ELLIOT MISSION TO MAYHEW MISSION ROAD

Musing 6 Figure 1 illustrates the roads between Elliot Mission in Grenada County and Mayhew Mission in northeastern Oktibbeha County. The roads are shown in red. Shown in Blue are the key water features: Trim Cane Creek which is west of Mayhew, Tibby (Tibbee) Creek which is north of Mayhew and served as the Choctaw/Chickasaw boundary, the Big Black River and the Yallo Busha (Yalobusha) River. Elliot Mission was founded in 1818-19 while Mayhew followed in 1820-21.

Historic sources refer to a road connecting the two missions but we see on Figure 1 the traveler had the choice of several routes. Why more than one road? The simple answer is the avoidance of water. Note one route is immediately west of Mayhew Mission though it encounters Trim Cane Creek near its discharge into Tibby Creek, meaning the creek and its floodplain after rainy season or a major storm had more water than the traveler desired. So, he could have opted to travel south of Trim Cane Creek by taking another route. Likewise, the northern road in Webster County allowed the traveler to cross the Big Black River nearer its headwaters.

Most of the road(s) shown were also described by the original surveyors as being a waggon (wagon) road. (Wagons were adverse to steep banks of creeks or rivers.) These surveyors were active 1831-34 with most dating 1832-33 or during the height of Choctaw emigration. There are comments in the survey notes concerning "recent" use of the wagon roads. So, these roads had at least two uses during the early nineteenth century: one being to assist the missions and schools and Choctaw access to same, and secondly Choctaw emigration.

In Choctaw, Clay and Webster Counties the traveler had the Natchez Road (Trace) to make more combinations of routes or roads. Note in Webster County in T20N R10E (south of Walthall) and T21 R10E (north of T20 R10) the original United States surveyors of the interior section of these townships, William Stone and William Bryan, respectively, each noted crossing Mayhew Road.

For further reading about the missions I suggest History of the Choctaw, Chickasaw and Natchez Indians by H.B. Cushman whose father was one of the early Choctaw missionaries in Oktibbeha County. If one desires to know more of the Elliot Mission and Mayhew Mission founding, their missionaries, the missionaries relationships to the Choctaw leadership, the schools the Missionaries founded, and the Choctaw assistance to each of the schools and missions I strongly suggest reading Choctaws and Missionaries in Mississippi, 1818-1918 by Clara Sue Kidwell, University of Oklahoma Press, 1995. A paperback is available as well. Kidwell's book provides insight into the Choctaw leaderships' support and assistance for schools and missions before, during and after the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Her work is well researched and written. Note in Musing 1, I located Emmaus Mission in Clarke County and Sixtown Mission (Goshen in Kidwell's book) in Jasper County. Also, in Musing 5 at the end of Athens Road at the Natchez Road (Trace) was French Camp(s) where another Choctaw school was located. In Figure 1 of this Musing note the Choctaw County locations of Choctaw District Chief David Folsom and nearby Choctaw School Aikhunnah. Note David Folsom moved from this location to be nearer the Choctaw Agency in southeastern Oktibbeha County.

These roads were largely expansions or widening of what were Choctaw historic or protohistoric trails. For those with de Soto entrada interests, per Chickasaw archaeologist Brad Lieb, the protohistoric Chakchiuma occupied lands north of Starkville. These roads connect to Charley's Trace (see Musing 4) via the Memphis to Rankin road which divides southwest of Elliot Mission. Of course Charley's Trace extends to the Mississippi River. Going north from Elliot Mission the Memphis to Rankin Road reconnects and head north northwest towards Memphis. Could de Soto's entrada have used these roads?