Port Royal - Lost "Seat of Justice" of Coahoma County

Most citizens of Coahoma County have never heard of this little town but it was at one point the county seat (or “seat of justice” as it was referred to then) of Coahoma and also the oldest town in the county. 

In 1830 the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was agreed upon by the Choctaw Indians and the U.S. Government.  This was the first “removal” treaty carried out under the Indian Removal Act. This treaty ceded about 11 million acres of land, most of which located in the state of Mississippi, to the U.S. Government.  This land included lands in east Mississippi stretching from Clarke County to Lowndes county, crossing the state to lands in west Mississippi from Coahoma County to the border of Tunica and Desoto Counties. 

(Maps of Mississippi showing (at left) the area ceded by the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek and (at right) the present day county borders)

Following this treaty and the move of over 15,000 Choctaw Indians to Oklahoma (incidentally, ‘oklahoma’ is the Choctaw word for ‘red people’), the lands ceded the U.S. were available for settling in Mississippi. 

Driven by the prospect of cheap land and fresh starts, people began to move, many arriving by river.  In those days, counties on the Mississippi River typically made their “seat of justice” a town along the river because that was their principal point of travel, commerce, and society.  It was for these reasons that Port Royal was originally designated as the seat for Coahoma County.

(Early map showing the location of several plantations along the Mississippi River. Helena (Arkansas), Delta and Port Royal are clearly marked.  Though this map is from 1839 it shows the 'Horseshoe cutoff' already having been completed and the river diverted from Port Royal.  Records indicate the completion of this cutoff did not occur until 1848. Speculation exists that the maps plate was changed post 1848 to reflect the change in the river, but the truth of the matter is not known.)

Unpublished histories of the region assert that a settlement existed as Port Royal as early as 1833.  According to records, land sales were being made by the U.S. Government for the Port Royal, Rescue Landing, and Sunflower Landing vicinities even before the county was established in 1836. 

Though never incorporated and never having established a post office (according to U.S. Post Office Department records), the town still became the most important town in the county.  On February 4, 1839 the Mississippi Legislature issued a memorial to the U.S. Congress asking that post offices be located at several riverfront locations including “Powhatan, the seat of justice in Coahoma County”.  Based on stories passed down from generation to generation, some believe that Powhatan existed on the Mississippi River shore opposite the southern end of Island No. 63.  Historians however disagree and believe Powhatan to have been the original name of Port Royal. 

The name for the settlement, according to George Maynard’s memoirs, was given by William J. Oldham who owned considerable amounts of land at the south end of the ‘U’ in horseshoe bend.  According to the memoir, Oldham was born at Port Royal, S.C. and chose the name of his birthplace for the settlement in Mississippi.  Since Oldham didn’t come to Coahoma County until 1939, it’s entirely possible the settlement was called Powhatan previous to his arrival. 

(Oil painting by artist John Stobart entitled "A Night Run to Friar's Point".  Steamboats like this were commonplace during the 'steamboat era' of the Mississippi River.  Towns like Port Royal, Delta, and Friar's Point were the major ports for these rambler's of the Mississippi, but it was not uncommon for larger plantations along the Mississippi River to have their own ports.)

During this time the settlement most assuredly was the largest and busiest community in Coahoma County.  The 1840 census lists just 1,290 people (766 whites, and 524 slaves) in the entire county and most of which settled in the locations of Port Royal, Sunflower Landing, and Rescue Landing. 

The only available description of Port Royal is included in a script that was prepared for the celebration of the 400^th anniversary of Hernando DeSoto’s discovery of the Mississippi River and it states:

“Her rude stores, saloons and shanties stood back a safe distance from the precipitous edge of the river’s bank. At low stage, river craft landed at her feet; at high stage they unloaded their cargoes into her one muddy street. At flood stage, river and village were one.

Both public buildings and private homes were roughly but stoutly constructed of logs.

