Dennis, Mississippi

Dennis, Mississippi
—  Unincorporated community  —
Motto: We are Dennis. We are Strength.
Dennis, Mississippi
Coordinates: 34°33′31″N 88°13′34″W / 34.55861°N 88.22611°W / 34.55861; -88.22611Coordinates: 34°33′31″N 88°13′34″W / 34.55861°N 88.22611°W / 34.55861; -88.22611
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Tishomingo
Elevation	581 ft (177 m)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	38838
Area code(s)	662
GNIS feature ID	669338[1]

Dennis is an unincorporated community located at the intersection of Mississippi Highway 25 and Mississippi Highway 4 in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, United States. Dennis is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Tishomingo and 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Belmont.

Although an unincorporated community, Dennis has a post office. The first Belmont post office was located north of present-day Dennis at the Phillips place in 1873. The first Belmont postmaster was Dr. Middleton M. (Mid) Davis on November 17, 1873.

At first, the settlement around Dennis was called Davis Mills. In the 1890s, L.R. Davis, the son of Mid Davis, had a lumber mill which gave the community its early name. When the post office was renamed, L. R. Davis named it Dennis after Dennis W. Crane, the pastor of the New Providence Primitive Baptist Church. On May 15, 1893, L.R. Davis became the first postmaster of the newly formed Dennis post office.

In November 1907, L.R. Davis, Belle Davis, Charles Flurry, and Lillie Cleo Flurry recorded the plat and map of the town of Dennis which John Henry Clark had surveyed and laid out. In late 1907, L.R. Davis moved the Dennis post office about one-quarter of a mile northeast of the old site and ten rods west of the railroad on the new townsite. John T. Blanchard, a Baptist minister and public servant, became the Dennis postmaster in January, 1908.

On September 4, 1908, the Village of Dennis was officially incorporated with 130 residents. William H. Lindsey was the first mayor of Dennis. The Dennis marshall was John C. Cornelius and Ransom Young was the treasurer. The first alderman of Dennis were J.A. Byram, L.F. (Lee) Sartain, and R.F. Flurry.

The 1910 census reported the population of Dennis at 147 persons. The 1920 census showed a population of 217. The 1930 census showed that Dennis had a population of 238 persons. The 1940 census reported the population at 194. By 1950, Dennis had disincorporated and its area reverted to the county.

In 1942, a fire tower was built to extend forest fire protection in the area. The tower stood until the 1990s.

Dennis is located at an elevation of 599.5 feet above sea level per an Illinois Central Railroad survey.

References

1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dennis, Mississippi