This article was prepared in effort to list all the post offices which are believed to have been within the confines of what is now Alcorn County. This County was created April the 15, 1870, most of which was in Tishomingo County with 90 square miles taken from the northeast corner of old Tippah County. Some post offices were opened before 1870 in either Tishomingo or Tippah County. Also, the name of the first postmaster is given, and, if possible, the post office’s location.

It should be remembered that in the early days the post office was more of an activity then a specific building. Abe Lincoln and his hat were not unusual post offices, according to one historical source. The kind of building was an unimportant. All that was necessary was a place for letters and stamps and a postmaster. It is believed that early Alcorn County post offices were almost always in the postmasters’ homes or places of business.

In some places where mail came only every two weeks, some of the patrons who were kin, or friends of the postmaster would begin to arrive at his home in advance of the day the mail was do. The waiting time was spent in various social activities.

The mail was carried in several ways. Some mail came by boat to Eastport on the Tennessee River and was distributed throughout old Tishomingo County by pony rider. When stage routes and railroads came to the county some mail came by the stage an iron horse. Improvements in modes of transportation caused an evolution in the final delivery of mail.

The names of post offices were derived from various sources. Some were named for persons, early families and some places. Rule free delivery was established by the federal government in 1896 but one local authority believes service in Alcorn County started in 1905. With the advent of rural free delivery, the old-style post office was no longer necessary and went through a rather gradual phase out.

A postal map of Alcorn County dated 1911 listed these offices: Corinth, Wenasoga, Glen, Rienzi, Kossuth, Cuba and Tapp. This same map indicates that offices were being closed out. In this category, Overton, Burrow, Gift, and Jacinto were listed. Today only a handful of post offices remain in informal quarters in the matter of the earliest offices.

A list of Alcorn post offices beings below:

• Anemone – Presumably for the flower; established November 28, 1900, Mary L. GRIFFIN, postmistress. Located near Union Baptist Church. Section 17, Township 3, Range 6E.
  
  
• Antioch - Biblical name for a used to name Mississippi’s rural churches. Exact location unknown other than it was moved from Tippah to Alcorn in 1870.
  
  
• Boneyard - Named for the village where it was located; established 1847, John GRAHAM, postmaster. Located about 2 ½ miles northwest of Kossuth.
  
  
• Burrow - Named for an early family. Established 1882 with postmaster Joseph E. BURROW. In west central Alcorn near Tippah County line. Section 30, Township 2, Range 5E.
  
  
• Carolina - Because so many early settlers came from the Carolinas, this name was popular as a place name in Mississippi. Established 1852, location unknown.
  
  
• Corinth - Named for the town which is said to be named for the biblical city in Greece. Established November 16, 1855 with Eli S. MTCHELL as postmaster. Section 1, Township 2, Range 7E.
  
  
• Cuba - Source of name unknown, possibly for Danville, Virginia. Opened January 24, 1845 with Thomas BREWSTER as postmaster. This place was first called Troy when settled in 1836, the oldest town in Tishomingo County.
  
  
• Eagle - Origin of name unknown, established September 10, 1883. Miss Udora DOWD, postmistress. An old newspaper reported this post office was at Glendale, eight miles East of Corinth. Township 2, Range 8E.
  
  
• Farmer - Name source unknown. Established June 11, 1894 with Thomas HOLT as postmaster. Located in Holt store on the old stage road West of Rienzi. Section 1, Township 4, Range 6E.
  
  
• Farmington – Name of the town where located and established May 3, 1837. Post office opened August 14, 1837. Postmaster was Peter F. BOONE. This is the oldest post office in present Alcorn County.
  
  
• Gift – Named for James E. GIFT, a friend of the postmaster, William T. STEEN, postmaster. Established June 2, 1884 in the STEEN store on the Smithbridge Road 10 miles west of Corinth. Section 33, township 1, Range 6E.
  
  
• Glen – Established November 6, 1903; John A. STRICKLAND, postmaster (formerly Eagle Post Office). Located at Glen (formerly Glendale) on the Southern Railroad eight miles east of Corinth. Section 36, Township 2, Range 8E.
  
  
• Hightown – Located in the Hatchie Hills about four miles southwest of Kossuth. Established February 20, 1884 with Miss Tabitha GENTRY as postmistress. Section 16, Township 2, Range 6E.
  
  
• Hinkle – Named for an early family. Post office established before 1898 in the home of Dr. Lawson Alexander HILL. Located southwest of Biggersville on the old Corinth-Blackland Road. Section 36, Township 3, Range 6.
  
  
• Jacinto – County seat of old Tishomingo County; office established June 7, 1840 with Christy D. KEY as postmaster. Located near the Prentiss County line near Rienzi. Section 2, Township 4, Range 8E.
  
  
• Kendrick - Named for the KENDRICK family. Established October 5, 1889 with Robert M. KENDRICK as postmaster. Located northeast of Corinth near the Tennessee State line. Section 30, Townshiop1, Range 9E.
  
  
• Kellum – named for KELLUM family. Established July 21, 1890 with William L. KELLUM as postmaster. Located in west central Alcorn County near the Hatchie River.
  
  
• Kossuth – Named for Louis KOSSUTH, the Hungarian patriot who visited Jackson, Mississippi, in 1852. The post office was established April 22, 1853. William F. WALLACE, postmaster. Section 26, Township 2, Range 6E.
  
  
• Mingo City – An Indian name meaning chief. Established about 1853 with Hezekiah S. BROOKS postmaster. Located on old Danville Road south of Corinth. Section 19, Township 2, Range 8E.
  
  
• New Hope – An inspirational name used as a church name on most, if not all, of Mississippi counties. The post office was established September 16, 1847 with David COGDELL as postmaster. Located in the northwest corner of the county near the borders of Tippah county and the state of Tennessee. Section 26, Township 2, Range 6E.
  
  
• Overton – A family name. Established December 8, 1890 with Jesse D. OVERTON as postmaster. Section 30, Township 1, Range 5E.
  
  
• Parmitche – An Indian name. Also the name of a nearby creek. Established August 7, 1871; G.W. BYNUM, postmaster. Located west of Biggersville. Section 5, Township 3, Range 7E.
  
  
• Rienzi – Most likely named for Cola di Rienzi, a 14th century European who attempted to establish a Roman republic. Established July 5, 1839, Charles W. WILLIAMS, postmaster. Section 2, Township 4, Range 7E.
  
  
• Silver Springs – Named for the settlement on the stage road from Jacinto to Memphis via Ripley and Holly Springs. With the creation of Alcorn County, the post office became a part of that county.
  
  
• Tapp – For the family. Established September 7, 1899; Perry M. BROOKS, postmaster. Located about 6 miles southwest of Gift.
  
  
• Tripoli – Presumably for the city in North Africa. Established October 24, 1849, William J. NOWLIN, postmaster. Located in the southwestern part of the county near the Prentiss County line, about 6 miles west of Rienzi.
  
  
• Wenasoga – Indian name; established March 9, 1875, James L. CAMPBELL, postmaster. Located in the north central section of the county near the Tennessee line.

[Source: Compiled by Beulah D'Olive Price and Vicki Burress Roach, published in Cross City Connections, Volume 20, No. 3, SSN1072-7868, March 2012]

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