Although accorded the honor of being named county site, no [official] courthouse ever was built in Port Royal. Court, school and church were held in the same one-room log house. When the jury retired to deliberate upon and decide the fate of those early transgressors against the law they took themselves into a thicket of low timber behind the ‘courthouse and’ seated themselves in solemn dignity upon the trunks of felled trees.

The (official county) records, so it is told, were kept in a trunk and carried about by the clerk in an ox wagon.”

Before the settlement was even a decade old, it would succumb to the volatile nature of the Mississippi River.  The river, which is said to possess a will of its own, finally cut across the 1 mile wide stretch of land that separated the bends of horseshoe bend thus straightening the river and marking Port Royal as no longer a riverfront settlement or steamboat landing. 

(Extract of a google map showing present day terrain around the former location of Port Royal.  Horseshoe Lake, as indicated, has dwindled to a scant shadow of its prior significance as seen in the early map above.  It, like Moon Lake in this extract, was abandoned to its own devices when the mighty and aberrate Mississippi River chose other paths. 

Upon the realization that Port Royal would no longer be a riverfront town, a vote was held to elect a new county seat.  The county seat chosen was Delta, MS, a town located approximately 5 miles north of Friars Point, MS.  This removal of the ‘seat’ from Port Royal had an immediate impact on its business and commerce. 

Today Port Royal exists in record only.  The remains of the town have never been found or identified though some theorize that they were cover by the levee built to protect from the untamable Mississippi river.  What truly became of that town may never be known but its existence was paramount as it was the first gateway into the cotton empire of Coahoma County.   


**This post would not have been possible without the research of legendary Clarksdale historian and newspaper reporter Harry Abernathy who's articles on the topic of early Coahoma County provided the lion's share of information for this blog.

Fletcher Field - WW II Cadet Training Facility

In 1941, the Japanese naval and air forces launched an attack on the U.S. Navy facilities at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  The American response to these attacks was quick and though life in the Mississippi Delta tends to move a bit more slowly than the rest of the country (even then), changes came to Clarksdale with rapidness.

(Left: Guard House, Right: Operations Building)

In the Spring of 1942 the United States Government issued a contract to the Clarksdale School of Aviation.  That contract established the operation of a primary flying school located about 8 miles north of Clarksdale, MS.  Construction for the school began immediately and in July of 1942 the first class (Class 43-A) began their training at Fletcher Field (The airport was named for Clarksdale football great and aviation cadet Jack Hughes Fletcher who was killed during a training incident at Curtis Field, Texas in 1941).  The Army wanted schools in the South where the weather was warmer and winters less harsh.  That would mean better flying conditions for training for the cadets. 

(Image of several of the original buildings including barracks at Fletcher Field)

Major T.W. Bonner was the first commanding officer and worked closely with both Army personnel (the Army and Air Force were still a single department at this time) and civilian flight instructors and personnel.  The civilian instructors were said to always be cooperative and anxious to graduate the best recruits but occasionally regulation wasn’t followed as closely as it should have.  After 2 fatal accidents involving civilians in Fall of 1943, instructors worked more strictly with Army-Air Force personnel to prevent and report violations of regulation.

(Fletcher Field hangers)

The city of Clarksdale was openly receptive of this new military training facility.  Funds were donated by individuals and civic sources for the establishment and maintenance of a Recreation Center accessible to cadets during ‘open post’ and it was available to officers anytime.  The local Red Cross sponsored a reading room and Lounge for use by enlisted men not only at Fletcher Field but also in the area.  Individual citizens even opened up their homes on to cadets for dinner and weekend stays. 

(Photo of the 'Ready Room' at Fletcher Field where pilots prepped for flight training)

The airfield originally used Stearman 17’s for flight training but Fairchild PT-23’s were later sent in for training.  With the change in aircraft, a problem with finding replacement parts rose as the PT-23’s were relatively new planes and parts were scarce all over with only completely disabled planes being able to have parts replaced.  Eventually a shipment of repair parts was sent in to fortify Fletcher Field’s aircrafts. 

