@ 000 acres ( 810 ha ) , Richard McLemore , the first settler of Meridian , began offering free land to newcomers to attract more settlers to the region and develop the area . Most of McLemore 's land was bought in 1853 by Lewis A. Ragsdale , a lawyer from Alabama . John T. Ball , a merchant from Kemper County , bought the remaining 80 acres ( 0 @.@ 32 km2 ) . Ragsdale and Ball , now known as the founders of the city , began laying out lots for new development on their respective land sections .   There was much competition over the proposed name of the settlement . Ball and the more industrial residents of the city supported the name " Meridian , " believing the term to be synonymous with " junction " ; the more agrarian residents of the city preferred " Sowashee " ( meaning " mad river " in a Native American language ) , from the name of a nearby creek ; and Ragsdale proposed " Ragsdale City . " Ball erected a station house on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad – the sign on which would alternate between " Meridian " and " Sowashee " each day . Eventually the continued development of the railroads led to an influx of railroad workers who overruled the others in the city and left " Meridian " on the station permanently . The town was officially incorporated as Meridian on February 10 , 1860 .   Meridian was a small village at the start of the American Civil War in 1861 . Its strategic position at the railroad junction led to the Confederate construction of several military installations to support the war . During the Battle of Meridian in 1864 , General William Tecumseh Sherman led troops into the city , destroying the railroads in every direction , as well as an arsenal and immense storehouses ; his forces burned much of the buildings to the ground . Sherman is reported to have said afterwards , " Meridian , with its depots , store @-@ houses , arsenal , hospitals , offices , hotels , and cantonments no longer exists . " Despite the destruction , the railroad lines in the city were rapidly repaired , back in operation 26 working days after the battle . Race relations remained tense during the Reconstruction era , with the riot of 1871 following a fire that damaged many businesses .   The town boomed in the aftermath of the Civil War , and experienced its " Golden Age " from 1880 to 1910 . The railroads in the area provided for a means of transportation and an influx of industries , which caused a population boom . As the population rose , commercial activity increased in the downtown area . Between 1890 and 1930 , Meridian was the largest city in Mississippi and a leading center for manufacturing in the South . Many of the city 's historic buildings were built during and just after this era , including the Grand Opera House in 1890 , the Wechsler School in 1894 , two Carnegie libraries in 1913 , and the Threefoot Building , Meridian 's tallest skyscraper , in 1929 .   