Logtown, Mississippi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Logtown, Mississippi
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 Logtown, Mississippi
Location in Mississippi
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| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Hancock |
| Elevation | 7 ft (2 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 672774 |
Logtown, Mississippi is a fascinating ghost town located in Hancock County, Mississippi. It's one of many old towns found within a special 125,000-acre area. This area is known as the acoustic buffer zone for NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center. Logtown once sat right by the Pearl River. It was a very important place for logging and had a huge sawmill.
History of Logtown
Logtown was first called Cabanage Latanier. This name means "palmetto camp." We don't know much about its very early European history. The first person to own land here was Jean Baptiste Rousseve. In 1788, he was given 1000 arpens of land. He built a house where Logtown would later grow.
In 1805, Rousseve passed his land to Joseph Challon. The Challon family name stayed linked to the town for many years. As the timber business grew, the town became very important. It was then named Logtown because of all the logging.
Logging and Lumber Industry
The town's economy depended on cutting down trees and shipping lumber. The first sawmill was built in 1845 by E. G. Goddard. He came from Michigan to start his business.
In 1889, Henry Weston started the H. Weston Lumber Company. This company grew to be America's largest lumber business. It hired 1,200 men and used over 20 barges. They also had four large two-masted schooners. At its busiest time, the company supported a community of over 3,000 people.
By 1906, Logtown had about 500 residents. It had two churches, two stores, and an express mail office. It was a busy and active community.
Decline of Logtown
The H. Weston Lumber Company kept working in Logtown until 1930. By this time, most of the useful trees had been cut down. There wasn't much lumber left to harvest. Because of this, the town's population quickly dropped. It lost its importance as an industrial center.
By 1961, only about 250 people still lived in Logtown. Then, the Stennis Space Center was built nearby. Most of the remaining residents moved away after the center was constructed. A post office served Logtown from 1884 until 1963.
Logtown Today
Today, Logtown is mostly a quiet place. The only things left untouched are the Logtown cemeteries. There are three family cemeteries that are still privately owned. Some graves in these cemeteries date back to the 1850s.
If you walk along the Pearl River, you can find an artesian well. You can also see concrete and brick structures. These were once the foundations of old buildings.
A hiking trail called the Possum Walk Trail winds through the forest. It's about 3 miles long. The trail stretches between the NASA Infinity Science Center and Logtown. Along the trail, you can find many signs that share Logtown's history. You can even see parts of the old Dummy Line railroad.
