As
the rivalry grew more intense, citizens of both towns decided
it would be in their common interest to unite with their neighbors
to form one stronger city. A mock wedding ceremony was held
July 4, 1836 to symbolize the joining of the two towns into
a new town which was called Grenada. Some sources believe
that the name Grenada was a misspelling of the Spanish city
Granada, while others claimed it came from the Indian word
for marriage.
The new town of
Grenada prospered as had its predecessors. In 1838, the town
boasted both a girls and a boy’s high school, and in
1839, Grenada Male Academy and Grenada Female Academy were
formed.
Residents of Grenada,
in 1845, petitioned the legislature to create a new county
with their town as its seat of government, but their petition
was denied. In 1846, a tornado devastated the young town,
destroying 112 houses. Then, in 1855, a fire swept through
the town, leaving much of it in ruins. However, after each
of these disasters, Grenada grew back stronger.
In 1860, the Mississippi
Central Railroad line, which ran from Canton to Jackson, TN,
was completed to Grenada. In 1870, Grenada County became the
64th Mississippi County organized. The new county encompassed
447 square miles of land, making it 64th in area among the
state's 82 counties today. The 1870 census showed the county's
population at 10,571 residents, including 1,887 residents
of the city of Grenada.
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