In 1969, Mill Creek was only a creek. Highway 25 ended at Luckney Road. A drive-in movie theatre on Old Fannin Road, near the present Flowood Elementary School, provided local entertainment.
Crossgates subdivision in Brandon was just beginning. Castlewoods did not exist. Population was spreading out from Jackson. As Bob Stewart rode with a friend one day through the backwoods of northwest Rankin County, he envisioned the Reservoir as a place of great opportunities.
Bob recalls that residential development was moving slowly at the Reservoir. Access to the area where Millcreek Place is today was quite limited. One could drive through Flowood and onto Vine Street, or cross Spillway Road and follow Grants Ferry Road. Bob knew that plans for completing Highway 25 and eventually making it a four-lane road were in the works. This knowledge led him to choose the location where Millcreek Place is today.
Bob decided, after looking at the highway department map, the best place to develop a subdivision would be the closest point between the Reservoir and Highway 25.
Clearing the 180 acres of undeveloped, wooded acreage along Mill Creek, began at about the same time completion and expansion of Highway 25 began.
By this time Bob, a native Missourian, and his wife, Gloria, had begun their own business, Terraine Enterprises. He had already built homes in Eastover, Rolling Wood and East Manor subdivisions. Developing a subdivision was a venture much larger than building homes, Bob soon discovered.
As there was no water and sewer service, Bob had to put in a system which meant laying five miles of sewer forced main pipe and the creation of Noranco. It started providing water and sewer service for Millcreek Place, but has grown to provide service for Bellegrove, Northwoods, Hidden Hills, Northwest Rankin Attendance Center, St Paul’s Catholic Church, and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for a total of 1400 plus customers. The water and sewer utility service was sold to the City of Flowood, MS on May 27, 2010.
By 1975, a showcase of homes on Millcreek Drive was featured in the annual Parade of Homes. The neighborhood was constructed in three phases by several local builders, including Terraine Enterprises. Original plans include a six-acre lake which would border the back lots of homes on Westlake Drive. Flooding in 1979 and in 1980 – caused by heavy rainfall and siltation from upstream construction in Castlewoods – altered these plans. Bob was forced to remove the dam and dredge the creek to keep water flowing, not just from Millcreek Place, but from all development on the other side of Highway 25. Today, Millcreek Place is home to 194 families
