Minter City, Mississippi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Minter City, Mississippi
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 Minter City, Mississippi
Location in Mississippi
Minter City, Mississippi
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| Counties | Leflore |
| Elevation | 138 ft (42 m) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Code |
38944
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| Area code(s) | 662 |
| GNIS feature ID | 673683 |
Minter City is an unincorporated community in Leflore County and Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. It is part of the Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan area, and is within the Mississippi Delta.
Mississippi Highway 8 intersects U.S. Route 49E southwest of Minter City, and the Tallahatchie River flows to the east. The post office on U.S. Route 49E has the ZIP Code 38944.
Contents
History
Variant names for the original settlement were "Walnut Place Landing" and "Minter City Landing".
Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto may have crossed the Tallahatchie River near Minter City as his party traveled west in 1541.
In 1849, James A. Towne bought 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of land in the area at a cost of 25 cents per acre, and built a log house on the western shore of the river at Minter City. Known as "Uncle Jimmy", Towne supported the local Methodist church, and was known to give each new preacher a wagon and a mule.
The "James Minter Ferry", documented in 1868, enabled the crossing of the Tallahatchie River at this site.
Minter City became a junction for two railroads, both now abandoned. The Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Railroad was established in 1890, and the Minter City Southern and Western Railroad, a shortline railroad servicing the sawmills west of Minter City, began operating in 1904. A depot and railroad facilities were erected in Minter City.
The African-American educator William H. Holtzclaw, founder of the Utica Normal and Industrial Institute for the Training of Colored Young Men and Young Women (now part of Hinds Community College), in Utica, Mississippi, wrote about his experiences establishing schools for African-Americans in Mississippi in his book The Black Man's Burden, published in 1915.
The Frank Streater Consolidated School (White) was constructed in Minter City in 1921. The abandoned building burned in 2013.
A large gated factory now occupies much of minter city, and there is a public boat launch.
Education
Areas in Leflore County are is in the Greenwood-Leflore School District. Residents are zoned to Amanda Elzy High School. This area was formerly served by the Leflore County School District. T.Y. Fleming Elementary School was in the area, but it closed in 2009. The editor of the Greenwood Commonwealth criticized the closure. Effective July 1, 2019 the Leflore district district consolidated into the Greenwood-Leflore School District.
Areas in the Tallahatchie County portion are zoned to the West Tallahatchie School District. The local schools for West Tallahatchie are R. H. Bearden Elementary School and West Tallahatchie High School. Previously Black Bayou Elementary School in Glendora served southern parts of the West Tallahatchie district. The district decided to close Black Bayou in 1998. Previously West District Middle School (now Bearden) served as a middle school for the West Tallahatchie area.
Mississippi Delta Community College is the designated community college for Leflore County. Coahoma Community College is the designated community college for Tallahatchie County.
In popular culture
- Richard Ford references Minter City in his 1996 novel Independence Day.
Notable people
- L.C. Green, blues guitarist.
- Lusia Harris, Olympic silver medalist and All American basketball player.
- M. Carl Holman, author, poet and playwright.
- Kemp Malone, linguist and literary scholar.
- Solomon Osborne, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
- Homer Spragins, former pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies
