Rara Avis 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

Itawamba County, Mississippi Itawamba County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 23,863. Its county seat is Fulton. The county is part of the Tupelo, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area. The county ...

, approximately west of the

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

state line. Rara Avis was settled in 1850, and the town name translated to Latin means "rare bird". The population was 100 in 1900. A post office was established in 1902. Author and Baptist missionary James Garvin Chastain Sr., was born in Rara Avis in 1853.

References

External links

Photo of Rara Avis welcome sign
Former populated places in Itawamba County, Mississippi Former populated places in Mississippi {{US-ghost-town-stub