Brandon, the county town of Rankin County, is a station on the Alabama & Vicksburg railroad and has a population of six hundred.
It was named after Gov. Gerard C. Brandon and was early known as the seat of the famous Brandon bank, of which Col. William H. Shelton was president.
Situated on the highest point between Vicksburg and Jackson, this place is exceptionally healthy. For years it was the terminus of the Vicksburg & Meridian railroad and the trading point for several adjacent counties.
For more than twenty-five years the Brandon Female College has been in charge of Miss Johnston, one of the most celebrated teachers in Mississippi, who has perhaps done more to enrich the culture and intelligence of the town and its vicinity than anyone else.
Other towns in this county are Steen’s Creek, Cato, Fannin, Pelahatchee and Armistead.
Back to: Mississippi Counties, Cities and Towns, 1891
Source: Biographical and Historical Memories of Mississippi, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1891