Leota is a ghost town located in Washington County, Mississippi, United States.[1] The settlement, along with its river port Leota Landing, were at one time located directly on the Mississippi River.[2][3]
Leota, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
  Leota | |
| Coordinates: 33°06′16″N 91°04′34″W / 33.10444°N 91.07611°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Washington |
| Elevation | 115 ft (35 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 687243[1] |
History
editBoth Leota and Leota Landing were established on the Leota Plantation, founded in 1825 by Isaac Worthington. The plantation was located a few miles north on the Mississippi River from the former county seat of Princeton.[4]
The plantation was named by Worthington's daughter Annie, after a favorite fictional character.[4]
Leota was a leading river port between Memphis, Tennessee and Vicksburg, Mississippi, and was a shipping point for cotton.[4]
Leota was incorporated in 1882.[5]
The settlement had a post office, and a population of 50 in 1900.[3]
Little remains of the settlement, which is today covered by forest and a portion of the Mississippi River levee.[4]
Notable people
edit- Wilford Horace Smith - The first black lawyer to win a case before the Supreme Court of the United States.[6][7]
References
edit- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Leota
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Leota Landing
- ^ a b Rowland, Dunbar (1907). Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Vol. 2. Southern Historical Publishing Association. p. 90.
- ^ a b c d Woods, Woody (2010). Delta Plantations - The Beginning. Troy (Woody) Woods. pp. 75, 76, 184. ISBN 9780615383958.
- ^ Laws of the State of Mississippi. Mississippi State Printer. 1882. p. 432.
- ^ Smith, Jr, J. Clay (1999). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 300. ISBN 0812216857.
- ^ Thompson, Julius E. (2006). Lynchings in Mississippi: A History, 1865-1965. McFarland. p. 30. ISBN 9781476604251.