Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi

This article is about the unincorporated community in Holmes County. For the city in Rankin County, see Richland, Mississippi.

Richland is an unincorporated community in Holmes County, Mississippi, located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Goodman and approximately 7 miles (11 km) north of Pickens.

Richland, Mississippi
Unincorporated community
Main façade of the Eureka Masonic College
Richland Location within Mississippi
Coordinates: 32°58′27.5″N 89°59′11.3″W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Holmes
Founded	February 9, 1842 (182 years ago) (1842-02-09)
Elevation	325 ft (99 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code(s)	39079
Area code(s)	662
GNIS feature ID	676637
Highways	Highway 14 Highway 17
Major airport	Jackson Airport (JAN)

History

Richland was founded on February 9, 1842.^[1] By 1900, the hamlet was home to a church and academy.^[2] The Richland Male and Female Academy was opened prior to 1839 and was superseded by the Eureka Masonic College in 1848. The academy could accommodate 130 pupils.^[3]

Eureka Masonic College

Historic Eureka Masonic College, birthplace of the Order of the Eastern Star (OES), is located along Highway 17 in Richland. The historic schoolhouse has also housed Masons and Company C, 15th Mississippi Infantry, of the Confederate States Army, during the American Civil War.^[4]

1st Mississippi Cavalry

The 1st Mississippi Cavalry, of the Confederate States Army, was presented with its regimental colors on September 12, 1863, a gift of the ladies of Richland.^[5]

. . . The ladies at Richland, a little village near where we are camped, sent us a very nice battle flag yesterday. It is the first flag we have ever had. It is a blue flag with a red cross extending clear across the flag from the four corners, with white stars in the cross, and a yellow border all round it. It makes a very pretty appearance. . . .

— Lieut.–Col. Frank A. Montgomery, in a letter to his wife^[5]

Notable people

Blues musician Elmore James was born in Richland on January 27, 1918.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Holmes County, Mississippi

References

1. Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28, Washington, D.C.: National Archives
2. Rowland, Dunbar (1907). Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Vol. 2. Southern Historical Publishing Association. p. 555. OCLC 1994066.
3. Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi: Embracing an Authentic and Comprehensive Account of the Chief Events in the History of the State and a Record of the Lives of Many of the Most Worthy and Illustrious Families and Individuals. Goodspeed. 1891. p. 318.
4. Mississippi Historical Marker Program (1951). O. E. S. Birthplace (Mississippi Historical Marker). Richland, Miss.: Mississippi Historical Commission.
5. Montgomery, Frank A. (1901). Reminiscences of a Mississippian in Peace and War. Cincinnati: The Robert Clarke Company Press. p. 139. LCCN 01023742. OCLC 1470413. OL 6909271M – via Internet Archive.

External links

• Media related to Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi at Wikimedia Commons