Tate County's History
By LaJuan Tallo
Tate County was created on April 15, 1873 from portions of DeSoto, Tunica, and Marshall Counties. It was named in honor of Thomas Simpson Tate, an early settler and the first representative to the state legislature from the county. It was the 70th county to be created in Mississippi, and ranks 77th in size, being just over 400 square miles.
In "The Heritage of Tate County" Tate County historian Rebecca Haas Smith writes about the formation of the new county, " In order to pay taxes, marry, or conduct other business of a legal nature, the citizens of what later became Tate County had to journey to the county seat of their appropriate county to conduct this business. Since the area which became Tate County was taken mostly from DeSoto County, those people doing business in Hernando had to ford the Coldwater River. Many stories are told by descendants of those early settlers and their mishaps in swimming or riding their horses across the river, about pneumonia and drowning accidents."
Smith says "that the people who settled the area which became Tate County came mostly from Virginia, North and South Carolina, by way of Tennessee and Alabama, seeking a better life and land on which to raise their families."
Senatobia and Coldwater are the two municipalities of the county. The county seat of Tate County is Senatobia. Other communities include Independence, Sarah, Wyatt, Barr, Greenleaf, Tyro, and Thyatira.
The historic Tate County Courthouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1875 with bricks manufactured from a local kiln.
Source: "Heritage of Tate County" 1991.
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By LaJuan Tallo
Tate County was created on April 15, 1873 from portions of DeSoto, Tunica, and Marshall Counties. It was named in honor of Thomas Simpson Tate, an early settler and the first representative to the state legislature from the county. It was the 70th county to be created in Mississippi, and ranks 77th in size, being just over 400 square miles.
In "The Heritage of Tate County" Tate County historian Rebecca Haas Smith writes about the formation of the new county, " In order to pay taxes, marry, or conduct other business of a legal nature, the citizens of what later became Tate County had to journey to the county seat of their appropriate county to conduct this business. Since the area which became Tate County was taken mostly from DeSoto County, those people doing business in Hernando had to ford the Coldwater River. Many stories are told by descendants of those early settlers and their mishaps in swimming or riding their horses across the river, about pneumonia and drowning accidents."
Smith says "that the people who settled the area which became Tate County came mostly from Virginia, North and South Carolina, by way of Tennessee and Alabama, seeking a better life and land on which to raise their families."
Senatobia and Coldwater are the two municipalities of the county. The county seat of Tate County is Senatobia. Other communities include Independence, Sarah, Wyatt, Barr, Greenleaf, Tyro, and Thyatira.
The historic Tate County Courthouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1875 with bricks manufactured from a local kiln.
- Historic Figures of Tate County
- Award winning actor James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla.
- Country singer O.B. McClinton "The Chocolate Cowboy" was from the Gravel Springs community in Tate County.
- Othar Turner, the legendary blues fife player, lived in the Gravel Springs Community.
- Blues singer Jessie Mae Hemphill, winner of numerous W.C. Handy awards, lived in Senatobia.
- Luther and Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi All Stars hail from Independence.
- Screen star Doris Bowden, who starred with Henry Fonda in "The Grapes of Wrath" was a Tate County native.
- Pulitzer Prize winning historian Dumas Malone was born in Coldwater.
- Nine fifth grade students from Senatobia Middle School named the Space Shuttle "Endeavor" in the late 1980's.
- Tate County's only Rhodes Scholar is Dr. Damon Moore, a native of Coldwater.
- M.P. "Hot" Moore, of Senatobia, produced the top beef cattle in the world for over 25 years.
- Robert Latham, Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, is from Senatobia.
- Charlie Williams, Chief of Staff to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is from Senatobia.
- Hoyt B. Wooten of Coldwater is the original owner of WREC radio and television in Memphis.
Source: "Heritage of Tate County" 1991.