Lauderdale is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Lauderdale County,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, United States. The population of Lauderdale was 395 at the 2020 census. It is located along U.S. Highway 45, northeast of

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

History

Early history

Lauderdale was first inhabited by Native Americans. The first recorded Native Americans in the area were the

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

, who had a village named Panti on Ponta Creek near the present site of Lauderdale. In 1800,

Samuel Dale Samuel Dale (1772 – ), known as the "Daniel Boone of Alabama", was an American frontiersman, soldier, and politician, who fought under General Andrew Jackson, in the Creek War, later, becoming a brigadier general in the U.S. Army, and an a ...

guided some of the first European settlers to the area, including James Lauderdale. Lauderdale was originally from

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

but settled at the

mineral springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underg ...

in the area and named them Lauderdale Springs. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, Lauderdale served under

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

at the

Battle of Talladega The Battle of Talladega was fought between the Tennessee Militia (United States), Militia and the Red Stick Muscogee, Creek Indians during the Creek War, in the vicinity of the present-day county and city of Talladega, Alabama, Talladega, Alaba ...

and was killed at the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

. In 1837, a post office opened under the name Mingo Houma, then under the name Springs Depot from 1856 to 1859. The community was incorporated on March 12, 1856 when the

Mobile and Ohio Railroad Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

was completed near Lauderdale Springs. A resort was then built at the mineral springs and included a two-story, 300 foot long hotel with surrounding cottages.

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

Octavia Walton Le Vert Octavia Walton Le VertAlso sometimes spelled LeVert or Levert (August 11, 1811 – March 12, 1877), née Octavia Celestia Valentine Walton, was an American socialite and writer. She became one of the first female Southern writers to achieve nati ...

, and other notable people attended the springs for gatherings and political events. The post office began operating under the name Lauderdale Springs in 1859 and used that name until 1894.

Civil War

During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the resort was converted to a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

hospital that operated until the end of the war. Soldiers who were treated at the Confederate hospital fought at multiple battles, including

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

, Battle of Corinth,

Battle of Iuka The Battle of Iuka was fought on September 19, 1862, in Iuka, Mississippi, during the American Civil War. In the opening battle of the Iuka-Corinth Campaign, Union Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans stopped the advance of the Confederate Army of ...

Battle of Jackson The Battle of Jackson was fought on May 14, 1863, in Jackson, Mississippi, as part of the Vicksburg campaign during the American Civil War. After entering the state of Mississippi in late April 1863, Major General Ulysses S. Grant of the Un ...

Battle of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...

, and General

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

's North Mississippi battles. Mortally wounded soldiers were buried in a nearby cemetery, now known as the Lauderdale Springs Confederate-Union Cemetery. During

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

Meridian campaign The Meridian campaign or Meridian expedition took place from February 3 – March 6, 1864, from Vicksburg, Mississippi to Meridian, Mississippi, by the Union Army of the Tennessee, led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman captured ...

, the

32nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 32nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 32nd Wisconsin Infantry was organized at Camp Bragg in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and mustered into servi ...

burned Lauderdale Springs.

Joseph Emory Davis Joseph Emory Davis (10 December 1784 – 18 September 1870) was an American lawyer who became one of the wealthiest planters in Mississippi in the antebellum era; he owned thousands of acres of land and was among the nine men in Mississippi who o ...

, Jefferson Davis' older brother, stayed for a time in Lauderdale Springs after moving from

Hurricane Plantation Hurricane Plantation was a plantation house located near Vicksburg, Mississippi, was the home of Joseph Emory Davis (1784–1870), the oldest brother of Jefferson Davis. Located on a peninsula of the Mississippi River in Warren County, Mississi ...

after the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...

. Company C of the

5th Mississippi Infantry Regiment The 5th Mississippi Infantry Regiment was a regiment of infantry in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The 5th Regiment was composed of volunteer companies from central Mississippi and assembled in the fall of 1861 by Col ...

was mustered into service at Lauderdale Springs on August 6, 1861. The

1st and 4th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Consolidated) The 1st and 4th Missouri Infantry (Consolidated) was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was formed on November 7, 1862, when the 1st Missouri Infantry and the 4th Misso ...

and

2nd and 6th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Consolidated) The 2nd and 6th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Consolidated) was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was formed on October 6, 1863, when the 2nd Missouri Infantry Regiment ...

were both stationed at Lauderdale Springs for a time.

Post-Civil War

After the Civil war, the resort grounds were used by the

Mississippi Baptist Convention The Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB) is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Formed in 1836, it was one of ...

as the Home for Confederate Orphans. Company H of the 16th Infantry Regiment were assigned to the Post of Lauderdale during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

from 1868 to 1870 and occupied the former hospital buildings. The post office name was changed to Lauderdale in 1894. The

East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway The East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad (ETV&G) was a rail transport system that operated in the southeastern United States during the late 19th century. Created with the consolidation of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad and th ...

ceased service in Lauderdale in 1898.

20th century

In 1900, Lauderdale had several stores, two churches, a grist mill, and a population of 288. By 1936, it had a population of 1,000, two

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

s, a

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

planing mill A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and Wood drying, seasoned Wood, wooden boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the Thickness planer, planer and matcher, the Moulding plan ...

, three churches, a school, and a hotel. The community was also home to a lumber company and pottery factory.

Geography

Lauderdale is located in northeastern Lauderdale County at . According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has an area of , all of it recorded as land. The community is in the valley of Possum Creek, just south of where it joins Ponta Creek, an east-flowing tributary of the

Sucarnoochee River The Sucarnoochee River is a river in Kemper County, Mississippi and Sumter County, Alabama. It originates at , near Porterville, Mississippi, and discharges into the Tombigbee River at . It is long and drains an area of . ''Sucarnoochee'' is a ...

, part of the

Tombigbee River The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties i ...

watershed.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 395 people, 165 households, and 71 families residing in the CDP.

Notable people

Lovell Harden Lovell Harden (December 17, 1917 – November 15, 1996), nicknamed "Big Pitch", was an American Negro league pitcher in the 1940s. A native of Lauderdale, Mississippi, Harden played for the Cleveland Buckeyes from 1943 to 1945. He died in Erie, ...

, former

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

* Peggy Wilson,

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who played on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

Gallery

File:Railroad crossing in Lauderdale, Mississippi.jpg,

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Ark ...

crossing in Lauderdale File:Lauderdale, Mississippi Post Office.jpg, Lauderdale Post Office File:Former Lauderdale Methodist Church, Lauderdale, Mississippi.jpg, Former Lauderdale Methodist Church, now closed. The current Lauderdale Methodist Church is located in a newer building south of this location. File:Lauderdale Presbyterian Church.jpg, Lauderdale Presbyterian Church, PCA File:Lauderdale Springs Cemetery.jpg, Lauderdale Springs Cemetery, founded in 1835 File:Lauderdale Springs Confederate-Union Cemetery.jpg, Lauderdale Springs Confederate-Union Cemetery File:Lauderdale Springs Confederate-Union Cemetery informational sign.jpg, Informational sign for the Lauderdale Springs Confederate-Union Cemetery

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Lauderdale County, Mississippi Census-designated places in Meridian micropolitan area Unincorporated communities in Mississippi Unincorporated communities in Lauderdale County, Mississippi