In the late teens and early twenties many families moved from northern Alabama to the Purvis, Mississippi area. They did not come all at one time. It was a gradual migration. They came primarily from Marshall and Blount counties, towns such as Guntersville, Boaz, and Oneonta, communities such as Grassy, Walnut Grove, Shoal Creek, and Arab, and geographic areas such as Sand Mountain and Brindlee Mountain.
By the late teens, say 1918, much of the land in south Mississippi was considered “cut-over land.” It had been owned by large lumber companies, but was being sold and divided into small farms. It was considered good farm land, being mostly flat and free of rocks. Land in northern Alabama was generally more hilly and rocky.
Colonization and Realty Companies were formed to hasten the settlement and cultivation of the cut-over land. They purchased large tracts and divided them into smaller farms. One such company was the Purvis Realty Company. E. A. Nation of Blount County, AL was in charge of the sale of land for this company. He moved from the small town of Liberty, in Blount Co. AL to Purvis in 1919. Mr. Nation induced many farmers from the Blount and Marshall County Alabama area to relocate in Purvis. Around this time, advertisements began to appear in Alabama newspapers about good farm land in south Mississippi. Many of those ads specified Purvis, Mississippi “where farm work is pleasant every day of the year.”
By the early 1920s, so many north Alabama farm families had relocated to Purvis that, upon hearing the news that yet another family was relocating, a Blount County, AL newspaper lamented that that family had caught “the Purvis, Mississippi fever.”
When many of these north Alabama families moved to Purvis, they kept their subscription to their home town Alabama newspaper and had the newspaper mailed to them in Purvis. They wanted to keep up with their old home town, friends, and former neighbors. Some even wrote letters back to those newspapers about their new home in Purvis. These letters were published as a column in the local communities section of those papers under the heading of “Purvis, Miss.”
Among the amusing things I found in a 1928 Alabama newspaper, were “letters to Santa” written by Purvis, MS children. Two of them mentioned their teacher, Miss Ruth Baxter. Some of you will remember that Miss Baxter was still teaching in Purvis (2nd grade) until her retirement in 1962.
Below you will find advertisements, articles, columns and over 150 personal mentions of Purvis people published in north Alabama newspapers 1918 – 1928 that help to chronicle the north Alabama to Purvis, MS migration of the late teens and early twenties.
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