(On the left, a trio of Stearman PT-17's and on the right, a lone Fairchild PT-23)

The school operated between 1943 and 1945 (closing before the war’s end) and trained many classes of cadets.  Each class was bigger than the last with classes reaching as big as 250 cadets.  Classes so big meant food, water and housing became an issue.  New, expensive wells had to be dug and quarters became cramped but it is said the students were never poorly treated.  Though there was less space, morale stayed quite high. 

(Cadets writing home from Fletcher Field in Clarksdale, MS)

In 1943 a prisoner of war camp was set up at Fletcher Field for German and Italian prisoners.  The P.O.W.’s were remembered as being friendly and rather fond of America.  Many worked as hands on local farms and there was even a P.O.W. band that played for dances at the base. 

(One of many dances held at the base)

After the war, the War Assets Association began selling off surplus planes and equipment and later deeded the airfield to the city of Clarksdale.  Mabry I. Anderson, Ben White, and Berkley Ellis took advantage of the opportunity and prevailed upon the city to lease them the airfield to open the Mississippi Valley Aircraft Service, an agricultural flying firm.  The firm bought up surplus Stearman’s from the military and converted them to cropdusters.  Using modern and innovative techniques, MVAS established itself as a premier agricultural flying service. 

(Two cadets showing off one of the Fairchild PT-23's)

By 1970 Anderson, the soul owner, was ready to sell and sold the business to another agricultural application business.  Now the airfield is again owned by the city of Clarksdale and is used for general aircraft and agricultural use. 

Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival

[Blogger's note:  Due to time spent out of state this past weekend and a thoroughly busy schedule this week I've been unable to put together a proper blog.  My topic for this week was to be the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival held annually the second week in August here in Clarksdale, MS (this week!) and as I researched information I came across the history of the festival on the internet and decided I couldn't word it any better than they did so here it is.]

The first Sunflower River Blues Festival took place in 1988 and was funded primarily by Clarksdale's downtown merchants and organized by Jim O'Neal and Dr. Patricia Johnson. It featured dozens of musicians performing on outdoor stages on the banks of the Sunflower River beneath the Riverside Recreation Center and in the open space between Sunflower and Delta Avenues. It was filmed by Mississippi Educational Television (ETV).

Some of the performers were the Jelly Roll Kings, Jack Owens and Bud Spires, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Boogaloo Ames, and Othar Turner and the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band. The finale performances by James "Son" Thomas followed by Otis Rush took place inside the Larry Thompson Center for the Performing Arts, formerly the Paramount Theatre, formerly the Marion Theatre.

[Blues great James 'Son' Thomas]

The second festival (1989), funded primarily by a group of individual donors including the late Z L Hill, owner of the Riverside Hotel, moved to Martin Luther King Park on the banks of the Sunflower River. A flatbed truck served as a stage for musicians - predominately local performers including Mr. Johnnie Billington and two students he was mentoring: Quitman County brothers Deon (drummer) and Harvel Thomas (bassist). Although the lineup was smaller than the previous year, it attracted an international audience including fans from Australia.

The third festival (1990) was a tribute to Muddy Waters, and the stage moved again across the Sunflower River to Soldiers Field, where Clarksdale High School once played its football games.

Among the performers were Keith Sykes from Memphis, harmonica master Snooky Pryor, Vasti Jackson backing up swamp queen Katie Webster, jazz virtuoso Mose Allison, and Jessie Mae Hemphill.

Blues Association members met regularly at the Chamber of Commerce, then located in the downtown Bobo Building, to plan the event dedicated to showcasing Mississippi musicians or musicians with roots in Mississippi.

The organization continued to be composed entirely of volunteers who loved blues and were committed to keeping the festival free and accessible to all since blues sprang from the local culture.

Although the association became an official 501 c 3 non-profit and received funds from the Mississippi Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, it retained its unique individuality and laid-back, informal hospitality that has remained a trademark.

The fourth festival (1991) moved once again across the river to the former loading docks of the freight depot (now the Delta Blues Museum). The stage faced the railroad tracks, Delta Avenue, and the raised concrete "porch" now the exterior of Ground Zero Blues Club. The festival remained in this location until the city of Clarksdale built the Blues Alley stage facing Yazoo Avenue.

