Princeton 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
Washington County, Mississippi
Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 51,137. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is named in honor of the first President of the United States, George Washingt ...
, United States.
Once a busy port on the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, Princeton today is covered by forest and a portion of the Mississippi Levee. Nothing remains of the settlement.
History
Princeton was named for William Berry Prince, who settled on nearby Lake Jackson with his wife Sarah S. Jefferies in the early 1820s. Princeton was one of the first towns in the
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo ...
.
In 1830, Princeton became Washington County's second county seat after the first county seat,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
, caved into the Mississippi River.
The Mississippi River flowed directly west of Princeton, and Princeton Landing was the town's port. Across the river in Arkansas was the now-extinct town of Grand Lake.
The Mississippi Legislature incorporated the Lake Washington and Deer Creek Railroad and Banking Company in 1836. Based in Princeton, the railroad began constructing a line east from the town to Lake Washington and
Deer Creek. The intent was to move cotton by railroad to Princeton, where it could be shipped by boat along the Mississippi River. Only a portion of the railroad bed was completed before the company's charter was repealed in 1839.
In 1838, the steamer ''
Oronoko'' was anchored in the port at Princeton when a boiler blew, killing between 100 and 150 on board. Most of the passengers were recent immigrants traveling north from
. After a second explosion on the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
that same week killed 150, the U.S. government passed its first legislation requiring steamboat owners to take measures to protect those on board.
An early settler to Washington County was Junius Richard Ward, who amassed a fortune in hemp, cotton, and mercantile and shipping interests. Ward built a mansion near Lake Washington, and also owned
Ward Hall Ward Hall may refer to:
* Ward Hall (Georgetown, Kentucky), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)
* Ward Hall (Ward, South Dakota), listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Moody County
* Ward Memorial Hall, Wood, ...
in Kentucky. Ward erected a 40-room mansion—against the advice of friends—overlooking the Mississippi River north of Princeton.
At its peak, Princeton had 600 residents, 12 stores, an inn, a bank, a private school, and a livery stable.
The county seat was moved to
Greenville in 1844.
By 1850, most of the town had caved into the river. The last remaining merchant, S.B. Lawson, sold the townsite and remaining buildings to a former slave for $125.
In 1858, Ward's mansion washed away in a flood.
The Mississippi River has since changed its course several miles west, and the former townsite is now located next to Carolina Chute, an oxbow lake.
Notable people
*
William H. Hammett, U.S. Representative from Mississippi.
References
External links
Map from 1842showing the location of Princeton in Mississippi
{{authority control
Former populated places in Washington County, Mississippi
Former populated places in Mississippi
Mississippi populated places on the Mississippi River
Former county seats in Mississippi