250 A BICENTENNIAL HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI site of Memphis to the Chickasaw towns in Pontotoc County, then southwesterly to the Choctaw towns in Neshoba and Kemper counties. From there it went to the Native American settlements of the Mobile, Tohome, and other tribes around Mobile Bay. The Cotton Gin Port, St. Stephens, and Mobile Trail connected with the Memphis, Pontotoc, Mobile Bay Trail near present day State Line. North of that location the trail. Between 1785 and 1820, passports were issued to emigrants traveling south and west into the new territory. These passports consisted of statements from local officials and neighbors testifying to the good standing of the applicant. They were signed by the governor of the state from which they hailed. Some of these pioneers settled in the East Central region. In 1790, Sciple’s Mill near DeKalb began as a cotton mill. A-Push-ma-ta-ha-hu-bi, better known as Pushmataha, one of the greatest American Indians, was born in WILLIAMS BROTHERS GENERAL STORE Brown and Amzie Williams established the Williams Brothers General Store in Philadelphia in 1907. The popular country store quickly developed a reputation for its wide variety of quality merchandise, including anything from clothing to animal feed. Through the years, the Williams family worked together to run the store, and interestingly, Brown Williams also worked as a highway commissioner for the state of Mississippi. The store attracted such widespread attention that, in 1939, National Geographic magazine included a feature about Williams Brothers. Today, Williams Brothers remains a family-owned-and-operated business, with Sid Williams, his aunt, Peggy Dees, and her daughter, Jane Crosswhite, serving as co-owners. The store currently employs more than fifty people, and five of those employees have worked there for more than three decades. In addition to the many loyal local Philadelphia customers, thousands of tourists and out-of-town guests visit the store each year. Many customers travel from afar to purchase the store’s high-quality meats. In fact, Williams Brothers has become known for their bacon, selling approximately two tons per week. Visitors are often surprised to find what appears to be a simple country store contains hundreds of desirable, up-to-date products. Although Williams Brothers is stocked with modern merchandise, such as designer clothes and shoes. The store maintains a look and atmosphere very similar to that of its early years. PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMS BROTHERS GENERAL STORE Mississippi around 1764. It is said his name means, “His arm and all the weapons in his hands are fatal to his foes.” He was born on the east bank of the Noxubee River, not far from Macon, Mississippi. He was orphaned when his parents were killed in the wars against the Osages and the Creeks. Becoming chief while having no family connections within the tribe was a rarity. Legend shares a time when lightning struck a tree, killing many in the Choctaw tribe. Pushmataha stepped forth from behind the burned tree and the survivors asked him from where he had come. “From the Great Spirit,” he answered. He once said, “Pushmataha has no ancestors; the sun was his father, the moon, his mother. A mighty storm swept the earth midst the roar of thunder; the lightning split a mighty oak and Pushmataha stepped forth a full- fledged warrior.” Some historians credit Pushmataha as much as Andrew Jackson for victory in the War of 1812. Pushmataha and his 700 warriors also served Jackson and