Jack Holland Curry Sr

On April 20, 1901, when the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad linked Grenada with Parsons, Holcomb realized a depot on his land would draw considerable trade. On Sept. 14, 1901, he filed a plat (surveyed and drawn by Steve Ritchie of Winona) of the new railroad town of Holcomb, with two main streets paralleling that railroad line. The name Holcomb derives from the early English words "holt" meaning woods and "combe" meaning valley, or "wooded valley," a fitting name for the area's lovely wooded countryside. Early businesses included several general stores, the Bank of Holcomb (established in 1905), a stave factory, a saw mill, an ax-handle factory, a cotton gin, a blacksmith's shop, a hotel and a school. Old stores To enlarge image, click here The town also had "a stave factory, a saw mill, an ax-handle factory, a large Munger-system cotton gin, one church ... and an excellent school," according to a 1907 report. The hotel was built by Jack Curry and managed by his wife. They were succeeded by L.T. Hayden and his wife and then by Lena Dear, who owned and managed it until it burned in the 1920s. The town was incorporated in 1905. Mayors included W.H. Martin, R.A. McRee, John Brewer, M. Hey, John Hayden, C.O. Aven and J.L. Tribble. Town marshals included E.R. Beard, W.W. Williams, Murphy Shumate and a Mr. McCaulla. Incorporation lapsed during World War II. Major fires struck the town twice, with devastating effect. In August 1927, a blaze that was believed to be arson destroyed more than half the businesses. A second fire in 1937 also burned many stores. Recovery was not easy. The Great Depression hit hard on the heels of the first fire. World War II closely followed the second. Bellevue was destroyed by fire in 1926, but many of the original homes built soon after the town's founding remain, their craftsman detailing and wide porches as welcoming today as in Holcomb's early years.

Bernice (Holland) Curry of Holcumb, Grenada County, MS was born on September 9, 1908, and died in Holcomb. Bernice Curry was buried on November 20, 1995 at Woodlawn cemetery in Grenada.