Duncansby, Mississippi

Duncansby, Mississippi
Ghost town
Locations in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, and Issaquena County, Mississippi; Duncansby on far right
Locations in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, and Issaquena County, Mississippi; Duncansby on far right
Duncansby is located in Mississippi
Duncansby
Duncansby
Duncansby is located in the United States
Duncansby
Duncansby
Coordinates: 32°57′51″N 91°04′47″W / 32.96417°N 91.07972°W / 32.96417; -91.07972
CountryUnited States
StateMississippi
CountyIssaquena
Elevation
102 ft (31 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID687591[1]

Duncansby is a ghost town in Issaquena County, Mississippi, United States.[1]

Duncansby was located on a stretch of the Mississippi River known as Duncansby Chute.[2]

History

In 1844, nearby Skipwith became the first county seat. In 1848, the county seat was moved to Duncansby. Later that year, the county seat was moved to Tallula.[3]

In 1887, the town had about 100 residents, several stores, and three fraternal organizations.[4] However the construction of the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway had already led to a significant decrease in the use of the River port at Duncansby.[4] In 1900, Duncansby had two churches, and a population of 157.[5] A post office operated from 1874 to 1919.[6]

During the 19th century, the town erected dikes to reduce river flooding.[2] The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction of the Sarah Cutoff in 1935, which created Old River Chute, an oxbow lake, and removed Duncansby from the contiguous Mississippi River.[7]

Nothing remains of the former community.

References

  1. ^ a b "Duncansby Landing, Mississippi". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ a b Annual Report of the Mississippi River Commission. Mississippi River Commission. 1884. p. 423.
  3. ^ Hellmann, Paul T. (2006). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Routledge. p. 599. ISBN 1135948593.
  4. ^ a b "Issaquena County by W. E. Collins". The Weekly Democrat-Times. Greenville, Mississippi. 1887-10-01. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
  5. ^ Rowland, Dunbar (1907). Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Vol. 1. Southern Historical Publishing Association. p. 666.
  6. ^ "Issaquena County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  7. ^ Bragg, Marion (1977). "Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River" (PDF). Mississippi River Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-24.
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