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IN THIS ISSUE:

• 1776 to 2026, Who We Are
• Cattle Market News
• Forestry News
• What's News
• July/August County Events Calendar Lee County Extension Service Links & Contact Information

1776 to 2026, Who We Are

Admittedly, if one were to travel back to the year 1776, the Mississippi we know would not exist. Mississippi territory would not be added to the United States of America until 1788, taken in as a part of Georgia, and then we took on a few other shapes until finally becoming what we know as our state in 1817. But from the beginning, these Mississippi lands were recognized as having fertile, nutritious soil blessed with the abilities to grow native crops along with an abundance of wildlife and natural
resources, all hidden and guarded by a vast wilderness.

The indigenous people to this territory, Native Americans, comprised primarily of Chickasaw, Choctaw, & Natchez tribes, were intimately aware of the simple, yet rich, environment that sustained them season to season, year to year. The land was etched with creeks and rivers containing fish and offering a quicker means of travel across the wild terrain, including the largest of them all, the Mississippi River, creating a
bountiful, rich Delta in the western part of the territory and providing trade routes north to south for several territories. It was abundant with wildlife such as deer, turkey, quail, and rabbit, and inhabitants took advantage of native plants by cultivating maize, known as corn, squash, & beans. This trio of crops are known as "the three sisters". Tobacco and indigo were used for native commerce. Nature also provided natural sweets such as blueberries, blackberries, muscadine grapes, pawpaw, persimmons, and wild honey. These are still hard to resist treats when out on the trail or while perusing a Mississippi fence line or roadside.

Soon, along with trappers & traders, mostly French & English settlers arrived with saws in hand, looking to make a clearing in the dense woods, utilizing the timber for the establishment of the homesteads and the newly revealed open ground of fertile soil for family garden plots. With this came the introduction of non-native crops to the Mississippi landscape, along with domesticated livestock, such as the family cow or goat for milking, pigs for meat, sheep for wool, or chickens for eggs. This increased the need for what we commonly know as row crops. Corn, oats, rye, rice, and potatoes were grown to help supplement the diets of the homesteaders and their livestock. Also flax and cotton was planted and harvested for clothing, bedding, and household supplies.

With the influx of settlers came the need to tame more of the wilderness by cutting trees to provide shelter, tools, and implements. This was one of many times we would potentially squander the land's natural resources, and restoration of those resources would be left to future generations.

Author James Schouler, in Americans of 1776, circa 1906, noted, "Too much wood was cut, however, and cut ruthlessly; and we are now only just beginning to learn that forests should be preserved and cultivated as permanent investment, by careful choice and selection for harvest."

As rudimentary technologies, such as hoes, harrows, & plows were refined by the talents and innovations of rising metallurgists, blacksmiths, and mechanical engineers, the ability to grow, maintain, harvest, and ship row crops increased. These became commodities, easily traded both home and even shipped abroad, regularly exporting grains to the "Old World." Soon the land was put to use by cultivating what we describe as "cash crops", most notably cotton. Several varieties of the day grew particularly well in the fertile Mississippi soil. Unfortunately our desire for agriculture & economic growth with mechanical & agricultural advances of the times would precede some of the saddest years in our future Nation's history.

In 1776, in the Southern colonies, including the Mississippi territory, farmers were the soldiers enlisted in our Revolutionary War, and their pursuits through battles and numerous returns home, would be the spearhead leading us to an agricultural future. Be it soldiering, homesteading, or farming, day to day life was initiated by the farmer, whose sons helped in the fields while wife and daughters tended the livestock and home. For the times, we would recognize this as modern day land management & animal husbandry. They returned to what they knew best. James Schouler also laments, that mistakenly, "the policy of the mother country was to confine all her colonies as much as possible to agriculture and the simple kindred pursuits of hunting and
fishing." With the natural resources from this territory, this was almost a gift, as opposed to punishment. Farmers would typically exchange meat, bread, cheese, butter, or grain either at the local store or market for needed goods & supplies. We can see glimpses of this past now with a simple trip to a local farmers' market, swap meet, or neighborhood shop.

"The labor and subduing of this earth and utilizing its products for the needs, the comforts, the luxuries of life, begins and continues with the development of typical man...", per Schouler, this "development of typical man" also included utilizing the guidance of almanacs. A few of the most popular almanacs of the time were "Poor Richard's", authored by Benjamin Franklin, "Poor Will's", & "Father Abraham's". These periodicals offered access to calendars, lunar & tidal dates, weather predictions, recipes, remedies, and even some anecdotal humor. In colonial times, the information on those printed pages may have been some of the best advice one could expect to receive. Today, we still have almanacs, but our educational resources expanded to include local weather, specialists, extension publications, and your local extension agent. 

In summary, Mississippi has always had roots in forestry and agriculture, and the people who came before us endured wars, both civilly & globally, while creating homes and building a thriving agriculture economy that still includes row crop production in soybeans, cotton, corn, rice, peanuts, & sweet potatoes, with our two largest industries being poultry & forestry, and leading the nation in catfish production. From the revolution to unify our states, to the division & brokenness of a civil war, and then stepping up to bare a large burden in two world wars, the constitution of the people who have gone before us was fortified with resilience and determination. Schouler stated, "The whole tendency, then, of our primitive American life was to develop the natural affections and make people neighborly and helpful to one another, recognizing those common joys and sorrows of humanity of which all ages and conditions partook." As we endure, so does this land, always ready to absorb the sweat of our brow, the blood of our toil, and the bones of our ancestors; while, with our diligence, providing a richer more abundant future for those who will come next, taking up the
weighty yoke of land stewardship and resource management. Two hundred fifty years later, there remains the shadow of who came before us, the knowledge of who we are now, and the celebration of what is yet to come. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!

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