The town of Batesville was a secondary frontier community, lacking the river location of Panola and Belmont, the two leading towns of that day in North Mississippi. Old Panola, as it is now called, was located about one mile northwest of the present site of Batesville, and was a bitter rival of Belmont for the location of the county seat in 1864. Batesville has always been the center of excellent agricultural lands, thriving on the proceeds of farming and livestock raising since it was settled. Today, with pride in its rich past, and expectation in a brilliant future, Batesville looks confidently to the years to come with the same spirit that made that history so rich and colorful. The same ambition and determination makes Batesville on of the leading towns in North Mississippi, a prosperous trading center which never ceases to strive for growth and accomplishment.