Middleton

Laws of Mississippi

CHAPTER 130.

AN ACT to incorporate the town of Middleton, in the county of Carroll. Pp. 217-221.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, That the town of Middleton, in Carroll County, be, and the same is hereby, incorporated, and that the corporate limits of the said town shall run to the four cardinal points, and form one mile square, to be laid off in such manner as that the center of the public square of the said town, as at present laid off and surveyed, shall form the center of said corporate limits.

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That every free white male person, having attained the age of twenty-one years, and having resided within the state twelve months, and in the corporate limits of said town four months next preceding an election for town officers, shall be a qualified elector and eligible to any town office; provided, however, that any qualified voter of the county who may have resided within the corporate limits of said town ten days next preceding, shall be entitled to vote at the first election.

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That the sheriff of Carroll county, or any acting justice of the peace for the said county, shall, on the first Monday of _______, in each and every year, hold an election, in strict conformity with the laws of this state, for a mayor, six aldermen, and constable for said town; and the sheriff or justice of the peace, as the case may be, shall give to each of the eight persons who may have received the greatest number of votes for the several offices, a certificate that he is duly elected for one year from and after his election, who shall continue in office until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That the mayor elected in pursuance of this act, shall be commissioned by the governor as a justice of the peace: he shall preside at each meeting of the board of mayor and aldermen of said town, and, by virtue of his office, shall have power to perform all such duties and receive the like emoluments and immunities as are performed and received by other magistrates in the said county; but in case of his absence from any meeting of the said board of aldermen any member thereof may be called to the chair and execute the duties of the president pro tempore.

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That the said mayor and aldermen shall be a body corporate and politic, by the name and style of the mayor and aldermen of the town of Middleton; and as such they and their successors in office shall be capable of suing and being sued, of pleading and being impleaded, of defending and being defended, in all manner of suits and actions either in law or equity, and also receive donations, purchase, give, grant, sell, convey and contract, and do any and all other such acts as are incident to bodies corporate and politic.

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, That said mayor and aldermen shall have power to pass all necessary by-laws for the good order and government of said town, not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of this state and of the United States, whereby education and morality may be promoted, and the retailing and vending of ardent spirits, and gambling, and every species of vice and immorality may be suppressed; and, in their corporate capacity, they may inflict a fine or penalty on any person for a violation of any such by-laws, not exceeding fifty dollars, for any offence, recoverable with costs before any justice of the peace for said county, in the name of said corporation, for the use and benefit of said town; and that no law of the state now in force, or that hereafter may be passed, legalizing either retailing or vending spirituous liquors, or any species of gaming, shall apply in any respect to the said corporation; nor shall the said mayor and aldermen have power by any by-laws to authorize any person to sell spirituous liquors either in small or large quantities, or to authorize any species of gaming in the said corporation, unless upon petition by at least three-fourths of the citizens of the said town.

Sec. 7. Be it further enacted, That the corporate limits of the said town of Middleton are hereby declared to be a district entitled to a justice of the peace and constable, and the said mayor and constable, when elected and commissioned by the governor, shall each be subject to perform all the duties and receive all such profits as are performed and received by other justices of the peace and constables of this state.

Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, That the board of mayor and aldermen shall appoint annually a treasurer and recorder, whose duties, responsibilities and compensation shall be prescribed by the said board.

Sec. 9. Be it further enacted, That, for the purposes of revenue, the said mayor and aldermen may tax such property as is liable to taxation under the existing laws of this state, provided such tax shall not exceed fifty cents on each white poll, fifty cents on each slave, and twelve and a half cents on every hundred dollars’ worth of other personal and real estate, within the limits of the said town, for any one year, and the money so raised shall be appropriated by the said mayor and aldermen exclusively to the use and benefit of the said town.

Sec. 10. Be it further enacted, That the citizens of the said town subject to road duties, shall be exempt from such duties beyond its corporate limits, and the said mayor and aldermen may release them for an equivalent therefor not to exceed ten dollars in any one year.

Sec. 11. Be it further enacted, That if from any cause the said board should not be constituted, as contemplated by this act, any three citizens of said town may call a meeting at any time, for the purpose of such election, by giving ten days’ previous notice, by advertisement set up in said town, and such election shall be as valid as though it had been held on the regular appointed days therefor.

Sec. 12. Be it further enacted, That when said board has been organized, the said mayor may call a meeting at any time, by giving five days’ notice; that a majority shall constitute a quorum; that in case of a tie, the mayor shall give the casting vote; and that the said board shall have power to fill all vacancies which may occur in their body from an annual election to the next succeeding one.

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved February 22, 1840.

Laws of Mississippi

CHAPTER 163.

AN act to exempt Constables in the town of Middleton, Carroll county, from certain restrictions. P. 346.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, That so much of the fifth section of an act to amend an act entitled an act to incorporate the town of Fulton, in the county of Itawamba, passed May the eleventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, and for other purposes, as applies to Constables in the town of Middleton, Carroll county, be, and the same is hereby repealed.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved February 17, 1844.

Laws of Mississippi

Chapter 200.

AN ACT to amend the fourth and seventh sections of an act, entitled an act to incorporate the town of Middleton, in the county of Carroll, approved 22d, February, 1840.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, That nothing contained in the fourth and seventh sections of said act shall be so construed as to give civil jurisdiction to the mayor of the town of Middleton in Carroll county, except in cases where the defendant resides within the corporate limits of said town of Middleton, or in cases where the debt which constitutes the matter to be adjudicated shall have been contracted within said limits.

Approved March 4, 1848.

Middleton Cemetery

Middleton Events

Incorporation of Irwin

Note: Middleton and Shongalo were both incorporated on the same day: February 22, 1840, and were abandoned in the same year -- 1859.

Where was Middleton? Map 1 Map 2 Map 3

Middleton, Mississippi is listed as having an elevation of 440 feet, and being located in Montgomery County (present day site). However, when Middleton was first incorporated, it was located in Carroll County, until the allocation of part of Carroll County to form Montgomery County in the early 1870s. The current location is listed as Bailey Lake, according to the U.S. Geological Service. Middleton was located at 33 degrees 29 minutes and 10 seconds North, and 089 degrees, 45 minutes, and 03 seconds West. Winona is listed at 33 degrees 29 minutes and 10 seconds North and 089 degrees 44 minutes and 59 seconds West.