History

Harold Little and granddaughter, Lainey, enjoy a few quiet minutes together on the porch. Lainey is the 7th generation of Littles to live on land purchased in 1844.

The Little Family Arrives in Mississippi

In 1842 John and Margaret Little and a young son traveled more than 300 miles from Knox County, Tennessee to Tishomingo County. They were joined on this trip by John’s two brothers, George and Jack. Floating down the Tennessee River on a flatboat they arrived at Eastport, Mississippi and dismantled the boat to build their first shelter. When John and Margaret Little arrived in north Mississippi they saw a land with gently rolling hills, running creeks, abundant wildlife and endless opportunities for a hardworking man to make a home for his family and future generations.

In 1844 John moved his family 35 miles inland and bought property near the county seat of Jacinto. They built a house at what is now known as Margaret’s Spring on Little Creek Ranch. While no photos survive of the early structure logs were a common building material in the South. The spring and ancient trees mark the site of the home which sheltered the first Little family to live on this land. Today the John and Margaret Little Historic Hiking Trail leads to the home site and Margaret’s Spring.

John and Margaret Little raised eight children , five boys and three girls; Calvin T., Joe, Tobe, William Lafayette, John Z, Nancy, Lou Jane and Adeline.

Two sons, Calvin T. and Joe, fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War while their brother, Tobe, fought for the Union. Calvin joined Company C of Morland’s Cavalry and was wounded at Pulaski, Tennessee. Joe and Tobe both lost their lives during the war that pitted “brother against brother”.

Calvin survived the war and came back home to Mississippi, married Ziephey Ann Harville, and built a home for his family a few hundred feet from the present day headquarters of Little Creek Ranch. Calvin and his wife raised two daughters and six sons; John C., Joe, Tobe, Willie L., Henry Isom, Walter, Virdie and Margaret Ann. His sons, Joe and Tobe, were named for his two brothers who died in the war.

John C. Little married Dora Burcham and raised a family of two sons and six daughters. They moved into a log and frame house located a quarter of a mile from Little Creek Ranch headquarters. One of their sons, T. A. “Arch”Little was the father of Harold Little, the owner of Little Creek Ranch.

Harold Little bought the first tract of land for Little Creek Ranch in the late 1980’s and continued to add to that first purchase. He owns 500 acres of the original land bought by his great-great-grandparents in 1844. The ranch has the use of an additional 400 acres for a total of 900 acres. Harold, his son Cliff, and granddaughter, Lainey, are the fifth, sixth and seventh generations of Littles to live on this land.

  
Harold Little with his granddaughter Lainey, at Little Creek Ranch.

 

A Little Mississippi History

Overland Travel on the Natchez Trace

Long before early explorers such as Hernando de Soto set foot in what was to become the state of Mississippi, bison, deer and other large game followed a route between salt licks in central Tennessee to grazing lands southward and to the Mississippi River. This early path was used as a trade route between tribes of Native Americans and became a trail passable by horses and men traveling in single file.

By the late 1700’s the trail ran 440 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. Mississippi was organized as an American territory in 1798 during the term of President Thomas Jefferson with Winthrop Sargent as the first Territorial Governor and Natchez the first capitol of the new territory. By 1802 a treaty with the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians allowed the early trade route, known as the Natchez Trace, to be developed as a mail route and major road. The U.S. Army and later civilian contractors undertook extensive work on the trail and by 1809 it could be used by wagons.

River Travel by Flatboat

Beginning in the late 1700’s downstream water travel by flatboat was also used by travelers and immigrants. The flatboat was a solidly built rectangular box with a short raised side, commonly built of oak planks and fastened together with wooden pins or pegs. The seams were caulked with pitch or tar or a less expensive material called tow, and the size of the flatboat was dictated by need. Flatboats were propelled or controlled by “sweeps” mounted on the sides and a rudder and short oar in the front. A flatboat couldn’t navigate upriver and when a destination was reached was broken up and sold for lumber or used for housing.

Mississippi Territory Opens Up

On December 10, 1817 Mississippi was admitted to the Union as the 20th state. Six major treaties with the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians between 1805 and 1834 opened the Indian lands in the Mississippi territory to white settlement. Tishomingo County, Mississippi was organized on February 9, 1836 and the first U.S. census in 1840 recorded a population of 6,681 for the new county. The county encompassed approximately 1,224 square miles or 783,360 acres, a total of over 11,000 acres per person. The early settlers found bears, panthers and wolves to be plentiful and a menace to livestock, and farming was the most common means of support. Each family was self sufficient in supplying their shelter, food, clothing and other necessities but neighbors came together to help in times of need.