The Chickasawhay Natural Gas District is elated to celebrate providing quality service to the local community for 75 years now.
Back in 1950, a group of men in Clarke County and Wayne County, consisting of Quitman Mayor S.B. Kirkland, Shubuta Mayor W.L. Weems, and Waynesboro Mayor Dan Hendrix, recognized a need in the community for a natural gas line to service the area. As a solution to the need, the men and their attorney, Tally D. Riddell of Quitman, contacted the Mississippi State Legislature to form the Chickasawhay Natural Gas District.
As a result, the Chickasawhay Natural Gas District was formed as a district for Clarke and Wayne County as a political subdivision of the state and created to bring cheap fuel to the area. It was not created to make a profit for a private company or individuals. It was established and is governed by a Board of Directors and a manager. The first manager for the newly formed Chickasawhay Natural Gas District was Frank Brown.
For the City of Quitman, the option of natural gas officially became reality on March 7, 1951. The city celebrated the successful installation of natural gas with a ceremony at The Clarke County Courthouse at 6:00 that evening. Quitman Mayor Edgar Harris lit a large natural gas torch with a Roman candle as part of the celebration.
The Town of Shubuta had a similar celebration on April 12, 1951, with Shubuta Mayor H.A. Green lighting a large natural gas torch with a Roman candle. They were thrilled to have meters for customers in the area to be turned on in the area starting on Friday morning, April 13. Consumers in DeSoto had their meters turned on starting Tuesday, April 17.
For the City of Waynesboro, consumers were thrilled to have natural gas available to them starting on Monday, June 25, 1951.
When they officially started in 1951, the Chickasawhay Natural Gas District served around 650 customers. Originally, they only covered the municipalities, but they eventually began to expand to surrounding areas in the county. Thanks to the area expansion and number of consumers who would like to use natural gas over the years, their number of customers over the years has steadily increased. Now in 2026, they have more than 3,300 customers that they provide with quality service and natural gas.
They are still run by a Board of Directors and a manager. The only difference is that the original board only consisted of three individuals and it later changed to a five person board and then again to the current seven person board. The current board is made up of Quitman Mayor Chris Reeves, Shubuta Mayor Cedric Chapman, Waynesboro Mayor Scott Frost, Adam Fleming, Matthew Skidmore, Jerry Hutto, and Kenny Odom. The current manager is Mike Evans.
Out of everything they have accomplished over the past 75 years in business, they are most thankful for the customers they are able to serve each day.
“We really appreciate our customers over all these years,” proclaimed Evans. “It’s changed a lot over the years and we’ve grown, but the customers are always there. We wouldn’t be here without our customers, and the Chickasawhay Natural Gas Board, our employees, and I all just want to thank our customers and make sure they know how much we appreciate them.”
They strive each day to provide what their customers need. Along with natural gas, they also sell water heaters, heaters, and gas logs for customers to use.
Anyone who may be interested in acquiring natural gas from them simply has to call their office at 601-776-8887 and let them know where they live so they can determine if the address in located in their area of service.
