—Simpson County Heritage Trail —
What is the Simpson County Heritage Trail?
The Simpson County Heritage Trail
was established through the Simpson
County Development Foundation
in 2011. Each stop along the trail is
of historic significance to Simpson
County, showcasing points of interest
and facts about the origins of the
Sanatorium, the community, is named for the Mississippi Tuberculosis Sanatorium, which owes its existence primarily to the efforts of Dr. Henry Boswell. Dr. Boswell, himself a victim of
tuberculosis, returned to Mississippi to convalesce following treatment in Texas. He became
convinced that tuberculosis could be treated as well in Mississippi as in any other place. In 1916, the Mississippi Legislature authorized the creation of a Mississippi Tuberculosis Sanatorium, and Simpson County was selected as the site. The specific site, 3 miles north of Magee, is the highest point between Jackson and Gulfport. The citizens of Magee donated 200 acres of land and, with the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad, $2,000 for the building of the Sanatorium. Further developments, including additional appropriations, contributed to the continuing growth of the Sanatorium in size and in service. In 1930, Dr. Boswell opened the Preventorium, the first institution of its kind in the South, dedicated
to the care and building up of undernourished children to prevent their ever contracting tuberculosis.
The Sanatorium served its purpose illustriously for several decades. In 1976, the
old Sanatorium facilities were transferred to the MS Department of Mental
renamed Boswell Regional Center which is now an Intermediate Care
Facility for Persons with Mental Retardation and other developmental disabilities.
In the 1990s, the post office was abolished and the community was incorporated
The campus is open for public tours, and in addition to its modern facilities,
contains several of the original buildings, some of which are on the National
Register of Historic Places.
An Anecdotal History of Simpson County
From the Columns of Bee King
The Simpson County News
[From the mid to late 1800s numerous physicians settled in Simpson County.]
Dr. R.E. Giles, son of William Giles, born in 1829 near Nottingham. England, came to Westville in 1859. During a heavy snow fall (8 inches) the good doctor put on three pairs of pants, heavy wool socks, heavy shoes with long wool socks over them, coat and overcoat plus a large wool shawl, to answer out of town calls. He called his horse "Kennesaw Mountain." Other physicians in the early years
of the county included Dr. William Estes, Dr. A. L. McRae, Dr. John Daniel Funchess, Dr. John Franklin Alford, Dr. Samuel T. Mosley, Dr. Julis Caraway, Dr. Henry Lafayette Guynes, Dr. McRae Hyde, Dr. Emanuel Plummer Neely, Dr. Edmund DeWitt Barron, Dr. Wyatt S. Miles, Dr. John Duncan Wilkerson, Dr. Doddridge McCallum. Dr. Christopher Norman, Dr. Thomas M. Walken and Dr. John L. Ware.