Agency, Mississippi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Agency
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 Agency, Mississippi
Location in Mississippi
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| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Oktibbeha |
| Elevation | 348 ft (106 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 682878 |
Agency (also known as Choctaw Agency) is a ghost town in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. A ghost town is a place where most people have left, leaving behind empty buildings.
This community started in the early 1800s. It was a special trading post where the government could connect with the Choctaw people. Today, it's just a quiet rural area with a few roads.
A Trading Post for the Choctaw
Agency began as a government trading post. This was a place where people could trade goods and the government could talk with the Choctaw people. The post was located on the Robinson Road. This road was very important. It connected the cities of Columbus, Jackson, and Natchez. It was also the second oldest road in Mississippi!
Government workers started working at Agency around 1813. A man named Colonel Ward was in charge. His house was made of large logs. It had a brick cellar that was sometimes used to hold people who had run away from plantations. People who had been enslaved and ran away from plantations in Mississippi and Alabama sometimes sought help from the Choctaw people. The Choctaw, who also owned enslaved people, would sometimes bring these individuals to Colonel Ward.
The early settlement also had a storehouse, a blacksmith shop, and stables for horses. The main agency house was left empty in 1832. The building was taken down in the 1840s.
The Choctaw council house was located near the Noxubee River. This was about 2.5 miles (4 km) southeast of Agency. This spot later became known as "Council Bluff."
A Busy Stagecoach Stop
By the 1850s, Agency was a very busy place. It was an important stop for stagecoaches. These were like old-fashioned buses pulled by horses. Agency became even more active in trade than nearby Starkville.
A famous person, Jefferson Davis, even gave a speech at the community center in Agency in the 1850s. He later became the president of the Confederate States.
Agency had many important buildings and groups. It had a school and a post office by 1854. It also had a Masonic Grand Lodge from 1861 to 1872.
The Town's Decline
In 1870, Agency had a population of 4,170 people. But then, something big changed. The Mobile and Ohio Railroad built a train line about 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Agency. This was a problem because Agency didn't have its own train station.
Without easy access to the railroad, the town's businesses started to struggle. By 1887, Agency's last store closed down. In 1894, the last doctor moved away to Starkville. By 1900, the population of Agency had dropped to just 30 people. In 1905, its post office closed for good.
Today, Agency is mostly covered by forest. You can still find some homes along Robinson Road, but it's a quiet place now.
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