Agency (also Choctaw Agency) is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

located in

Oktibbeha County, Mississippi Oktibbeha County is a county in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census the population was 51,788. The county seat is Starkville. The county's name is derived from a local Native American word meanin ...

, United States. Established in the early 1800s as a trading post with the

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

people, the community today is a rural crossroads.

History

Agency began as a government trading post established to maintain contact with the Choctaw people. The post was located on the Robinson Road, about east of the

Noxubee River 200px, right The Noxubee River (NAHKS-uh-bee) is a tributary of the Tombigbee River, about long, in east-central Mississippi and west-central Alabama in the United States. Via the Tombigbee, it is part of the watershed of the Mobile River, whi ...

. Robinson Road connected the cities of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

, and

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

, and is the second oldest road in Mississippi. Government workers were employed at Agency as early as 1813, and Colonel Ward was in charge. Ward's house fronted the north side of Robinson Road, and consisted of two large rooms made of hewn logs. The cellar was made of brick, and was described as a "dungeon" used to confine fugitive slaves. Slaves who fled plantations in Mississippi and Alabama would seek asylum with the Choctaw people. The Choctaw, themselves slave owners, would deliver the fugitives to Colonel Ward, who would lock them in stocks in his cellar. The early settlement also had a storehouse, blacksmith shop, and stables. The agency house was abandoned in 1832, and the building was demolished in the 1840s. The Choctaw council house was situated on the east bank of Noxubee river, about southeast of Agency, just north of the county line. The place later became known as "Council Bluff". By the 1850s, Agency had flourished as a stagecoach stop, and had exceeded nearby Starkville in trade.

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

spoke at the community center in Agency in the 1850s. Agency had a school, a post office by 1854, a Masonic

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge (or Grand Orient or other similar title) is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge or Grand Orient is the us ...

from 1861 to 1872, and one of Oktibbeha County's three "dens" of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

. John J. Walker and his wife Marie lived in Agency during the mid-1800s. A letter addressed to "Mrs. John J. Walker, Choctaw Agency, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi" has been preserved in the archive at Mississippi State University Library. The stamped envelope, however, was made public and sold for $21,000. By 1870, Agency had a population of 4,170 people. Around that time, the

Mobile and Ohio Railroad The Mobile and Ohio Railroad was a railroad in the Southern U.S. The M&O was chartered in January and February 1848 by the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It was planned to span the distance between the seaport of Mobile ...

completed a line east of Agency. Without railway access, the town's prosperity was undermined, and by 1887, Agency's last store closed. In 1894, its last doctor moved to Starkville. By 1900, Agency had a population of 30, and in 1905, its post office closed. Agency today is covered by forest, and there are some homes on Robinson Road.

References

External links

Map of Mississippi from 1831 showing the location of Agency
{{authority control Former populated places in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi Former populated places in Mississippi