Carpenter is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Copiah County, Mississippi Copiah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,368. The county seat is Hazlehurst. With an eastern border formed by the Pearl River, Copiah County is part of the Jackson, MS Me ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. A former

railroad town A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site. North America During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, temporar ...

located seven miles from Utica in the extreme northwestern corner of the county, Carpenter was named for Joseph Neibert Carpenter, president of the Natchez, Jackson and Columbia Railroad.

History

At the dawn of the 20th century, a railroad affectionately known as "the Little J" to distinguish it from the old New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railway, serviced

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

, Fayette, Lorman, Hermanville, Carlisle, Carpenter, Utica, Adams Station, Learned, Oakley,

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

and

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

, Mississippi.Joy Harris: "Hazlehurst People", in the ''Copiah County Courier'', July 26, 2000. The Carpenter

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church, built in 1901, reflects the late

Federal architecture Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

Revival style that prevailed in Mississippi at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1990 the church yard was flanked by a massive

water oak ''Quercus nigra'', the water oak, is an oak in the red oak group (''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''), native to the eastern and south-central United States, found in all the coastal states from New Jersey to Texas, and inland as far as Oklahoma, Kent ...

tree that measured 20 feet in circumference. This church still stands and remained in good condition as of 2000. Worship services are held each week. The

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

church, built in 1903, features a rose window that is also typical of the late Federal style. Several water oak trees, each 15 feet in circumference, once enfolded the church, but are no longer standing due to bad weather and storms. One of the oldest homes in Carpenter built during the 1800s is the home of William L. Lloyd, a pioneer settler who donated the land for the depot and became the first depot agent. By 1970, the local

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

line had closed down; the Carpenter depot was dismantled in the 1970s. By 2000, most residents were descendants of the pioneering families. Carpenter was once home to eight general stores, a box factory, a blacksmith, two sawmills, and a drug store. The community was also served by a school and several churches. A post office operated under the name Carpenter from 1884 to 1984.

Notable person

* Virgia Brocks-Shedd, librarian and poet

References

Unincorporated communities in Mississippi Unincorporated communities in Copiah County, Mississippi {{CopiahCountyMS-geo-stub