In 1795 Spain had ceded to the United States all land north of the 31^st parallel. The Mississippi territory was formed from this in 1798. Stories about this untamed land were being passed among the early settlers of the newly formed United States.

These stories reached two brothers in particular. These two brothers were John and William Lott. The lure of rich fertile land was irresistible. They left their homes in Columbia, South Carolina before the 1800's heading for this land of opportunity.

Heading west in wagons, John, William and others reached this area in the fall. The sun was setting, and the Spanish moss hung limply from the branches of the cypress trees in the Pearl River swamp. Tired and weary, John and William stopped the wagon train. A graveyard in a nearby clearing caught their eye and scouts were sent ahead to look for signs of Indians. The scouts returned and reported that there were Indians in the area and that they were friendly. The Indians were Choctaw. The Lott brothers ordered camp made then and there, and Lott's Bluff, later to be named Columbia, was born. The original location of Lott's Bluff was just south of the present day Marion County Courthouse.

By Christmas, the newcomers were settled comfortably in the crude cabins that made up Lott's Bluff. The Choctaw's were found to be generally friendly, yet occasional uprisings caused the little band of settlers to construct stockades. Frequent gifts were offered to the Indians to keep the peace.

New settlers moved in from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. They also came from the middle eastern states, floating down the Cumberland and Mississippi Rivers on flatboats to Natchez. From there they moved overland to the Pearl River using the Natchez Trace trail. With many of the new settlers coming from South Carolina, Lott's Bluff was renamed New Columbia.

One pioneer family that had a great impact on the development of the area that would later become Marion County, was that of the Rev. and Mrs. John Ford. Rev. Ford and his wife Katherine left Marion, South Carolina in 1806 to search for a new home. They stopped at a place near Pearl River, 20 miles south of Columbia. This was the original homestead. They soon became the owners of approximately 2000 acres of land covered with virgin pine timber. They lived there until 1843, and raised a large family of 13 children.

Life moved at a leisurely pace, but was occasionally laced with danger and excitement. Always aware of the danger of an Indian tribe that lived nearby, the Fords built an attic above the living room and front bedroom. Double walls spaced three feet apart enclosed the four sides of the attic which had a trap door. If the Fords learned of a surprise attack, they hid in the attic until all the danger was over.

Even in these early days, it was a common event for travel worn pedestrians to ask for shelter at dusk. In fact, Mr. Ford was approached by a man with several companions asking for lodging for the night. Mr. Ford rarely turned anyone away, but since the War of 1812 had broken out he was very cautious. Promising not to use any profanity and to cooperate in family prayer, Gen. Andrew Jackson and his companions got down from their horses and that night was to mark the beginning of their two week stay at the Ford home. It is believed that the bed that Gen. Jackson slept in and the furniture in the room have been preserved and may still be seen in the John ord Home which has been restored to its original condition by the Marion County Historical Society. This home stands today as an important reminder of Marion County's early history. With the area continuing to develop, a post office was established, called Fordsville. This post office took care of the mail between there and Pickneyville. The first Methodist conference to be held in the state of Mississippi was conducted here in 1814. Four of Rev. Ford's eight sons went on to become Methodist ministers. Two of his daughters married Methodist ministers. In 1843, Rev. Ford sold his entire estate to William Edward Rankin.The early 1900's was a time that the county thrived and flourished. Many new communities were established. Some of them would be located around families, but usually a church, school, railroad, or the river would be the reason that such a location was selected.

Some of the communities still exist, and some have faded into oblivion along with the virgin pine timber, lumber companies, and the rail lines that spawned them.

The Fernwood and Gulf Railroad came through Marion County in 1900. When the Fernwood Lumber Company located a mill here, the post office and railway station had to be given a name. The name was chosen by Dr. E. Drew of the railroad company for a town in Indiana that he liked. The lumber mill has long since gone, but the community still exists relying on its

agricultural resources. This area is located about 17 miles southwest of Foxworth. There are two churches located here, the Kokomo Baptist Church and the Methodist Church.

The first school at Kokomo was called the Old China Grove School. It came into being in 1904 and disappeared in 1912. Another two story school building was constructed in the vicinity of the Kokomo logging camp. It existed from 1910 through 1935. At it's peak, 400 students attended this school.

With the pine trees that brought the loggers rapidly vanishing, so did the loggers and the student body of this school. The population that remained erected a sprawling campus consisting of nine classrooms, science lab, library, bookroom, and auditorium. In 1959, when the students were moved to West Marion Schools, the school property was sold to the Kokomo Baptist Church which still owns the land today.