Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
The first post office in Madison County was established in Hickstown on April 19, 1830, with Abram Bellamy being the first postmaster of what was the first unofficial county seat. The mail route, which was established in 1828, reached from Monticello to Hickstown and into Hamilton County.
The post office was closed three years later, after the San Pedro post office was opened. San Pedro was the first official county seat for Madison County. Hickstown was originally an Indian town that was run by John Hicks, a Mikasuki who sought peace between the Indians and settlers. The town was located south of US 90, in the area now referred to as Hickstown swamp. Numerous settlers had built their homes around the town.
The short-lived tenure of the post office is partly due to the passage of the Indian Removal Act on May 26, 1830. The act stated that all Indians living east of the Mississippi River be relocated west of the river. Approximately 70,000 Indians were moved, with about 4,000 Cherokees dying during the treacherous trek, that most of the Indians were forced to travel by foot.
In a few years, the once bustling community of Hickstown was abandoned because of the removal of the Mikasuki. The settlers in the area dispersed to other locations due to the demise of the town and the ensuing unrest caused by some Indians who understandably resisted the forced migration west.