Rocky Springs Church
by Susan Rissi Tregoning
Title
Rocky Springs Church
Artist
Susan Rissi Tregoning
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The Methodist church, built in 1837; and a small graveyard are all that remains of the town of Rocky Springs, Mississippi. In the late 1790s, this town grew up around Rocky Spring, a watering hole, along the Natchez Trace. By 1860, 2616 people lived here; the settlement included three merchants, four physicians, four teachers, three clergy and 13 artisans; and it supported 54 cotton planters with 28 overseers and over 2000 slaves in approximately at 25 square mile area.
During the Civil War the town started to decline, a letter written in 1863 states, “My slaves, horses, and mules are carried off. My fence is torn down and my crops destroyed.” In the summer and fall of 1878, yellow fever struck the area; there were 180 cases and 43 deaths. Although Rocky Springs attempted to recover from the yellow fever epidemic; the boll weevils migrated through in the early 1900s devastating the cotton crops, and the natural spring started to dry up. After that, the population declined rapidly putting an end to this once prosperous rural community. The last store closed its doors in 1930. The church still held services until 2010 when its congregation became too small.
Rocky Springs ghost town can be accessed at milepost 54.8 along the Natchez Trace Parkway or from the Old Port Gibson Road.
Copyright 2019 Susan Rissi Tregoning
Uploaded
April 23rd, 2019
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