A brief Hstory of DeSoto County
Courtesy of the DeSoto County Geneological Society
A New Century – 1901
In 1902 a steel fence was erected around the courthouse at the cost of $1,500. The county newspaper changed its name from The Hernando Press to The Times Promoter. Subscriptions were one dollar per year.
The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad built a line through the western side of the county. Railroads offered "Excursion Tickets" at low prices to special events. For the Confederate soldiers annual convention in New Orleans the rate was one cent a mile each way.
A free booklet entitled How To Put Up Your Own Telephone Line was offered to those who wanted telephone service. Cotton sold for 10 cents a pound that fall.
In 1909 the supervisors had three public wells dug around the court house square. A gasoline powered pump was installed to furnish running water for the courthouse. The supervisors also proposed issuing $150,000.00 in bonds to gravel main roads over the county. This brought a flood of letters to the editor both for and against the bonds. A petition to require an election failed and the bonds were issued.
A citizen's request for an outside auditor to audit the county expenditures was denied because the board felt that if mistakes had been made they were unintentional. Public pressure made the board agree to hire an auditor and then found that they could not legally pay him from county funds.
The Board of Supervisors hired the county's first Agricultural Agent, Mr. W. T. Glenn, for $25.00 per month. In one month he reported working 26 days, traveling 471 miles, assisting 81 farmers and vaccinating 94 calves.
The DeSoto County Agricultural High School was established at Olive Branch, affording local students an opportunity to attend a boarding school. In 1912, Randle University School, a private school founded in 1899 by E. H. Randle, closed and its furniture was sold to the public by E. L. Rawls, Hemando merchant.
The first automobiles appeared locally about 1913. By 1915, automobiles were so numerous that they were bothersome. They frightened horses, ran too fast, made too much noise, and stirred too much dust. Horse runaway accidents caused by frightened animals were reported. A town speed limit was 12 miles per hour. Robbers and safe blowers came into town, did their dirty work and sped away in automobiles. The blown up Hemando Post Office safe was found in Horn Lake Creek.
In 1916, a power plant in Hernando furnished the first electricity for the area. It only operated from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
