Shankstown, Mississippi is an extinct settlement that was located two miles northeast of Coonbox and six miles north of Old Greenville in Jefferson County, Mississippi. Shankstown stood along the Natchez Trace.[1] Shankstown was established by tavern keeper John H. Shanks around 1810, and that town was originally incorporated as Louisville, Mississippi in 1825, but was still commonly called Shankstown.[1] The settlement had a U.S. post office and a number of businesses in the first half of the 19th century.[1] There was a stagecoach route between Port Gibson and Natchez that stopped at Shankstown three times a week.[2]
According to the Mississippi Historical Society in 1901, Shankstown was "named for a gentleman, Mr. Shanks, who had a hotel at this place at an early date. This town was not laid off into blocks, though it contained a large number of houses, a store or two, a cabinetmaker's shop, a blacksmith's shop, etc. The place is now owned and occupied by colored people."[3] A few "sheds" still stood at the site of Shankstown into the 1950s.[1] In 1963, there were plans for a nature trail past the site of Shankstown.[4]
All that remains of Shankstown today is a cemetery, believed to have about 20 graves, but only one has a grave marker.[1]
The name survives in Shankstown Creek.[1]
- ^ a b c d e f "Shankstown Now Just a Name". The Vicksburg Post. August 17, 1986. p. 10. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- ^ "Towns That Were Thriving Are No More". Clarion-Ledger. July 14, 1957. p. 50. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- ^ Riley, Franklin L. (1902). "Extinct Towns and Villages". Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society. V: 347. Retrieved August 17, 2024 – via HathiTrust.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Shankstown to Raccoon Box: Nature Being Preserved for Recreation on Trace". Clarion-Ledger. June 16, 1963. p. 62. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
