Maxwell Elementary School

Mississippi Embayment

by, Casey and Elizabeth

• The Chickasaw Indians sold the land to General Andrew Jackson and former Governor of Kentucky, Isaac Shelby, in 1818.  The Indians recieved $300,000-$20,000 per year for 15 years.  That was a lot of money in 1818.
• The deal was the result of lots of meetings where the Chickasaw, represented by their chiefs, headmen, and warriors, met with Governor Shelby and General Jackson.
• The U.S. government bought  2,000 square miles in Kentucky and 6,000 square miles in Tennessee.
• They signed the Treaty on October 19, 1818 in northwestern Mississippi and the U.S. Senate and President James Monroe ratified the treaty on January 7, 1819.

• The region was located in the bottom part of Kentucky, the Southwestern corner.

• The land was swampy but had flat land and good soil so some settlers did farm there.

• It was surrounded by 3 rivers the OHIO,TENNESSEE, and MISSISSIPPI rivers.  This made it easy to move people and goods in and out of the region for the settlers.

*Picture:  The sun shines brightly on this early Mississippi Embayment meadow.