Country United States County Greene ZIP code 39456 Elevation 29 m | State Mississippi Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) GNIS feature ID 693696 Local time Tuesday 5:09 AM | |
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Weather 7°C, Wind NW at 8 km/h, 95% Humidity | ||
Leaf is an unincorporated community in Greene County, Mississippi, United States.
Contents
Map of Leaf, MS 39456, USA
Leaf is located east of Leaf River Wildlife Management Area, within the eastern boundary of De Soto National Forest.
The town is named for the Leaf River, which flows a few miles east.
History
Leaf was settled in 1838, and originally called "Salem". Most of the early settlers in the region were Irish, Scottish or English, and Salem's first families were the Thomsons, Cowarts, McKays, and McLeods.
Salem Academy was founded by W.W. Thompson, and operated between 1845 and 1862. Thompson later served as a Superintendent of Education of Greene County.
Leaf was a stop on the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Railroad, which later became the Illinois Central Railroad.
In 1902, three partners bought two sawmills in Leaf, as well as carts, oxen and wagons, and opened the Thomson Brothers Lumber Company. The mills had a total cutting capacity of 50,000 ft (15,000 m) per day, and produced longleaf yellow pine timber and lumber, dressed and rough. In 1903, the company sold the sawmills and nearly 1,600 acres (650 ha) of timber, to William F. Green of Bay Minette, Alabama. Green operated the mill under the named W.F. Green Lumber Company. The sawmill was destroyed by fire in 1906, at a loss of $20,000. The mill was rebuilt, but its operations ceased in 1909 when W.F. Green moved to Hattiesburg, Mississippi.