The history of Meridian, Mississippi begins in the early 19th century before European-American settlement. Originally settled by the Choctaw Indians, the land was bought by the United States according to the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. The city grew around the intersection of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and the Southern Railway of Mississippi and developed a largely rail-based economy. Although much of the city was burned down in the Battle of Meridian during the American Civil War, the city was rebuilt and entered a "Golden Age." Between about 1890 and 1930, the city was the largest in Mississippi and a leading center for manufacturing in the Southern United States. After the decline of the railroading industry in the 1950s, the city's economy was devastated, resulting in a slow population decline. The population has continued to decline as the city has struggled to create a new, more modern economy based on newer industries. In the past 20 years or so, Meridian has attempted to revitalize the city's economy by attracting more business and industry to the city, most specifically the downtown area.

Establishment

Under pressure from the US government, the Choctaw Native Americans agreed to removal from all lands east of the Mississippi River under the terms of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. Although many Choctaws moved to present-day Oklahoma, a significant number chose to stay in their homeland, citing Article XIV of the treaty. Today, most Choctaws, who are part of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, live on several Indian Reservations located throughout the state. The largest reservation is located in Choctaw, MS, northwest of the city.

After the treaty was ratified, European-American settlers rapidly began to officially move into the region. In 1831, only a year after the treaty was signed, a Virginian named Richard McLemore became the first settler of Meridian after receiving a federal land grant of about . McLemore owned most of the land in the area, and his plantation home was the only notable residence in the vicinity at the time. To attract more settlers to the region and develop the area, McLemore began offering free land to newcomers. In 1833, Benjamin Graham also received a land grant of in the area now known as Valley Road. Another pioneer named James Trussell bought some land from W. C. Trussell, who had originally purchased the land while it was still part of the Mississippi Territory. By 1833, enough people had migrated to the area to warrant the creation of a county government; thus, Lauderdale County was established.

In 1853, around the time that construction of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad began in the area, most of Richard McLemore's land was bought by Lewis A. Ragsdale, a lawyer from Alabama, and John T. Ball, a merchant from Kemper County. Both men sought to make a profit from the planned crossing of the Mobile and Ohio with the Vicksburg and Montgomery Railroad, but Ragsdale beat Ball to the area by a few days. Ragsdale's bought the McLemore Farm, which was east of present-day 27th Avenue and included much of what would become the central business district. Ball purchased only west of 27th Avenue. McLemore and his family moved north out of the city, and Ragsdale moved into McLemore's log home, turning it into a tavern.

Ragsdale and Ball, now known as the founders of the city, began to compete with each other by laying out lots for new development on their respective land sections. The competition intensified over the desired name for the settlement. Ball believed the word "meridian" was synonymous to "junction," so he, along with the industrial citizens of the city, preferred that name, but the agrarian population of the city preferred "Sowashee," which means "mad river" in a Native American language and is the name of a nearby creek. Also, Ragsdale wanted to name the new settlement Ragsdale City after himself. Ball soon erected a small wooden station house and coerced the owners of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad to grant depot privileges to the site. The owners agreed, provided the station was constructed according to their specifications and was furnished at the community's expense. For nearly two years, though, the site was treated as a mere flag station and denied ordinary station accommodations while the expense of station maintenance fell on Ball himself.

The competition continued between Ragsdale and Ball. Each day the sign on the station house would be changed, alternating between Meridian and Sowashee. Instead of compromising, the two founders began to lay out city streets with differing plans. One day one of them would drive stakes in line with his plan, and the next day, the other would pull up his rival's stakes and drive some of his own. Ball laid his streets parallel to the railroad, and Ragsdale chose to use true compass headings. The competition is still evident today in the angles at which some streets meet in the city. The intersecting area has been described as "having been formed by some giant who playfully gathered up a handful of triangles and dropped them at the junction of two railroads."

Eventually the continued development of the railroads led to an influx of railroad workers who overruled the others in the city and left "Meridian" on the station permanently, and the town was officially incorporated as Meridian on February 10, 1860. Meanwhile, the Vicksburg and Montgomery Railroad (which would later become part of the Southern Railway of Mississippi) continued to progress eastward out of Jackson, Mississippi. It appeared that Ball and Ragsdale had incorrectly anticipated the location of the railroad junction. The railroad was planning to cross the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at Enterprise, Mississippi, but railroad administration could not obtain cooperation from Enterprise officials. Businessmen in Meridian were more than eager for this economic opportunity and convinced Southern to cross there instead. After persuasion from Ball and other citizens of the city, William Crosby Smedes, the president of the Southern Railway agreed with the owners of the Mobile and Ohio on keeping the name Meridian, as which the city has been known ever since.

