There he built the Mississippi Manufacturing Company which produced a fine quality cotton fabric.

The mills became famous for the quality of cotton fabric produced which was dubbed "Mississippi silk" at the Centennial celebration of 1876.

A product of the Industrial Revolution, the mills in Wesson began to utilize the new technology of the rapidly changing age.

It was said that passengers on the evening train would rush to the windows when passing through Wesson in order to see the marvelous lights.

Financial difficulties followed by the economic Panic of 1893, family conflict, and labor disputes caused the mills to fall into receivership in the early 1900s.

Exit 48 on Interstate 55 is located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of town on Mount Zion Road.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.5 km2), all land.

In the fall of 1978, the Copiah County superintendent of education assumed responsibility for the high school.

To meet this need, Copiah-Lincoln Community College was organized during the summer of 1928 under the authority of Section 308, Chapter 283, of the General Laws of the State of Mississippi of 1924.

Since its establishment in 1928, Copiah-Lincoln has continued to grow and now occupies a prominent position in the state's educational system with an enrollment of over 2,000 and a physical plant valued at more than $35 million.

In 1934, the officials of Simpson County requested an opportunity to join in the rights and benefits of the public junior college.