The city continued to grow thanks to a commission government 's efforts to bring in 90 new industrial plants in 1913 and a booming automobile industry in the 1920s . Even through the stock market crash of 1929 and the following Great Depression , the city continued to attract new businesses . With escapism becoming popular in the culture during the depth of the Depression , the S. H. Kress & Co. building , built to " provide luxury to the common man , " opened in downtown Meridian , as did the Temple Theater , which was used as a movie house . The federal courthouse was built in 1933 as a WPA project .   After a brief slowdown of the economy at the end of the Depression , the country entered World War II , which renewed the importance of railroads . The rails were essential to transport gasoline and scrap metal to build military vehicles , so Meridian became the region 's rail center again . This renewed prosperity continued until the 1950s , when the automobile and Interstate Highway System became more popular than passenger rails . The decline of the railroad industry caused significant job losses , resulting in a population decline as workers left for other areas .   During the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s , Meridian was home to a Council of Federated Organizations ( COFO ) office and several other activist organizations . James Chaney and other local residents , along with Michael Schwerner , his wife Rita , and Andrew Goodman , volunteers from the North , worked to create a community center , holding classes to help prepare African Americans in the area to regain the power to vote . Whites in the area resented the activism , and racial tension often resulted in violence . In June 1964 , Chaney , Schwerner , and Goodman went to Neshoba County , Mississippi , to meet with members of a black church that had been bombed and burned . The three disappeared that night on their way back to Meridian . Following a massive FBI investigation , their murdered bodies were found two months later , buried in an earthen dam .   Seven Klansmen , including a deputy sheriff , were
@ Ġ000 Ġacres Ġ( Ġ8 10 Ġha Ġ) Ġ, ĠRichard ĠMcL em ore Ġ, Ġthe Ġfirst Ġsett ler Ġof ĠMeridian Ġ, Ġbegan Ġoffering Ġfree Ġland Ġto Ġnewcomers Ġto Ġattract Ġmore Ġsettlers Ġto Ġthe Ġregion Ġand Ġdevelop Ġthe Ġarea Ġ. ĠMost Ġof ĠMcL em ore Ġ' s Ġland Ġwas Ġbought Ġin Ġ18 53 Ġby ĠLewis ĠA . ĠR ags dale Ġ, Ġa Ġlawyer Ġfrom ĠAlabama Ġ. ĠJohn ĠT . ĠBall Ġ, Ġa Ġmerchant Ġfrom ĠKem per ĠCounty Ġ, Ġbought Ġthe Ġremaining Ġ80 Ġacres Ġ( Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ32 Ġkm 2 Ġ) Ġ. ĠR ags dale Ġand ĠBall Ġ, Ġnow Ġknown Ġas Ġthe Ġfounders Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġbegan Ġlaying Ġout Ġlots Ġfor Ġnew Ġdevelopment Ġon Ġtheir Ġrespective Ġland Ġsections Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThere Ġwas Ġmuch Ġcompetition Ġover Ġthe Ġproposed Ġname Ġof Ġthe Ġsettlement Ġ. ĠBall Ġand Ġthe Ġmore Ġindustrial Ġresidents Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġsupported Ġthe Ġname Ġ" ĠMeridian Ġ, Ġ" Ġbelieving Ġthe Ġterm Ġto Ġbe Ġsynonymous Ġwith Ġ" Ġjunction Ġ" Ġ; Ġthe Ġmore Ġag r arian