About the town » Pontotoc, Pontotoc County, Mississippi, United States

Pontotoc is a city in Pontotoc County, Mississippi, located to the west of the much larger city of Tupelo. The population was 5,625 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Pontotoc County. Pontotoc is a Chickasaw word meaning "Land of Hanging Grapes". The famous outlaws Jesse and Frank James and their gang once hid at an old house which was used as a Union Army hospital during the Battle of Harrisburg or Battle of Tupelo. The house was located at a crossroad in east Pontotoc County, near the Lee County line. The Town Square Museum is located in the old US post office near the county courthouse. This historic building houses Pontotoc memorabilia and continues to operate as a full-service post office. A mural in the museum's lobby titled The Wedding of Ortez and SaOwana - Christmas 1540 depicts the first recorded Christian marriage on the North American continent. It was said to have occurred between Juan Ortez and Princess Saowana, daughter of Chief Uceta, of the Florida Seminole tribe. The wedding is said to have taken place in Pontotoc County during a visit by explorer Hernando de Soto. The mural was painted by Joseph Pollet in 1939 under the arts program of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).