. Abney serving as president and Sam Morgan as the
cashier. A large sawmill was opened in 1910 and the relentless
harvest of the abundant virgin timber began.
The first school one-room was built during
the early 1900’s. A second school, located on North Magnolia
Avenue, was destroyed by fire.
As the public road system came into being,
the original Highway eleven was routed through Heidelberg,
Stafford Springs, and Vossburg. This was an unpaved gravel road
and remained such until the early 1950’s. (Highway Eleven
was later rerouted, bypassing both Heidelberg and Vossburg)
Travel during the early part of the century was mostly conducted
by railroad due to the poor road conditions. This was especially
true during the wet seasons.
Photo
of an excursion train at the Heidelberg Picnic Grounds
Three churches were built within the town, a
Baptist, a Methodist, and a Presbyterian. A large picnic area was
also constructed on the east end of town and was used by the
Brotherhood of Trainmen as the destination of an annual
excursion. Special trains were run from Meridian and New Orleans
to the site.
The Thornton’s opened a Ford automobile
dealership during 1921. The cars were shipped by rail from Detroit
and displayed along Ochs Street. Prices ranged from about $450 to
$700, depending on the model and features purchased.
The
1921 Ford Line
In 1943, oil was discovered beneath Heidelberg
and brought a burst of new life into the area. At that time,
there was only one telephone in the entire town, located in one
of the grocery stores. Many of these shallow wells have
continuously produced crude for nearly sixty years. In a
posthumous display of business savvy, it was determined that W.I.
Heidelberg had retained the mineral rights to the land that he
deeded to the railroad – a decision that proved profitable
for his heirs.
Click Here to Read About The Heidelberg Oil Boom
Current
Heidelberg Oil Production
Ochs
Street - 2003
The
Mary Weems Parker Memorial Library - Wife of Dr.W.H. Parker
The
Confederate Memorial Monument was originally imported from France
and erected in 1911
Source: A Travel through Heidelberg
Heritage – History section compiled by Janette Kennedy,
1984.
************************************************************************
Personal Reflections
At the end of WWII, I was discharged from
the Army Air Corps and attended the University of Southern
Mississippi on the GI Bill. The summer quarter of 1949, I
completed the course work required to obtain a B.S. degree with
majors in Math and in Chemistry. At the campus, I was interviewed
and hired by Mr. Homes, the Superintendent of the Heidelberg
School, to teach. I began in the fall of that year. It was also
Mr. Homes first year. A friend of mine, Jim McCulloch, was also
hired. Mr. Homes put both of us in contact with Miss Bessie
Chancellor, who lived with her husband, Arthur, near Stafford
Springs. They accepted borders and she provided us two bedrooms
in the downstairs section of her home. She also fed us a daily
breakfast and dinner for a total charge of $30 per month. We ate
lunch in the school cafeteria as a part of our pay. Our salary
was $1740 for the school year (8 months). Mr. Arthur Chancellor
worked as a foreman on a dairy farm in Sugarloc MS and came home
on the weekends. He also dabbled in antiques and old clocks. Miss
Edna Chancellor, Arthur’s sister, boarded with them, too.
She taught 4th or 5th grade. Miss Bessie
also worked in the school cafeteria.
I can’t remember all of the stores that
were in Heidelberg at that time, but I remember that the streets
were not paved. Mr. Mixon had a large general mercantile store on
the south side of Main (Ochs) Street. East of that was a grocery
store run by B.C. Burns. At that time, Mr. Sinclair worked for
Mr. Burns and, later, opened his own store out on Highway 11. A
large grocery store and the Bryant Drug Store were located on the
north side of Main (Ochs) Street. Dr. Parker was the town doctor
and had an office out toward the high school.
There was a small movie theater located in
Heidelberg. Early during my teaching career, I went there one
evening to see a movie. When I attempted to leave, I discovered
that some of my students had jacked up my car and placed blocks
under the rear axle. When I attempted to back up, the rear wheels
began to spin in mid-air. It was all in good fun and they emerged
from their hiding places to help me fix the problem.
Out on Highway 11, the old Stafford Springs
Hotel and the restaurant was still in operation. The motor lodge
had not yet been built. They were still bottling and shipping the
water, mostly by rail. Woodrow Martin ran a garage and a service
station just up the hill at the intersection of the Vossburg
– Shubuta Road. He later built a restaurant across the road.
I taught at Heidelberg for two school years,
1949-50 and 1950-51. In 1950, I began to notice Mary Sue Eddins,
a pretty blonde with perfect hair, come by the Chancellors home
with Mrs. Bounds. Mrs. Bounds would stop to see Mrs. Chancellor
on their way to church and Sunday school at Shady Grove Baptist.
I wrote her a letter and asked her for a date. She accepted and
we attended a church social held at Lake Waukaway. We were
married on September 2nd, 1951, at Shady Grove. Later,
I found out that Mrs. Bounds, Mrs. Chancellor and Mrs. Addie
Allen had conspired to hook us up. (It worked.)
In February of 1951, we moved to Biloxi
where I took a job teaching electronics at the Keesler Air Force
Base.
- O.G. Wilkerson
These pages are a work in progress. While
every attempt has been made to include accurate historical
information, some error may be included. I invite corrections,
additional information, additional photographs, and accounts of
personal experience. Please contact me at the supplied address.
Very little has been documented in regards to the dying towns and
landmarks of east-central Mississippi. With your help, I hope to
put together a few pages that we all can pass along to our
grandchildren. Thanks!
Keith Wilkerson
Return
to Jasper Co. Pages