Norfield is an

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 ...

in Lincoln County,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, United States.

History

The community was founded in 1886 as a sawmill town. Norfield's name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsbandsaw A bandsaw (also written band saw) is a power saw with a long, sharp blade consisting of a continuous band of toothed metal stretched between two or more wheels to cut material. They are used principally in woodworking, metalworking, and lumb ...

to cut

yellow pine In ecology and forestry, yellow pine refers to a number of conifer species that tend to grow in similar plant communities and yield similar strong wood. In the Western United States, yellow pine refers to Jeffrey pine or ponderosa pine. In the S ...

. In 1900, the community had a population of 347 and was estimated to have a population of 700 six years later. By 1930, the community had the second-largest population in Lincoln County and had a theater, hotel, and golf course. Norfield is located on the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

. The Norwood-Butterfield Company operated the Natchez, Columbia & Mobile Railroad, a

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

logging railroad that ran 30 miles east from Norfield. The railroad operated six locomotives. A post office operated under the name Norfield from 1891 to 1953.

Notable people

Little Brother Montgomery Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery (April 18, 1906 – September 6, 1985) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and blues pianist and singer. Largely self-taught, Montgomery was an important blues pianist with an original style. He was a ...

, blues pianist, lived in Norfield as a young man

Gallery

File:Butterfield Lumber Company Plant.jpg, Aerial view of Butterfield Lumber Company mill File:Norfield, Mississippi school.jpg, School in Norfield File:Norfield Mississippi Hotel.jpg, The Norfield Hotel in 1907

Notes

Unincorporated communities in Lincoln County, Mississippi Unincorporated communities in Mississippi {{LincolnCountyMS-geo-stub