Delta, Mississippi

Delta, Mississippi
Ghost town
Map published 1863, showing riverfront landmarks of Coahoma County including old Delta; Andrew Jackson refers to the plantation of Andrew Jackson Jr.
Delta
Coordinates: 34°24′16″N90°34′20″W / 34.40444°N 90.57222°W / 34.40444; -90.57222
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Coahoma
Elevation	174 ft (53 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID	691807 [1]

Delta is a ghost town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. During its heyday in the 1830s to the 1850s it was the county "seat of justice" and had some commercial significance due to its location on the Yazoo Pass connection from the Mississippi River to inland waterways. However, the town struggled to thrive due to frequent flooding and a rather malarial site. During the American Civil War the commercial buildings and residences of Delta were all burned down, apparently by Union troops hoping to disrupt cotton smuggling via the boat landing.

Delta today is covered by farmland and a portion of the Mississippi Levee. Nothing remains of the original settlement.

History

The town site was chosen because of its location on the crucial Yazoo Pass, which was the "principal water passage between the Mississippi and the Coldwater rivers. The Coldwater, in turn, provided access to the Tallahatchie, the Yalobusha and the Yazoo rivers." ^[2] In early years it was primarily a woodyard that sold fuel for wood-fired steamboat engines; other lumber products were also shipped from Delta. ^[2]

The county seat was moved from Port Royal to Delta in 1842.

In 1844, Delta was surveyed and laid off into 174 lots. ^[2] The town had a population of about 700, and was a busy steamboat port.

Delta incorporated in 1848. That same year, the river flooded the town, forcing many residents to relocate to nearby Friars Point. ^[2]

The county seat was moved to Friars Point in 1850. ^[3]

During the American Civil War, sometime in early December 1862, all of the buildings in Delta were burned down, possibly because the boat landing had been used as a transshipment point for cotton smugglers. ^[2]

A post office operated under the name Delta from 1840 to 1890, but the office was discontinued/closed and reorganized three times during that period of time. ^{[4] [5]}

By 1890, nothing remained of Delta. ^[6]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Delta, Mississippi
2. Abernathy, Harry (March 29, 1981). "Old Delta was once area's main town". The Clarksdale Press Register. p. 12. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
3. Kerstine, Margery (January 7, 2011). "Cotton-Family-Religion: Jewish Life in Coahoma County Mississippi, Delta History from 1836 to 1941, Prologue: 1721 to 1867". Margery Kerstine.
4. "Coahoma County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
5. Abernathy, Harry (March 29, 1981). "Surging river brought end to Delta". The Clarksdale Press Register. p. 13. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
6. Bragg, Marion (1977). Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River (PDF). Mississippi River Commission. p. 100. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2015.