Potts Camp began as a small trading post, founded by Colonel Erasmus Ferdinand Potts (1801-1863), who came to the region in 1836 and purchased large tracts of land in this area. Potts built a large home and a trading post on the Pontotoc Trail, near the Tippah River. Colonel Potts became quite wealthy, trading in crops and cattle, and this small trading post prospered.
In 1856, Colonel Potts invested in the Mississippi Central Railroad, and was the primary sponsor for the train tracks between Holly Springs and Oxford. During the Civil War, Colonel Potts was arrested by the Union army and tried and sentenced for giving aid to the Confederacy. The 62 year old was sent to the Alton Federal Prison in 1863, where he soon died due to the brutal treatment he received there. His body was returned to his family and the trading post.
In 1886, the new Frisco railroad came through the region, and Colonel Potts’ daughter, Mary Potts Reid (1840-1908) was instrumental in deeding land to both the Frisco and to other individuals and organizations, including a local post office, school, a cemetery, and the lots for both the Baptist and Methodist Churches. Families began arriving in the area, including the Reids, Greers, Vaughns, and Boatners, and they began building homes and businesses. In 1912 the town of Potts Camp was officially established, named after the original trading post on the Pontotoc Trail. Today Potts Camp is a small town (with less than 500 residents) with a big history.
I live in Potts Camp and love learning anything I can about my small town! Thanks!
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Thanks for visiting the blog!
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Phillip, would you be available to speak at some point regarding your sources and the vast amounts of information that you have compiled? I am interested in Marshall County history and am doing a great deal of research on Potts Camp and surrounding areas. I am blown away by the history.
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Hey Sam, you can email me at anytime at phillip@knechtlaw.org and we can set up a time to speak. Thanks for your interest in our local history!
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Philip, If you have time I would enjoy speaking with you about the massive amounts of research you have done and to ask for your assistance in my research project. It would be an honor just to learn of your sources for the comprehensive work that you have done. Marshall County, my home County, is fascinating to me.
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I grew up visiting my great-grandmother Rosa Laws McCauley in Potts Camp. She passed away in 1967.
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