Town We Serve – Brandon MS

Brandon Mississippi was incorporated in 1831 on 40 acres of land and is named after Governor Gerard Brandon. The town did not expand beyond 40 acres until 1840. Population growth was encouraged by the arrival of the railroad in 1836.

The town burned during Sherman’s Civil War March to the Sea. A monument in the center of town is thought to be where Sherman’s army stacked arms.

Yellow fever epidemics decimated Brandon in eighteen seventy-one, seventy-eight, eighty-eight, and ninety-one, with seventy-eight being the worst year. Street lights were added in nineteen eleven and paved streets in nineteen seventeen. A fire destroyed downtown in nineteen twenty-four. The effects of the Great Depression were not as severe in Brandon as it was an agricultural town.

Brandon was the site of yearly beauty contests, with winners going to the Miss Mississippi pageant. Mary Ann Mobley of Brandon was Miss America in 1959, and she later appeared in numerous TV shows.

Brandon is a Top 100 Small Town in America as selected by Forbes Magazine. The population is close to 30,000. Attorney Joey Franks is the DUI Lawyer for Brandon MS.

Brandon MS website https://www.brandonms.org/