Osyka, Mississippi is a small town in Pike County, on the border of Mississippi and Louisiana. The community’s early economy was based on timber, which was gradually supplanted by cotton production as its timber resources waned. Founded on land owned by Jesse Redmond and John Carter in 1854, upon speculation of the coming of the railroad. When Osyka was chartered in 1858, it had a small Jewish population which was a significant part of the community’s legacy. When the railroad reached the town, about fifty additional Jewish families came to Osyka, mostly immigrants from Prussia, Germany, Alsace and Bavaria, where they were persecuted. In Osyka, they set up businesses as merchants, sales clerks, and horse traders, building the town’s first school, bakery, butcher shop, barber shop, and wheelwright. The Jewish synagogue in Osyka predated the first churches by two years, as the Episcopal and Presbyterian churches were established in 1859. The town’s Jewish population was well integrated within the community, serving as aldermen and in other civic positions, and some of its Jewish citizens were members in the local Lion’s Club and Masonic Order. During the American Civil War, the town served as a Confederate center for agriculture and as a weapons depot, and was negatively impacted by both sides. When Union troops came through the town, they destroyed many of its buildings and cotton crops, but Confederate General Lee’s troops took most of the town’s food, whiskey, horses, mules, boots and shoes, as well as much of its stores of corn and meal. In the early 1900s, many of the town’s Jewish people left for New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and its synagogue and German school were closed by 1900, and today the only evidence of the town’s Jewish population is the Jewish cemetery, which is maintained by the Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Nearby communities include Chatawa, Emerald, and Gladhurst, in Mississippi, as well as Greenlaw and Kentwood, Louisiana.
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Offering two year-round rental cabins in Osyka, Mississippi, near the Mississippi-Louisiana border, each with one bedroom and a queen-size bed, an upstairs loft with two twin beds, and a futon, as well as a rental house with five bedrooms. Directions, rates and contacts are posted, along with a list of amenities.
http://www.alfordslakecabins.com/
The Osyka, Mississippi congregation meets on Sundays and Wednesdays. A weekly schedule is published, along with a calendar of upcoming programs and events, prayer requests, and an overview of its ministries. The church’s pastor and staff are introduced, with contacts and office hours.
http://www.gillsburgchurch.com/
Established in 1852, the cemetery serves the Osyka, Mississippi community. Photographs of the grounds and many of the memorials stones and markers are featured, with the names, dates of birth and death, and other information about the people interred there. Visitors to the site may upload additional photos and information for inclusion.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=61753
A campus of South Pike School District, the Osyka, Mississippi campus is located on Amite Street, offering a K-6th grade curriculum. A profile of the school, school calendar, menus and a monthly newsletter are posted, and a directory of faculty and staff is included.
http://www.southpike.org/4/home
Dedicated on Armed Forces Day in 2005, the park commemorates the role that Osyka, Mississippi has played in having produced a greater number of commissioned officers than other comparable communities. A history of the project is put forward, along with photographs and a list of deceased local veterans.
http://osykaveteranspark.com/
