New Mexico, Mississippi

New Mexico, Mississippi
Ghost town
New Mexico Location within the state of Mississippi
Coordinates: 32°58′40″N 91°05′11″W / 32.97778°N 91.08639°WCoordinates: 32°58′40″N 91°05′11″W / 32.97778°N 91.08639°W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Washington
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)

New Mexico is a ghost town located in present-day Issaquena County, Mississippi, United States. New Mexico became extinct prior to the creation of Issaquena County in 1844, so the settlement existed only within Washington County, Mississippi.

Located directly on the Mississippi River, New Mexico was the first county seat of Washington County.^[1]

In 1827 the United States Congress established a post road from New Mexico to the courthouse in Yazoo County, Mississippi.^[2]

In 1830, Princeton was named the county seat after New Mexico "caved into the river".^[1]:7

Location and description

A map of Washington County from 1828 showing New Mexico slightly below the 33rd circle of latitude

Swiss water-colorist Karl Bodmer traveled down the Mississippi River in the 1820s, and recorded New Mexico's location as "below the mouth of the Arkansas River".^[1]:9 Bodmer painted New Mexico on the Mississippi, depicting the settlement's inhabitants and layout.^[3][4]

Historians have stated that New Mexico was located near present-day Mayersville.^[1]

References

1. Hall, Russell S.; Nowell, Princella W.; Childress, Stacy (2000). Washington County, Mississippi. Arcadia. pp. 7, 9.
2. "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875; Bills and Resolutions, House of Representatives, 19th Congress, 2nd Session". U.S. House of Representatives. 1827.
3. Black, Patti Carr (1988). Art in Mississippi, 1720-1980. University Press of Mississippi. p. 84.
4. Witte, Stephen S.; Gallagher, Marsha V., eds. (2014). The North American Journals of Prince Maximilian of Wied: May 1832 – April 1833. 1. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 293.