Bexley, Mississippi

Bexley, Mississippi
Unincorporated community
Bexley is located in Mississippi
Bexley
Bexley
Bexley is located in the United States
Bexley
Bexley
Coordinates: 30°58′00″N 88°40′27″W / 30.96667°N 88.67417°W / 30.96667; -88.67417
CountryUnited States
StateMississippi
CountyGeorge
Elevation
[1]
125 ft (38 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID667063[1]

Bexley is an unincorporated place in George County, Mississippi.

History

Prior to the creation of George County, Bexley was located in Greene County.[2]

The Diamond Lumber Company opened a sawmill in Bexley in 1901. The mill was capable of sawing 50,000 ft (15,000 m) of pine per day. The company built a shortline railway running south from Bexley. The mill closed in 1918.[3]

Bexley was a stop on the mainline of the Illinois Central Railroad.

A post office operated under the name Bexley from 1900 to 1971.[4]

The Bexley School operated from 1913 to 1959, and was one of the first consolidated schools in Mississippi (consolidation allowed two or more rural schools to combine).[5]

In 2010, George County Sheriff Garry M. Welford was killed in Bexley while assisting in a high-speed chase. Welford was attempting to lay spike strips at an intersection in Bexley, when the vehicle under pursuit struck him. Both occupants of the fleeing vehicle, a boyfriend and girlfriend, were sentenced to life in prison without parole.[6][7]

Public services

The hamlet is served by the Bexley Volunteer Fire Department.[8]

The Bexley water system was the first rural water system in the United States that was financed by the Farmers Home Administration.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bexley, Mississippi
  2. ^ Rowland, Dunbar (1907). Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Vol. 1. Southern Historical Publishing Association. p. 236.
  3. ^ Hoffman, Gil. "Diamond Lumber Co. (1901-1904)". Mississippi Rails. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "George County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  5. ^ ELMalvaney (July 8, 2009). "Bexley School, Hwy 98 Landmark". Preservation in Mississippi.
  6. ^ "History of the Sheriff". George County Sheriff's Department. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  7. ^ "Attorney Says Christopher Baxter Convicted on 'Flawed Grounds' in Death of George County Sheriff Garry Welford". Mississippi Press. January 28, 2014.
  8. ^ "Bexley Volunteer Fire Department". Fire Fighting News. October 29, 2004. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014.
  9. ^ George County Chamber of Commerce Heritage & Cultural Committee (2018). George County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-4671-2906-0.


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