Leota, Mississippi
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Leota is a
ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
located in
Washington County, Mississippi Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,922. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is named in honor of the first president of the United States, George Washingt ...
, United States. The settlement, along with its river port Leota Landing, were at one time located directly on the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
.


History

Both Leota and Leota Landing were established on the Leota Plantation, founded in 1825 by Isaac Worthington. The plantation was located a few miles north on the Mississippi River from the former county seat of
Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
. The plantation was named by Worthington's daughter Annie, after a favorite fictional character. Leota was a leading river port between
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
and
Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...
, and was a shipping point for cotton. Leota was incorporated in 1882. The settlement had a post office, and a population of 50 in 1900. Little remains of the settlement, which is today covered by forest and a portion of the Mississippi River levee.


Notable people

* Wilford Horace Smith - The first black lawyer to win a case before the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
.


References

{{authority control Former populated places in Washington County, Mississippi Former populated places in Mississippi Mississippi populated places on the Mississippi River