By Mary Curtis

Cotton was king in Jefferson Davis County for many years.

Farmers would bring their cotton into Prentiss to be ginned at one of three gins where it would be sold.

In 1954 the Prentiss Warehouse was organized to store the cotton that was purchased locally before being shipped by truck to New Orleans.

This added much to the economy of Prentiss and Jefferson Davis County until the 1960s. The three gins closed with one or more being moved to the Mississippi Delta.

The Old Southern Hotel at the corner of Columbia Ave. and Front Street closed and was torn down. A service station presently occupies that corner.

The Berry Mule Barn located on Columbia Ave and Front Street (across from The Southern Hotel) closed because of the change in farming from using mules to machinery.

The building was later demolished and is now the location of Regions Bank.

The Mississippi Central Railroad, having provided passenger service between Hattiesburg and Natchez discontinued service(not sure what year).

The train depot fell in disrepair which led to the building being torn down. The railroad tracks were removed and that land stands vacant today.

On a personal note, the last train running through Prentiss was around 10 p.m. at night. As a child the sound of the whistle as it went thru Prentiss was always my signal to turn off the radio (no TV back then) and go to sleep.

We had no air conditioning at our house so the sound of the train was my alarm to go to bed.

Theaters were popular places of entertainment in Prentiss. The Ritz Drive-Inn and Prentiss Drive Inn, closed because of the increased popularity of television.

The movie, “Jessie James Women” was filmed in the area by the owner of one of the theaters. It caused great excitement and interest as the town folks watched the filming of “Jessie James Women” in Silver Creek.

Several local people were used as “stand ins” or had small parts in the movie.

As a child I remember going to the local movie theater to watch some of the movie stars who attended movies there. We were very “star struck.”

The Jefferson Davis County Hospital opened in Prentiss in 1950 as a 40 bed facility with four doctors on staff.

The Extended Care Facility, adjacent to the hospital, opened as a skilled facility and intermediate care facility in 1969 with 60 beds.

The finest of medical staff and personnel has been part of these facilities over the years.  Another of my writings will be devoted to the wonderful doctors who we were fortunate to have live and care for us in this community.

The Jefferson Davis County Community Medical Complex grew and expanded to include The Sojourners Unit, the M. L. Arrington Wellness Center, Bassfield Family Clinic, Prentiss Family Practice Clinic and a new medical office building.

The Town of Prentiss office (City Hall) for many years was located upstairs in the Bank of Blountville on main street.

In 1960 a modern City Hall was erected on the corner of Mt. Carmel Avenue and Third Street. It still operates in that location as of today.

In 1963, the Zip Code became a part of the U. S. Postal Service and Prentiss was given the zip code of 39474.