Old Augusta Historic Site
Old Augusta Historic Site | |
 Aerial view of Historic Site | |
  Old Augusta Historic Site in Mississippi  Old Augusta Historic Site (the United States) | |
| Location | Perry County, Mississippi |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 31°13′28″N 89°02′59″W / 31.22444°N 89.04972°W |
| NRHP reference No. | 79001334 |
| USMS No. | 111-NAU-5001-NR-ML |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 24, 1979[2] |
| Designated USMS | January 13, 1999[1] |
The Old Augusta Historic Site contains the remnants of Augusta,[3] Mississippi, a town that was founded along the Leaf River in 1812 and abandoned between 1902 and 1906.[2] The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1999.
History
[edit]From 1818 until 1906, the town of Augusta served as the county seat for Perry County, Mississippi.[4][5] It was considered a major commercial and administrative center because a United States General Land Office was located there.[6] In October and November 1833, the first public sale of Choctaw cession lands occurred in Augusta, Clinton, and Chocchuma.[7]
In the 1850s, Augusta was the site for the trial and hanging of the outlaw James Copeland.[8] In the 1890s, Davis Hawthorne was hanged in Augusta for the murder of his wife.[2]
When the Mobile, Jackson, and Kansas City Railroad[9] was constructed 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Augusta, the town was moved to the railroad and developed as New Augusta.
In 1983, Georgia-Pacific constructed the Old Augusta Railroad to haul products from the Leaf River Cellulose mill that was built adjacent to the site of Old Augusta.[10]
Historic Site
[edit]When the site was evaluated for the National Register of Historic Places during the 1970s, it was determined that the town had been divided into three spatial units—a government district, a business district, and a residential district.[2] But there was little more than brick and concrete rubble where buildings had once stood, and the area had reverted to woodland.
References
[edit]- ^ "Mississippi Landmarks" (PDF). Mississippi Department of Archives and History. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
- ^ a b c d National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form (Old Augusta Historic Site) Retrieved 2014-11-12
- ^ Geographic Names Information System (Old Augusta, Mississippi) Retrieved 2014-11-12
- ^ Dunbar Rowland (ed). 1907. Encyclopedia of Mississippi History: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions and persons (Volume I) Retrieved 2014-11-13
- ^ Perry County Chancery Court—History of Perry County, Mississippi Retrieved 2014-11-13
- ^ "Land Patents in Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi, McCain Library and Archives". Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
- ^ Young, Mary Elizabeth (1961). Redskins, Ruffleshirts, and Rednecks. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 155. ISBN 0-8061-3435-6.
- ^ Pitts, J.R.S. 1874. Life and Bloody Career of the Executed Criminal, James Copeland. Pilot Publishing Co., Jackson, MS. (Available at Internet Archive [1]) Republished as: Pitts, J.R.S. 1909. Life and Confession of the Noted Outlaw James Copeland. (Available at Google Books [2]) Republished as: Pitts, J.R.S. and J.D.W. Guice. 1992. Life and Confession of the Noted Outlaw James Copeland. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.
- ^ Mississippi Rails Retrieved 2014-11-15
- ^ Howe, Tony. "Old Augusta Railroad". Mississippi Rails. Retrieved June 10, 2023.