Walnut, Mississippi

Episode 138 / 26 September 2019 / 160 min / full

The Cookie Monster

"It's Walnut, Mississippi we're going here; it's in Tippah County, up in the hills about three miles from the Tennessee border." about 0:05:33

The case: Murder of Christie Ray (June 1993); Kidnapping and rape of Sue; hammer attack on Nicole Cutbirth (April 1991). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2019

Population

about 1,100

Median age

a little under 32

Median household income

$24,375

Median home value

$82,000

Two-bedroom rent

about $650

Cost of living

81

Religious

67%

Property crime

▲ about 60% over the average

Violent crime

▲ about 10 to 15% high

History, in brief

• The region was originally home to the Chickasaw Indians, a tribe related to the Choctaw. about 0:08:14
• The Chickasaws were big traders, dealing with Europeans for silver, jewellery and pottery. about 0:08:25
• Hernando DeSoto was the first white man in the area; his people followed the trail of what is now U.S. Highway 78. about 0:08:42
• In February 1836 the Mississippi legislature divided the conquered Chickasaw land into ten counties, and this was one of them. about 0:10:04
• Walnut itself was established in 1871 on land belonging to Henry Hawkins. about 0:10:28
• The town was first known as Hopkins, after Hawkins, and was changed to Walnut in 1870. about 0:10:55
• It began as a stopping point on the railroad between two other towns, where trains took on wood and water. about 0:11:24
• The name changed after a barrel of whisky was dropped at Hopkins instead of Hopkinsville, a village a mile south. about 0:11:43
• The conductor had to back the train up a mile to Hopkinsville to deliver the whisky barrel. about 0:12:49
• The new name came from a grove of walnut trees near the town. about 0:13:02
• The town motto is Mississippi's healthiest hometown. about 0:07:01

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