As a little boy, I grew up passing this historical marker. It was located, well is located, on the line between Tunica and Coahoma counties in North Mississippi. Just north of it was Lula Moat Gin which is pictured behind the marker. At one time this thriving business employed over twenty people. Both are gone today.
The monument mentions three treaties. The Treaty of Hopewell was signed in 1786. Hope well actually included three separate treaties negotiated with the Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. All three extended peace and friendship between the United States and these Native American nations. They were signed at the plantation of Andrew Pickens in South Carolina. The Choctaw signed their treaty on January 3, 1786 and the Chickasaw signed on January 9th. Boundaries were set, but the Native Americans refused to recognize the United States as being in control of their lands.
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, signed on September 27, 1830, forced the Choctaw to exchange their lands in Mississippi and Alabama for land in Oklahoma. Relocation began in 1831. Almost six thousand Choctaw chose to remain East of the Mississippi River. Eventually their ancestors would become known as the Mississippi Band of the Choctaw Indians with a reservation in Neshoba County.
The Chickasaws signed the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek on October 29, 1832 . They ceded their lands in Alabama and Mississippi to the U. S. Government. Each family was allowed to sell their property to pay for relocation. In 1837 they purchased land from the Choctaw in Oklahoma.
The Choctaw-Chickasaw Line historical marker stood for years along Highway 61 near Lula. Then the road was enlarged to 4 lanes. That caused the marker to be disturbed and placed on a lower stand. Rather mowers or farm machinery knocked the marker down after that is not known. It simply wasn’t there anymore one day. This author heard somebody from the Department of Archives picked it up, but not sure. Hopefully this historical marker will again stand on the boundary line between the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations one day in the future.
References:
Historical Markers – Mississippi Department of Archives and History -Mississippi Department of Archives and History. http://www.mdah.ms.gov
Historical Markers in Coahoma County – Mississippi Historical Markers.
http://www.mississippimarkers.com
Treaty of Hopewell | Mississippi Encyclopedia.
Treaties of Doak’s Stand, Dancing Rabbit Creek and Pontotoc Creek | Mississippi Encyclopedia. http://www.mississippiencyclopedia.org
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