Oktoc, Mississippi

Oktoc is an unincorporated community in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. Once known as "The Dairy Capital of the South," Oktoc is now home to several defunct dairy farms including Oak Ayr and Mactoc Farms, the largest two in the community. Oktoc has the oldest community club in the state and has not missed one single meeting since its beginning in 1927.[1][2]

Oktoc, Mississippi
Unincorporated community
Oktoc
The Oktoc Community Club in December, 2017
Nickname(s):  The Dairy Capital of the South
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Oktibbeha
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	662

Oktoc was served by East Oktibbeha High School, which was formed by the consolidation of B.L. Moor High School and Alexander High School until it was merged with Starkville High School in 2015.[3] Moor High was the Alma mater of Jerry Rice.[4] Oktoc was also the home of baseball player Fred Bell and his brother James "Cool Papa" Bell, one of the fastest baseball players of all time.[5]

History

The community's name derived from the Choctaw language purported to mean "prairie", perhaps via nearby Oktoc Creek.[6]

Today little remains but a community center and dilapidated country store.

Gentry's store in 2017. For many years this was the only store in Oktoc, Mississippi

References

1. Look Around Mississippi: Oktoc Community Club
2. Oakleys share memories of growing up in Oktoc
3. "The Plan for Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Archived 2017-05-26 at the Wayback Machine." Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. January 20, 2015. Retrieved on July 3, 2017.
4. "Rice's football career traced to Oktibbeha County". Archived from the original on 2014-06-07. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
5. Rogers, William. "Cool Papa Bell". Mississippi Historical Society. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
6. Baca, Keith A. (2007). Native American Place Names in Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-60473-483-6.