Livingston is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located in

Madison County, Mississippi Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,145. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for Founding Father and U.S. President James Madison. Madison County is pa ...

, United States. Once a thriving commercial center, Livingston was nearly deserted by the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Recent commercial and residential development has revived the lost community.

History

In 1829, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

was moved from Beatties Bluff to Livingston. A courthouse and jail were built by 1833, and the town was incorporated in 1836. That same year, the county seat was officially moved to Canton, though Livingston "unofficially" remained the county seat until 1858, because its courthouse continued to be used until that year. Livingston became an important trading center for nearby plantations. A Methodist church was established in Livingston around 1830, and there was a

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

from 1854 to 1866, when Union forces ransacked and destroyed it. By the 1850s, railways had been established across the county, and Livingston had been bypassed. Most of the town's residents moved and businesses shut down, though the post office remained until at least 1902. The only remains of the original town are a cemetery, and the foundation of the court square.

New development

In 2012, a farmers market opened in Livingston, featuring food and entertainment. It became a popular summertime destination, and attracted performers such as country music singer

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In t ...

. Developers began a $73 million construction project in Livingston in 2013, which included an 1800s-style town square, men's barbershop, mercantile store, and office building. There is also a restaurant called "The County Seat". Two residential developments are also planned.

Notable people

* Scott Winfield Bond, businessman * Clarence B. Greaves, former member of the

Mississippi Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

and

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 for ...

* Stephen A. D. Greaves Jr., member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1908 to 1912, brother of Clarence Greaves

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Madison County, Mississippi Unincorporated communities in Mississippi