Ġresidents Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġpreferred Ġ" ĠS ow as hee Ġ" Ġ( Ġmeaning Ġ" Ġmad Ġriver Ġ" Ġin Ġa ĠNative ĠAmerican Ġlanguage Ġ) Ġ, Ġfrom Ġthe Ġname Ġof Ġa Ġnearby Ġcreek Ġ; Ġand ĠR ags dale Ġproposed Ġ" ĠR ags dale ĠCity Ġ. Ġ" ĠBall Ġerected Ġa Ġstation Ġhouse Ġon Ġthe ĠMobile Ġand ĠOhio ĠRailroad ĠâĢĵ Ġthe Ġsign Ġon Ġwhich Ġwould Ġalternate Ġbetween Ġ" ĠMeridian Ġ" Ġand Ġ" ĠS ow as hee Ġ" Ġeach Ġday Ġ. ĠEventually Ġthe Ġcontinued Ġdevelopment Ġof Ġthe Ġrail roads Ġled Ġto Ġan Ġinflux Ġof Ġrailroad Ġworkers Ġwho Ġoverr uled Ġthe Ġothers Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġand Ġleft Ġ" ĠMeridian Ġ" Ġon Ġthe Ġstation Ġpermanently Ġ. ĠThe Ġtown Ġwas Ġofficially Ġincorporated Ġas ĠMeridian Ġon ĠFebruary Ġ10 Ġ, Ġ1860 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMeridian Ġwas Ġa Ġsmall Ġvillage Ġat Ġthe Ġstart Ġof Ġthe ĠAmerican ĠCivil ĠWar Ġin Ġ1861 Ġ. ĠIts Ġstrategic Ġposition Ġat Ġthe Ġrailroad Ġjunction Ġled Ġto Ġthe ĠConfederate Ġconstruction Ġof Ġseveral Ġmilitary Ġinstallations Ġto Ġsupport Ġthe Ġwar Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠMeridian Ġin Ġ18 64 Ġ, ĠGeneral ĠWilliam ĠTec um se h ĠSherman Ġled Ġtroops Ġinto Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġdestroying Ġthe Ġrail roads Ġin Ġevery Ġdirection Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġan Ġarsenal Ġand Ġimmense Ġstore houses Ġ; Ġhis Ġforces Ġburned Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe Ġbuildings Ġto Ġthe Ġground Ġ. ĠSherman Ġis Ġreported Ġto Ġhave Ġsaid Ġafterwards Ġ, Ġ" ĠMeridian Ġ, Ġwith Ġits Ġdep ots Ġ, Ġstore Ġ@ - @ Ġhouses Ġ, Ġarsenal Ġ, Ġhospitals Ġ, Ġoffices Ġ, Ġhotels Ġ, Ġand Ġcant on ments Ġno Ġlonger Ġexists Ġ. Ġ" ĠDespite Ġthe Ġdestruction Ġ, Ġthe Ġrailroad Ġlines Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġwere Ġrapidly Ġrepaired Ġ, Ġback Ġin Ġoperation Ġ26 Ġworking Ġdays Ġafter Ġthe Ġbattle Ġ. ĠRace Ġrelations Ġremained Ġtense Ġduring Ġthe ĠReconstruction Ġera Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġriot Ġof Ġ18 71 Ġfollowing Ġa Ġfire Ġthat Ġdamaged Ġmany Ġbusinesses Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġtown Ġbo omed Ġin Ġthe Ġaftermath Ġof Ġthe ĠCivil ĠWar Ġ, Ġand Ġexperienced Ġits Ġ" ĠGolden ĠAge Ġ" Ġfrom Ġ1880 Ġto Ġ1910 Ġ. ĠThe Ġrail roads Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġprovided Ġfor Ġa Ġmeans Ġof Ġtransportation Ġand Ġan Ġinflux Ġof Ġindustries Ġ, Ġwhich Ġcaused Ġa Ġpopulation Ġboom Ġ. ĠAs Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġrose Ġ, Ġcommercial Ġactivity Ġincreased Ġin Ġthe Ġdowntown Ġarea Ġ. ĠBetween Ġ1890 Ġand Ġ1930 Ġ, ĠMeridian Ġwas Ġthe Ġlargest Ġcity Ġin ĠMississippi Ġand Ġa Ġleading Ġcenter Ġfor Ġmanufacturing Ġin Ġthe ĠSouth Ġ. ĠMany Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġhistoric Ġbuildings Ġwere Ġbuilt Ġduring Ġand Ġjust Ġafter Ġthis Ġera Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe ĠGrand ĠOpera ĠHouse Ġin Ġ1890 Ġ, Ġthe ĠWe ch s ler ĠSchool Ġin Ġ18 94 Ġ, Ġtwo ĠCarnegie Ġlibraries Ġin Ġ1913 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠThree