Huntington, Mississippi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Huntington
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 Huntington
Location in Mississippi
Huntington
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Bolivar |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Huntington is a ghost town in Bolivar County, Mississippi, in the United States. It was once an important place for shipping goods along the Mississippi River.
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History of Huntington
This settlement was first known as "Wilkerson" or "Wilkerson's Landing".
In the 1870s, Oscar L. Shelby married the widow of Thomas Jefferson Wilkerson. The town grew on land that belonged to the Wilkerson family. Oscar Shelby later became a representative for Mississippi, helping make laws for the state.
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Wilkerson had a small store and a few simple homes.
A New Name and the Railroad
In 1885, a new part of the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway reached Wilkerson. The town's name was then changed to "Huntington". This was done to honor Collis Potter Huntington, a very important person in the railroad business. He also started the Columbus and Greenville Railway.
The railway came to Huntington because it was right across the Mississippi River from Arkansas City, Arkansas. Arkansas City was where another big railway, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, ended. A special ferry owned by that railway would carry goods and even train cars across the river between the two towns.
Life in Huntington
Huntington had its own post office from 1885 to 1903.
The town officially became a city on March 6, 1886. In the same year, a large sawmill was built there. This sawmill provided wood to build most of the homes and other buildings in Huntington, and also for trading with other places.
Challenges and Disappearance
Huntington faced big floods in 1890, 1897, and 1903. These floods likely made it hard for the town to continue.
Even though Huntington no longer exists as a town, its name lives on in several nearby places. A large area of land where the town once stood is now called "Huntington Point". A sand bar in the Mississippi River is known as "Huntington Bar". There's also a levee (a wall to hold back water) called "Huntington Point Revetment". You can even get to the old town site by a road named "North Huntington Point Road".
