About Us

Groundbreaking schools, an earth-shattering storm, Braxton has seen a lot since 1901.....

In 1889, automobiles didn't exist; the plantet Pluto was 40 years away from being discovered, but that year at the launch of Braxton's Collegiate Institute, students were already aiming high and moving fast, embarking on a course of learning that included Greek, Latin, higher mathmatics and even physics at one of the state's first high schools, a boarding school with two dormitories.  Braxton was the sort of community that believed in learning for all.

The town had been established around a physician's practice.  Braxton was named for the physician's son, Ira Braxton Standifer.  By the turn of the century, this thriving city had become a medical and retail hub for the region.  With the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad going stron, it seemed nothing could stop Braxton's growth.  But on April 26, 1921, the now notorious Braxton Cyclone struck, demolishing most of the town; the stock market crash and the depression followed.  Braxton weathered those upheavals with strength and dignity, and today visitors can learn about the Cyclone and Braxton's early days at the museum room of the Braxton Community Center as well as Town Hall.