The Je Ne Sais Quoi of Abandoned Places – Part One

I don’t know if you like to explore abandoned places, but I do. I enjoy wandering around ruins and imagining who lived there, what they did, how they lived, etc. Maybe it’s the writer in me or maybe just an inherent curiosity. I don’t know, but I’ve always sought out ghost towns when I’m traveling.

Here, in and around Vicksburg, I’ve discovered several such cool places and actually visited two in the fairly recent past. The first was a town that still exists – barely – has a zip code, and a few hearty residents living amongst the dilapidated buildings and aberrations. There’s even some efforts at preservation happening.

Located in Jefferson County, about 32 miles northeast of Natchez, Rodney (originally named Petit Gulf) was once an important city that nearly became the capital of Mississippi. Hard to believe, as you’re standing there staring at almost nothing, that this almost ghost town was such a bustling and important metropolis.

Here’s the history: As settlements along the Mississippi River grew, so did the importance of the port of Petit Gulf. In 1814, the name of the town was changed to Rodney, to honor Judge Thomas Rodney, the territorial magistrate who presided at the Aaron Burr hearing.

In 1828, the town of Rodney, consisting of about 20 buildings leading from the nearby river to the prominent bluff behind the town, was incorporated. By 1830, as river transportation continued to increase, Rodney had grown to a population of about 200, plus numerous residents occupying outlying areas. It sported 20 stores, a church, a newspaper, and the state’s very first opera house.

The Presbyterians built their own church in Rodney, the second in town, which still stands today. In fact, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The two-story red brick building was dedicated on January 1, 1832. Preservation efforts are underway today. (Notice the hole made by a cannonball just over the second-floor middle window.)

Presbyterian Church, Rodney, MS circa 2021 – Image by P. Rickrode

Like many towns of the time, yellow fever wiped out a large portion of Rodney’s residents, striking, not once, but twice in the next ten years. Despite the epidemics, Rodney continued to grow.

By the 1850s, Rodney had become the busiest port on the Mississippi River between New Orleans, Louisiana and St. Louis, Missouri. Many of the major steamboats of the era made Rodney one of their chief ports of call. It had grown to nearly 1,000 residents and boasted 35 stores, two banks, two newspapers, a large hotel, and several churches and schools.

Google Image

The next decade it grew even faster, quadrupling its size to 4,000 residents by 1860. Its main streets were lined with thriving businesses including banks, wagon makers, tinsmiths, barbers, doctors, dentists, general mercantiles, hotels, saloons, and pastry shops.

Then things changed. Dramatically. Though Rodney and the surrounding area had been spared any great battles, the American Civil War left its mark on Rodney, the beginning of the end for this once-thriving port city. The buildings and people who remained after the war ended, suffered another devastating blow in 1969 when nearly the entire town was destroyed by fire.

Rodney, MS circa 1940 – Image by Marion Post Wolcott

General Store, Rodney, MS circa 2021 – Image by P. Rickrode

But the greatest disaster occurred when a large sand bar formed in the Mississippi River in 1870, causing the grand waterway to alter its course. With the river now two miles west of Rodney, the town lost its riverfront and port. With so many buildings destroyed by the fire and river commerce lost, many of the people who’d previously stuck it out, left the area. Rodney’s population further declined when the Natchez, Jackson & Columbus Railroad bypassed Rodney altogether, the final nail in the proverbial coffin.

All of the photos in the slideshow below were taken by me last year when I visited.

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If you’re interested in reading more about Rodney’s history, and I encourage you to do so, here is a link (also where I got some of the information for this post): https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ms-rodney/

Are you guys explorers? Do you like to walk down abandoned streets of once-thriving towns? Do you peek into abandoned buildings? If you’re ever in the area, I encourage you to check out Rodney. It’s kind of cool. Then book a room at my inn, since you’re so close and all. (wink)

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Word of the Day: Tatterdemalion

Fun fact about me: I wish I was a better photographer.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, January 2022. Images by P. Rickrode, M. P. Wolcott, and Google.