Mississippi Moments Podcast

Macon, Mississippi, county seat of Noxubee County, has a long and storied past. It served as the state capital during the second half of the Civil War and was the place where the Treaty of Dancing River was signed. When longtime resident, Joseph Maury, Jr. and his wife, Selma, sat down to share their memories in September of 1999, it was obvious they both had a great love for the town and the life they had shared together. Joe Maury’s father became the Night Marshall in Macon during the 1910s when the city had a thriving saloon district. He describes how his father dealt with the rowdy, “over-the-river” crowd when they had too much to drink. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, a scarcity of jobs forced people to find creative ways to earn a living.  Maury remembers how the citizens of Macon got through those tough economic times and why the 8th of the month was so important to the town’s merchants. While attending high school in Macon, Maury worked part time at a local grocery store. He recalls how a di