Civil War

When the American Civil War began in 1861, Meridian was a small village with several stores and hotels and two churches, one Baptist and one Methodist, which shared a Sunday School service. An academy had also been built, and the school was in full operation. The town's strategic position at the railroad junction led to the construction of a Confederate arsenal, military hospital, and prisoner-of-war stockade, as well as the headquarters for a number of state offices.

The Meridian Invincibles were established on May 1, 1861, under the command of W.F. Crumpton and William Spinks. On May 21, the Governor ordered the unit, which consisted of sixty-three members, to proceed to Corinth and go into camp under the command of Major General Charles Clark. The Invincibles eventually became Company H of the 14th Mississippi Infantry and would later see action at the Battle of Fort Donelson. They, along with 7000 confederate soldiers, would become prisoners of war.

On February 19, 1863, a train with one tender & four cars left the Meridian depot at 3:00 A.M. to transport Confederate soldiers and some civilians from Meridian to aid in the coming Battle of Vicksburg. After the train wrecked near Chunky, Mississippi, the 1st Choctaw Battalion, which had been organized days/weeks earlier at a camp near Newton Station, led rescue and recovery efforts.

After the 1863 Vicksburg campaign, Union forces under General William Tecumseh Sherman turned eastward toward the city to begin what would later be called the Battle of Meridian. Because of several feints and other confusing maneuvers performed by Sherman, Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk, leader of Confederate troops in the city, was convinced Sherman was headed not for Meridian but for Mobile, Alabama, so he decided to fall back to Demopolis, Alabama, and prepare for a rear attack, leaving the city and its surrounding territory to the mercy of the enemy.

Sherman reached Meridian on February 14, 1864. He and his army waited in the city for Brigadier General William Sooy Smith, whom Sherman had ordered to lead a small cavalry from Tennessee to rendezvous in the city and continue into Alabama. He gave up after a week and returned to Vicksburg on February 20. While he and his army were waiting, Sherman ordered his troops "to wipe the appointed meeting place off the map" by erasing the railroads on the map and burning much of the map. Among the damage was the destruction of an arsenal, immense storehouses, and the railroad in every direction. After the destruction of the city, Sherman is reported to have said, "Meridian with its depots, store-houses, arsenal, hospitals, offices, hotels, and cantonments no longer exists." Despite the destruction, the railroad lines in the city were rapidly repaired and operating again only 26 working days after the battle.

Reconstruction Shortly after the Civil War a central business district grew in the downtown area, leading to a population increase. By 1870 the population had grown to 2,709, and the city was named the county seat of Lauderdale County. This short-term growth led to the establishment of several educational facilities, including the Meridian Female College, founded in 1865, as well as diverse religious institutions, including Presbyterian, Catholic, Jewish, and Episcopal. Before the war, most churches were either Baptist or Methodist. The growth during Reconstruction was set back when downtown was destroyed in a fire in 1871 during the Meridian race riot, related to freedmen's efforts to resist the Ku Klux Klan. Up to thirty black men were killed by a white mob.

In 1871, adding to the political turmoil, five different men served as mayor of the city.

The city quickly recovered and defined an 1872 fire district requiring buildings to be constructed of brick. The remainder of the 1870s saw hard times for the city, including economic troubles during the Panic of 1873, and a yellow fever epidemic in 1878. Yellow fever affected almost 500 residents, leaving at least 86 dead, which resulted in a quarantine in the city. Rail passengers entering the city were required to provide a health certificate certifying that they were free of the disease. Many of the fatalities from the riot and epidemic were buried in McLemore Cemetery. Despite these early troubles, the town experienced an economic boom and entered a "Golden Age" around the start of the 20th century.

Golden Age

1880–1900

The city flourished during the 1880s, adding electricity, running water, a sewage system, and paved streets and sidewalks within its limits. By 1885 the city became the railroad center of eastern Mississippi because of its unique location at the junction of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, the Alabama and Vicksburg Railroad, the Alabama Great Southern Railroad, and the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad.National Register of Historic Places nomination form for Meridian Downtown Historic District. January 16, 2007. National Park Service. The railroads provided for a means of transportation and an influx of industries, which caused a population boom. The 1870 population of 2,709 almost tripled by 1885 to around 8,000 and nearly doubled again to 15,000 by 1898. By 1906 the population had almost doubled again to reach 28,000, and the city was given the nickname "The Queen City." Between 1890 and 1930, Meridian was the largest city in Mississippi and a leading center for manufacturing in the South.