Liverpool, Mississippi
Ghost town
Liverpool, Mississippi is located in Mississippi
Liverpool, Mississippi
Liverpool, Mississippi
Location within the state of Mississippi
Coordinates: 32°42′47″N 90°30′05″W / 32.71306°N 90.50139°W / 32.71306; -90.50139
CountryUnited States
StateMississippi
CountyYazoo
Elevation
328 ft (100 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID686677[1]

Liverpool is a ghost town in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. Liverpool Landing, the settlement's port on the Yazoo River, was located 0.9 mi (1.4 km) west of Liverpool.[2]

Liverpool Road runs through the former settlement, and Mississippi Highway 3 runs between the former settlement and its river landing.

History

Map from 1863 showing Liverpool

During the early and mid-1800s, Liverpool Landing was "the hub of a bustling community, a steamboat stop and a shipping point for cotton".[3]

During the American Civil War, Liverpool Landing's location at a bend in the Yazoo River made it an important defensive location for Confederate Army forces. Rugged, brush-covered hills rose abruptly on the eastern bank of the river, and one hill named "Rudloff Ridge" was selected for a defensive position.[4]

In June 1862, Confederate forces constructed a log chain raft across the Yazoo River at Liverpool Landing, in order to obstruct the movement of large Union Army ships.[5] The New York Times described the raft as "a perfect lock against ascending boats".[4] The Confederate vessels Arkansas, General Clark, General Earl Van Dorn, Livingston, Mobile, and Polk were sent to defend the raft.[5]

Another notable river battle occurred at Liverpool Landing from May 20 to 23, 1863, when Confederate commander William Wirt Adams engaged Federal Army gunboats there.[6]

The Confederate vessels Ivy and Capitol were scuttled at Liverpool Landing in an effort to obstruct the river.[5][7]

Liverpool and Liverpool Landing declined following the Civil War, when railroads largely replaced riverboat traffic.[3]

The Liverpool Baptist Church and Cemetery is still located at the former settlement.[8]

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Liverpool (historical)
  2. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Liverpool Landing
  3. 1 2 Ewing, Jim. "Mississippi Byways". Rootsweb. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Smith, Jr., Myron J. (2012). The Fight for the Yazoo, August 1862-July 1864: Swamps, Forts and Fleets on Vicksburg's Northern Flank. McFarland. p. 40. ISBN 9780786491100.
  5. 1 2 3 Owens, Harry P. (1990). Steamboats & Cotton Economy. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 45, 47, 62. ISBN 9781617034817.
  6. ↑ Rowland, Dunbar (1907). Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Vol. 2. Southern Historical Publishing Association. p. 911.
  7. ↑ Annual Reports. United States War Department. 1873. p. 483.
  8. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Liverpool Church
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