[The stage at Blues Alley during the festival, now the permanent home of the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival]

The first acoustic stage was housed in the Delta Blues Museum when it was located on the second floor of Carnegie Public Library.

Frequently it featured an educational component - lectures, talks, panels, discussions that often were funded by the Mississippi Humanities Council and organized by John Ruskey, museum curator. One year it featured foods of the Mississippi Delta with Big John Broom cooking catfish, Boss Hogg and his family with barbecue, Shirley Fair with soul food.

Frequently musicians performed on the steps outside the library; other times on a makeshift tent-style stage. After the Blues Museum moved into the freight depot and when the festival main stage moved to the Blues Alley stage, the acoustic stage was transferred to one of the air-conditioned waiting rooms inside Clarksdale Station, the renovated passenger depot.

In 2004 the Blues Association was awarded a Southern Arts Federation grant to present Big Bill Morganfield, son of Muddy Waters, in an educational program which took place inside the Delta Blues Museum. In 2005 SAF again awarded the Sunflower a grant to present Charlie Musselwhite in a discussion about his Southern musical roots. In 2006 soul superstar Latimore will be interviewed about his long career.

Organized by Melville Tillis and Julius Guy, the first gospel festival was held on a very hot Sunday afternoon beneath the New Roxy theatre marquee on Issaquena. It has been held outside on the Blues Alley stage, inside the Civic Auditorium, and also inside several area churches. In 2006 it will return to the festival main stage Sunday afternoon.

[James 'Super Chikan' Johnson performing at the Sunflower Fest]

Several motions have been made to change the festival date from the second weekend of August to a cooler month. However, members have voted to retain the August format since the event has become global. June is universally recognized for B.B. King's Homecoming concert in Indianola and Delta Jubilee in Clarksdale; July for July 4th; September for Greenville's Blues and Heritage Festival, and October for Helena's Arkansas Heritage, formerly King Biscuit Blues Festival.

Approximately 25,000 music fans from 17 countries and 35 states attended the 2005 festival; a larger crowd is expected in 2006.

[Celebrated Norwegian blues band Spoonful of Blues came to the Sunflower in 2001]

In 1996 Clarksdale became the official international Sister City of Notodden, Norway, home of Europe's largest blues festival. The Sunflower and the International Notodden Blues Festivals are sister festivals with Clarksdale musicians performing in Norway, and Norwegian musicians performing in Clarksdale.

The Sunflower has also established a sister festival relationship with the Maximum Blues Festival in the Quebec Province of Canada. One of the Canadian bands will be performing in 2006 on the Sunflower's main stage.

The Blues Association is a true bi-racial organization, and members attribute much of its success to this racial composition.

 

[Local blues musicians Terry 'Big T' Williams (left) and Bill 'Howl'N'Madd' Perry (right) performing on the Blues Alley stage]

Although the association is solely responsible for the festival, it relies on many partnerships to make it happen including the Delta Blues Museum, the Coahoma County Tourism Commission, the Chamber of Commerce, the Care Station, the city of Clarksdale, Clarksdale Public Utilities, Police Department, Public Works, area churches, and hundreds of businesses and individuals.

Simon Kooyman: A Musical Legacy

Mr. Simon Kooyman was born on November 29, 1882 and spent his first 25 years in his native Holland where he received his education in music and became a resort band director at a beach resort in Wyk-an-Zee, Holland.  He spent the next 8 years in the West Indies as a band leader of the Medan (Somatran) City band and orchestra. 

When Mr. Kooyman finally came to the United States in 1914 he travelled extensively leading bands in Indiana, South Dakota, Illinois and Texas before finally coming to Clarksdale, MS in 1926.  It was here in Clarksdale that he truly hit his stride.  Mr. Kooyman started the first Clarksdale High School band in 1926 and by 1928 had initiated the organization of the Mississippi Bandmaster Association as well as the first Mississippi State band contest the same year. 

