Rockport is an unincorporated community in Copiah County, Mississippi.[1]
Rockport, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
  Rockport  Rockport | |
| Coordinates: 31°47′42″N 90°09′23″W / 31.79500°N 90.15639°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Copiah |
| Elevation | 270 ft (80 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 676770[1] |
Located a short distance west of the Pearl River, Rockport was once a thriving railway town, though little remains of the original settlement.
History
editIndigenous people first occupied the area. Archeological remnants located near Rockport include pottery, copper beads, a sharpened point of a stake, skeletons, and mounds.[2]
The Galilee Baptist Church established west of the settlement in 1825, and is still located there.[3][4]
Rockport established in 1849.[3]
From 1856 to 1956, Rockport had a post Office.[5]
A company of the Confederate States Army was organized in Rockport in July 1861. Known as the "Rockport Steel Blades", they were part of the 6th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.[6]
In 1870, a bill was introduced in the Mississippi State Senate to establish a ferry across the Pearl River at Rockport.[7]
The early settlement had a drug store, barber shop, stores, Masonic lodge, and hotel called the Rockport Hotel.[3][8]
The New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad was built through the settlement in 1909, and Rockport was a flag stop.[3][9] Trains like The Rebel once passed through Rockport.[10] The line is now abandoned.[11]
By 1937, Rockport contained only a small store, gas station, post office and church.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b "Rockport". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Brown, Calvin S. (2012). Archeology of Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. p. 47. ISBN 9781617033490.
- ^ a b c d e Nelson-Easley, LaTricia M. (2007). Copiah County. Arcadia. p. 22. ISBN 9780738553009.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Galilee Church
- ^ "Post Offices - Mississippi". Jim Forte. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
- ^ "Company G - Rockport Steel Blades". 6th Mississippi Infantry Webpage. August 10, 2000.
- ^ Journal of the Senate of the State of Mississippi. Kimball, Raymond & Co., State Printers. 1870. p. 187.
- ^ Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi. Vol. 2. Goodspeed Brothers. 1891. pp. 203, 204.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form" (PDF). National Park Service. October 5, 1995.
- ^ "The Rebel". American-Rails.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
- ^ "Stations and Structures on Current and Former Railroad Lines in Mississippi". Mississippi Railroad Information. July 19, 2015.