Rockport, Mississippi | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 31°47′42″N 90°09′23″W / 31.79500°N 90.15639°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Mississippi |
County | Copiah |
Elevation | 270 ft (80 m) |
Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
GNIS feature ID | 676770[1] |
Rockport is an unincorporated community in Copiah County, Mississippi.[1]
Located a short distance west of the Pearl River, Rockport was once a thriving railway town, though little remains of the original settlement.
Indigenous people first occupied the area. Archeological remnants located near Rockport include pottery, copper beads, a sharpened point of a stake, skeletons, and mounds.[2]
The Galilee Baptist Church established west of the settlement in 1825, and is still located there.[3][4]
Rockport established in 1849.[3]
From 1856 to 1956, Rockport had a post Office.[5]
A company of the Confederate States Army was organized in Rockport in July 1861. Known as the "Rockport Steel Blades", they were part of the 6th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.[6]
In 1870, a bill was introduced in the Mississippi State Senate to establish a ferry across the Pearl River at Rockport.[7]
The early settlement had a drug store, barber shop, stores, Masonic lodge, and hotel called the Rockport Hotel.[3][8]
The New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad was built through the settlement in 1909, and Rockport was a flag stop.[3][9] Trains like The Rebel once passed through Rockport.[10] The line is now abandoned.[11]
By 1937, Rockport contained only a small store, gas station, post office and church.[3]