(Clarksdale Junior Band: Clarksdale, MS; Directed by S. Kooyman)

In 1931 he was honored with induction into the American Bandmasters Association with what has been described as the “highest grade made on the entrance exam”.  He served the state of Mississippi as the District VII Orchestra Chairman for the Department of Education Examining Board which issued licenses to music teachers and was elected in 1933 as the Corresponding Secretary for the Mississippi Bandmaster Association.

In 1938 he was selected to be a guest conductor for the LSU School of Music Symphony Orchestra which included, among other pieces, an orchestration of Mr. Kooyman’s own “Ole Miss March”.

When he retired in 1948 Mr. Kooyman had spent 22 years in the Clarksdale Public School system.  Even after retiring he was not a man to sit idle.  He began working part-time for the Clarksdale Printing Company as a lithographer as well as continuing to host Sunday Musicales, get-togethers every Sunday at he and his wife’s home in which he would invite young musicians to come spend a couple of hours playing chamber music (much of it composed or arranged by Kooyman himself). 

In September of 1948, only months after retiring, he was invited to be a guest conductor for the Union Band of Memphis.

In 1951 Clarksdale declared March 16 as ‘Simon Kooyman Day’ in celebration of the 25^th anniversary of the Clarksdale High School Band.  The celebration included a performance by the high school band under the guest conducting of Palmer J. Myram (a former student of Kooyman’s), a performance by the Clarksdale Alumni Band conducted by Kooyman himself and a ‘gala’ dance.  More than 700 showed up to honor Kooyman and his service to Clarksdale. 

In September of the same year the Band Division of the Mississippi Music Educators’ Association honored Mr. Kooyman by unanimously electing him to a lifetime membership which would allow him unhindered access to all clinics, camps and conferences. 

Mr. Kooyman enjoyed surprisingly good health even into his later years.  In 1953 he was hit by a motor vehicle while crossing a street in Clarksdale.  He suffered minor back jarring and a fractured arm but was not considered to be in any serious health danger.  He was 70 years old.  The driver of the vehicle was arrested and charged with reckless driving and driving without a license. 

(Photo of Simon Kooyman and woman believed to be his wife)

When Mr. Kooyman died on December 16, 1963 it came on suddenly.  He was taken to Memphis, TN where he died that morning.  He was 81 years old and had been at work the day previous to his death.  In memory of their great teacher many previous students gathered to pay homage.  He was spoken of in the highest esteem and was referred to as a man who “liked perfection – and got it” as well as a man “…of the highest integrity.” 

(Black and white photo of portrait painted by Marshall Bouldin)

A large portrait of Simon Kooyman was commissioned by the Clarksdale High School Band Alumni Association and was painted by Clarksdale’s renowned portrait artist Marshall Bouldin.  The painting was donated in 1999 to the Carnegie Public Library in Clarksdale where it now hangs outside the Mississippi Room that holds city, county and state archives and records. 

Mr. Kooyman  left a legacy of great music in the Clarksdale school systems not only at Clarksdale High School but he also took an interest in the Coahoma County Agricultural High School band which was directed at the time by Consuella Carter (would is referred to as the first female band director in the south after her appointment as band director for the new Coahoma County Junior College band in 1949).  He contributed arrangements and compositions for the Aggies as well as coordinating with Carter to host several clinics. 

Simon Kooyman is a rich part of the Clarksdale history that has seemingly been forgotten to time.  Though not from here originally he settled into Clarksdale and made it his own and built a musical community like none Clarksdale had seen before.  His memory lives on in the continuation of the bands that he helped start and the music he composed. 

In 1951, at the 25th anniversary celebration the Board of Supervisors and Commissioners adopted a resolution stating: 

“Whereas Simon Kooyman, who established and founded the Clarksdale High School band in 1926, has, more than any other one person, been responsible for the remarkable development of high school bands not only in the city of Clarksdale and in Coahoma County but in the state of Mississippi as well; and

“Whereas Mr. Kooyman has, in addition to imparting a genuine love of fine music to his many pupils, been a great factor in moulding and developing fine traits of character in all who have in the past been associated with him….”