Roseacres, Mississippi

Roseacres, Mississippi
Unincorporated community
Roseacres
Roseacres
Coordinates: 34°23′44″N 90°27′00″W / 34.39556°N 90.45000°W / 34.39556; -90.45000Coordinates: 34°23′44″N 90°27′00″W / 34.39556°N 90.45000°W / 34.39556; -90.45000
Country United States
State Mississippi
County Coahoma
Elevation 177 ft (54 m)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
GNIS feature ID 676869[1]

Roseacres is an unincorporated community in Coahoma County, Mississippi.

The settlement was first called "Mound Place", and then "Priddy", before being renamed Roseacres.

History

In 1844, James L. Alcorn established a cotton plantation here called "Mound Place". He also opened a law office in nearby Friars Point. Alcorn would later become Governor of Mississippi.[2][3]

Mound Place had a post office from 1854-71.[4]

In 1863, during the American Civil War, forces of the Union Army were desperate to capture Vicksburg, located about 75 mi (121 km) south on the Mississippi River. The Yazoo Pass Expedition send Union gunboats into Yazoo Pass, which flowed next to Mound Place, in an attempt to follow a circuitous route of waterways down to Vicksburg. Union forces progressed as far as Greenwood, where a Confederate steamer was scuttled to block their progress. During the weeks when Union ships were passing Mound Place, first on their advance and then on their retreat, Mound Place was used as a temporary camp by Union soldiers. It was reported that the soldiers slaughtered Alcorn's cattle to feed their troops, rolled his carriages into Yazoo Pass, and destroyed his fences.[5][6]

The Mobile and Northwestern Railroad was laid in the 1870s, and a station was established at Mound Placed called "Priddy". The line was abandoned in 1983.[7][8]

An outbreak of smallpox occurred at Roseacres in 1882, with 20 cases noted and five deaths.[9]

The United States Nursery Company purchased the plantation in 1910, and the settlement was renamed "Roseacres". It became the largest rose plantation in the southern United States, with over 700 acres (280 ha) of land used to grow roses which were shipped across the United States. The company ceased operations in 1924.[2][10]

The Roseacres post office existed from 1910-24.[11]

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Roseacres
  2. 1 2 Cooper, Forrest Lamar (2011). Looking Back Mississippi: Towns and Places. University Press of Mississippi. p. 216.
  3. ↑ Smith, Jr., Myron J. (2012). The Fight for the Yazoo, August 1862-July 1864: Swamps, Forts and Fleets on Vicksburg's Northern Flank. McFarland. p. 141.
  4. ↑ "Post Offices - Mississippi". Jim Forte. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  5. ↑ Miller, Mary Carol (2010). Lost Mansions of Mississippi: Volume II. University Press of Mississippi. p. 116.
  6. ↑ Dumas, David (2012). Yazoo Pass Expedition, a Driving Tour Guide. AuthorHouse. p. 22.
  7. ↑ Hilton, George Woodman (1990). American Narrow Gauge Railroads. Stanford University Press. p. 431.
  8. ↑ "Mississippi Railroads" (PDF). Railwaystationlists. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  9. ↑ Biennial Report of the Departments and Benevolent Institutions of the State of Mississippi for the Years 1882-'83. J.L. Power, State Printer. 1884. p. 37.
  10. ↑ "The Slater Wight Memorial Award" (PDF). Southern Nursery Association. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Post Offices - Mississippi". Jim Forte. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
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