Overview

Location

Jefferson Co., MS. This plantation was right on the MS River just south of the town of Rodney, which had a busy MS River port in the 1800s. David Hunt's Southside Plantation was just to the south of Fatlands also on the banks of the MS River.

On the map at the following link, Fatlands Plantation was immediately south of the town of Rodney. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/maps/louisiana/parishmap/tensaslatourette1848.jpg

The plantation was at land coordinates T10N-R1W, section 5 and 6. This land originally belonged to Thomas Calvit. The land was acquired from Mr. Calvit's estate sometime after his 1821 death. These land coordinates can be found at the following two websites.

1. The General Land Office Records at the Bureau of Land Management website. http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/SurveySearch/Survey_Detail.asp?dmid=74216&Index=66&QryID=2095.385
2. The MS Department of Transportation website County Highway maps shows this land in modern times - the MS River shifted away from this land shortly after the Civil War. http://www.gomdot.com

Date Constructed/ Founded

1798 when Thomas Calvit purchased land on the MS River from the Spanish Government. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney%2C_Mississippi .

Associated Surnames

Calvie, Hunt

Historical notes

The name fatlands refers to farmland that is unusually fertile and productive. Fatlands Lake is where the MS River was before the Civil War. The River shifted away from Fatlands Plantation and the adjoining town of Rodney shortly after the Civil War.

The land that this plantation was on as well as the land that the adjoining town of Rodney was on was owned by Thomas Calvit. David Hunt bought the land sometime after Thomas Calvit's 1821 death. David's second wife, who died in childbirth shortly after her 1808 marriage to David, was Mary Calvit - Thomas Calvit's daughter. David Hunt donated some of this land for the building site of the Rodney Presbyterian Church.

From current satellite photos of this land showing the currently cleared fields, this plantation appears to have been about 600 to 700 acres. However, if the wood land of section 5 that surrounds the town of Rodney is included, the plantation's size would have been around 2,000 or even 2,500 acres.

This plantation was never a residence for any of the Hunt clan before the Civil War. It would have been operated for David Hunt by a plantation manager who lived on the plantation.

Associated Slave Workplaces

• See David Hunt's Woodlawn Plantation MS

Associated Free Persons

• David Hunt

Associated Enslaved Persons

From the 1860 Federal Slave Schedule, Jefferson Co. Transcribed by Tom Blake

*386 slaves - HUNT, David, Police Dist. 4, page 60B

(In 1860, Hunt owned several plantations in Jefferson County - so this 386 number of slaves would have been spread across all of these plantations.)

Research Leads and Plantation Records

• none reported yet

Miscellaneous Information

• none

References

*Plantations of David Hunt, by Andy McMillon. http://jeffersoncountyms.org/davidhunt.htm

*The Hunt Family of Jefferson County, by Andy McMillion. http://jeffersoncountyms.org/hunt_family.htm

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