A name from the Choctaw nation
Long before any map was drawn, the Choctaw people knew this river well.
They called it chikashsha-ahi – roughly “Chickasaw potato” – a name rooted in the plants and people of this land. The Choctaw were the original stewards of what is now Greene County, fishing these waters and moving through its forests for generations.
When European settlers arrived in the early 1800s, they found the town of Leakesville situated right on the river’s western bank – and for good reason. The Chickasawhay was the highway of its era. Small steamboats traded goods at Leakesville’s riverfront, pushing north into the pine belt interior. The town grew up around that river, and in many ways it still does.
“During its early days the river served as the
primary highway for commerce, with small
steamboats trading at Leakesville and ascending
farther north.”
– Leakesville City History
35 million years of history – literally in the riverbank
Paddle close to the cut banks along the Chickasawhay and you’re reading a geology book written over 35 million years. This area was once the floor of an ancient sea – the Mississippi Embayment – and the fossils left behind are remarkable. Mollusks, snails, and sea creatures are embedded in the exposed clay bluffs, and some species found along this river were the first of their kind ever studied anywhere on earth.
Geologists and fossil hunters have been coming to this river for decades. For a visitor on a paddle trip, it adds another layer to the experience: you’re not just floating down a river, you’re moving through deep time.
Best times to visit near Leakesville
The Chickasawhay has a personality for every season – though spring and fall are the sweet spots for most visitors.