Sardis, one of the two seats of justice of Panola County, was incorporated in 1857, and Dr. S. F. Dunlap was its first mayor. The town was named by Mr. W. H. Alexander, who was the first postmaster and is now proprietor of the town of Mastodon in the western part of the county.
The church houses in Sardis are Methodist (South), Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopal and Catholic. Other denominations have organizations but no house of worship. Sardis has a population of one thousand, and is an enterprising station on the Illinois Central railroad.
Batesville, farther south on the same line, is the seat of justice of the second judicial district of Panola county. It has a population of six hundred and twenty-five.
Back to: Mississippi Counties, Cities and Towns, 1891
Source: Biographical and Historical Memories of Mississippi, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1891