OVERVIEW
Clark Plantation stood at Attalaville (near Sallis) on the Big Black River in Attala County, Mississippi. Founded and operated by Silas H. Clark (1814–1864), the site comprised two large plantations and was closely tied to Clark’s New Orleans commission house, Thompson & Clark. Clark also built a bridge and turnpike across the Big Black on the road toward Goodman. The nearby trading point Valena occupied the western part of a plantation formerly owned by Clark. Clark is buried at Kosciusko City Cemetery.
Quick Stats:
- 38 enslaved (1850)
- 31 enslaved (1860)
- Named enslaved individuals pending probate/deed extraction.
ENSLAVED PERSONS
1860 Slave Schedule (Abstract)
- Jurisdiction: Attala County, Mississippi
- Households:
- Silas H. Clark – 31 enslaved
1850 Slave Schedule (Abstract)
- Jurisdiction: Attala County, Mississippi
- Households:
- Silas H. Clark – 38 enslaved
ENSLAVERS
- Silas H. Clark (PER-CLARK-SilasH-1814-01) – planter; founder of Attalaville; owned two large plantations; partner in Thompson & Clark (New Orleans commission business); constructed bridge & turnpike across the Big Black River. Family context & inheritance network: Brothers Robert L. Clark (large plantation on the Big Black River) and Simon S. Clark (farm & tannery) lived at Attalaville; post–Civil War changes in these family holdings likely affected enslaved communities tied to the site.
Enslaver Families
- Clark family – Silas H. Clark (1814–1864, planter; founder of Attalaville); wife: Louisa L. (Buford) Clark (1829–1907, wife m.1850); children: Robert Sledge Clark (1852–1922), Silas Walter Clark (1855–1857), Dr. Charles Buford Clark (1858–1899), Leila Clark Brown (1861–1935).
Cross-Plantation Links
- None documented yet.
RESEARCH TO-DO
- Pull probate/estate files (wills, inventories, distributions) for Silas H. Clark and immediate family to identify named enslaved people and heir allocations.
- Search Attala deed books for bills of sale/hire and interfamily transfers (Clark, Ashley, McCrory, Peeler).
- Review Freedmen’s Bureau (Kosciusko field office) for labor contracts and complaints naming formerly enslaved people from Clark’s plantation.
- Map BLM GLO patents and historical plats to fix exact tract locations along the Big Black River; correlate with Valena and Attalaville.
- Scan local newspapers (Chronicling America; Mississippi titles) for sale notices, obituaries, estate ads, and river-trade references to Thompson & Clark.
SOURCES
- Find a Grave. “Silas H. Clark” (Memorial ID 49929207). Birth 10 Nov 1814; death 7 Jan 1864; burial Kosciusko City Cemetery. SRC-FAG-49929207 – https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49929207/silas-h.-clark
- Find a Grave. “Lydia Louise Buford Clark” (Memorial ID 49929206). Wife of Silas H. Clark; 1829–1907. SRC-FAG-49929206 – https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49929206
- FamilySearch Person Page. “Louisa Lydia Buford (1829–1907).” Reports marriage to Silas Harrison Clark on 24 Dec 1850, Attala Co., MS. SRC-FS-LouisaBuford – https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/94CY-9ZK/louisa-lydia-buford-1829-1907
- MSAHS/RootsWeb. “Brief history for Towns and Communities of Attala County” (Attalaville/Valena). SRC-ROOTS-ATTA-ALLABOUT3 – https://sites.rootsweb.com/~msahs/allabout3.html
- AHGP. “Attala County, Mississippi” (historical notes incl. Valena/Attalaville). SRC-AHGP-ATTALA – https://ahgp.org/ms/attala_county-mississippi.html
- Wikipedia. “Valena, Mississippi” (western part of a plantation formerly owned by S. H. Clark). SRC-WIKI-VALENA – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valena%2C_Mississippi