Rodney is a former city in Jefferson County in southwest

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, approximately northeast of

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 ...

. Rodney was founded in 1828, and in the 19th century, it was only three votes away from becoming the capital of the

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi. T ...

. Its population declined to nearly zero after 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 ...

changed course. The Rodney Center Historic District is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Today a small number of inhabitants remain, keeping Rodney alive as a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

though the internet considers it 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'' ...

. Reliable data is hard to find as the town is not listed as a separate entity by the census bureau, nor did

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bother to visit it.

Early history

Rodney was originally settled by the French in January 1763 and named Petit Gouffre, meaning "Little Chasm". As a result of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

, the area was taken by Great Britain. Spain would later control this area after taking

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...

from the British in 1781. Spain held the area until selling it to Thomas Calvit in 1798. "In 1802, Judge Wm. B. Shields of Delaware was appointed to the Mississippi Territory and arrived at Rodney or "Petit Gulph" in the company of Judge Thomas Rodney, who was also of Delaware." The city was later renamed Rodney in 1828 in honor of Judge Thomas Rodney.

Structures

The Old Rodney Presbyterian Church was dedicated in 1832. It is located at the middle section of the town, across the Rodney – Red Lick – Lorman Road from Alston Grocery Store. Formerly at the south edge of the town was Sacred Heart Catholic Church, built in 1869. On the southeast corner of Rodney lies Alston's Grocery, operated by the Alston family since 1915.

Population

The 1850 United States Census listed the population of Rodney as 210.

Notable people

* James Cessor, member of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

from 1871 to 1877 *

Thomas Hinds Duggan Thomas Hinds Duggan (20 April 1815 – 26 December 1865) was an early Texas settler and two-time Texas State Senator from Guadalupe County, Texas. Duggan was born in Jefferson County, Mississippi to Edmund Duggan and the former Elizabeth Alston ...

, former member of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...

* Bill Foster, member of the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

Charles Pasquale Greco Charles Pasquale Greco (October 29, 1894 – January 20, 1987) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana from 1946 to 1973. Greco also served as the supreme chaplain o ...

, Bishop of Alexandria in Louisiana from 1946 to 1973 and Supreme Chaplain of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

from 1961 to 1987 * Reuben C. Weddington, former member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

References

External links

RoadsideAmerica.com: Rodney, MSBlog about Rodney, MS
{{authority control Federal architecture in Mississippi Former populated places in Jefferson County, Mississippi Ghost towns in Mississippi Gothic Revival architecture in Mississippi Populated places established in 1828 1828 establishments in Mississippi Mississippi populated places on the Mississippi River