The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Itawamba County from local author Mona Robinson Mills. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by.
Itawamba County takes its name from Chief Itawamba, a prominent leader of the Chickasaw Indians. Formed in 1836 from ceded Chickasaw Indian lands, the county was settled by hardy, industrious pioneers seeking new opportunities in a new land. The legacy of these hardworking settlers continues with the photographic history portrayed in Images of America: Itawamba County.
Beautiful and immense hardwood forests that provided shelter for its pioneers later became the source of a logging boom, with sawmills and oxen being a familiar sight. Life in Itawamba County was not all work and no play, however. The county has a rich musical heritage: local musician Jordan Cockrell won first place in the World Championship Fiddling Contest held at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis; the “First Lady of Country Music,” Tammy Wynette, and jazz great Jimmie Lunceford, known as the “King of Syncopation,” were both born here; and the roots of the “King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley, go deep in Itawamba County.
Highlights of Itawamba County:
• The muddy divide
• Musical heritage
• Faces from the past
• Teaching and preaching
• Sawmills and boom times
Mona Robinson Mills, a sixth-generation Itawambian, is delighted to share this homage to the county of her heritage. A member of the Itawamba County Historical Society, Mona is also a genealogical blogger with a passion for vintage photographs.
Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or
(888)-313-2665.
Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places. Have we done a book on your town? Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.