In 1829, three commissioners, including John B. Peyton, were appointed by
U.S. President Andrew Jackson to find a place near the center of
Hinds County for the
county seat. The current location of Raymond is a ridge about a mile from the center of the county, and was selected because the actual center was low and subject to flooding. The town of Raymond received its charter from the
Mississippi legislature on December 15, 1830. Because of its status as a seat of justice and its proximity to the
Natchez Trace, Raymond developed quickly into a prosperous small
town whose prosperity and small size have continued to this day. In the late 1840s, Cooper's Well, a property near Raymond with a well that provided
sulphured water, was developed into a resort for those seeking the perceived health benefits from its ingestion. Construction of a new county
courthouse was begun at the center of the town square in 1857 and completed in 1859; the work was largely done by enslaved African Americans. The courthouse is still in use as a secondary location of county legal matters (the city of Jackson having become the primary county seat). The
Raymond courthouse is "...a prime example of
Greek Revival style". The
Battle of Raymond was fought by
Confederate and Union soldiers near Raymond on May 12, 1863 as part of
General Ulysses S. Grant's
Vicksburg Campaign during the
Civil War. Four days later, the pivotal
Battle of Champion Hill was won by Grant's troops and sealed the fate of
Vicksburg. Grant stayed at Waverly, the plantation of John B. Peyton, and Union soldiers used St. Mark's Episcopal Church as a hospital. Blood stains can still be seen on the church's floor from that period. Construction of a water tower was begun in 1903 in the center of the town square. It and the courthouse are landmarks for the town. A small agricultural high school was opened in 1917; it developed as
Hinds Community College, which has several sites and the largest student body of any college in the state. ==Geography==