foot ĠBuilding Ġ, ĠMeridian Ġ' s Ġtallest Ġskysc raper Ġ, Ġin Ġ1929 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġcity Ġcontinued Ġto Ġgrow Ġthanks Ġto Ġa Ġcommission Ġgovernment Ġ' s Ġefforts Ġto Ġbring Ġin Ġ90 Ġnew Ġindustrial Ġplants Ġin Ġ1913 Ġand Ġa Ġbooming Ġautomobile Ġindustry Ġin Ġthe Ġ1920 s Ġ. ĠEven Ġthrough Ġthe Ġstock Ġmarket Ġcrash Ġof Ġ1929 Ġand Ġthe Ġfollowing ĠGreat ĠDepression Ġ, Ġthe Ġcity Ġcontinued Ġto Ġattract Ġnew Ġbusinesses Ġ. ĠWith Ġesc ap ism Ġbecoming Ġpopular Ġin Ġthe Ġculture Ġduring Ġthe Ġdepth Ġof Ġthe ĠDepression Ġ, Ġthe ĠS . ĠH . ĠK ress Ġ& ĠCo . Ġbuilding Ġ, Ġbuilt Ġto Ġ" Ġprovide Ġluxury Ġto Ġthe Ġcommon Ġman Ġ, Ġ" Ġopened Ġin Ġdowntown ĠMeridian Ġ, Ġas Ġdid Ġthe ĠTemple ĠTheater Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġused Ġas Ġa Ġmovie Ġhouse Ġ. ĠThe Ġfederal Ġcourthouse Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġin Ġ1933 Ġas Ġa ĠW PA Ġproject Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAfter Ġa Ġbrief Ġslowdown Ġof Ġthe Ġeconomy Ġat Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe ĠDepression Ġ, Ġthe Ġcountry Ġentered ĠWorld ĠWar ĠII Ġ, Ġwhich Ġrenewed Ġthe Ġimportance Ġof Ġrail roads Ġ. ĠThe Ġrails Ġwere Ġessential Ġto Ġtransport Ġgasoline Ġand Ġscrap Ġmetal Ġto Ġbuild Ġmilitary Ġvehicles Ġ, Ġso ĠMeridian Ġbecame Ġthe Ġregion Ġ' s Ġrail Ġcenter Ġagain Ġ. ĠThis Ġrenewed Ġprosperity Ġcontinued Ġuntil Ġthe Ġ1950 s Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthe Ġautomobile Ġand ĠInterstate ĠHighway ĠSystem Ġbecame Ġmore Ġpopular Ġthan Ġpassenger Ġrails Ġ. ĠThe Ġdecline Ġof Ġthe Ġrailroad Ġindustry Ġcaused Ġsignificant Ġjob Ġlosses Ġ, Ġresulting Ġin Ġa Ġpopulation Ġdecline Ġas Ġworkers Ġleft Ġfor Ġother Ġareas Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġthe ĠAmerican ĠCivil ĠRights ĠMovement Ġin Ġthe Ġ1960 s Ġ, ĠMeridian Ġwas Ġhome Ġto Ġa ĠCouncil Ġof ĠFeder ated ĠOrganizations Ġ( ĠCO FO Ġ) Ġoffice Ġand Ġseveral Ġother Ġactivist Ġorganizations Ġ. ĠJames ĠCh aney Ġand Ġother Ġlocal Ġresidents Ġ, Ġalong Ġwith ĠMichael ĠSch wer ner Ġ, Ġhis Ġwife ĠRita Ġ, Ġand ĠAndrew ĠGoodman Ġ, Ġvolunteers Ġfrom Ġthe ĠNorth Ġ, Ġworked Ġto Ġcreate Ġa Ġcommunity Ġcenter Ġ, Ġholding Ġclasses Ġto Ġhelp Ġprepare ĠAfrican ĠAmericans Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġto Ġregain Ġthe Ġpower Ġto Ġvote Ġ. ĠWhites Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġres ented Ġthe Ġactivism Ġ, Ġand Ġracial Ġtension Ġoften Ġresulted Ġin Ġviolence Ġ. ĠIn ĠJune Ġ1964 Ġ, ĠCh aney Ġ, ĠSch wer ner Ġ, Ġand ĠGoodman Ġwent Ġto ĠN esh oba ĠCounty Ġ, ĠMississippi Ġ, Ġto Ġmeet Ġwith Ġmembers Ġof Ġa Ġblack Ġchurch Ġthat Ġhad Ġbeen Ġbombed Ġand Ġburned Ġ. ĠThe Ġthree Ġdisappeared Ġthat Ġnight Ġon Ġtheir Ġway Ġback Ġto ĠMeridian Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġa Ġmassive ĠFBI Ġinvestigation Ġ, Ġtheir Ġmurdered Ġbodies Ġwere Ġfound Ġtwo Ġmonths Ġlater Ġ, Ġburied Ġin Ġan Ġe art hen Ġdam Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSeven ĠKl ans men Ġ, Ġincluding Ġa Ġdeputy Ġsheriff Ġ, Ġwere