| Old Augusta Historic Site | |
| Designated Other1 Name: | Mississippi Landmark |
| Designated Other1 Link: | Mississippi Landmark |
| Designated Other1 Abbr: | USMS |
| Designated Other1 Color: |
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| Designated Other1 Number: | 111-NAU-5001-NR-ML |
| Designated Other1 Date: | January 13, 1999 |
| Designated Other1 Num Position: | bottom |
| Coordinates: | 31.2244°N -89.0497°W |
| Added: | April 24, 1979[1] |
| Refnum: | 79001334 |
The Old Augusta Historic Site contains the remnants of Augusta,[2] Mississippi, a town that was founded along the Leaf River in 1812 and abandoned between 1902 and 1906.[1] The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1999.
From 1818 until 1906, the town of Augusta served as the county seat for Perry County, Mississippi.[3] [4] It was considered a major commercial and administrative center because a United States General Land Office was located there.[5] In October and November 1833, the first public sale of Choctaw cession lands occurred in Augusta, Clinton, and Chocchuma.[6]
In the 1850s, Augusta was the site for the trial and hanging of the outlaw James Copeland.[7] In the 1890s, Davis Hawthorne was hanged in Augusta for the murder of his wife.[1]
When the Mobile, Jackson, and Kansas City Railroad[8] was constructed 2miles south of Augusta, the town was moved to the railroad and developed as New Augusta.
In 1983, Georgia-Pacific constructed the Old Augusta Railroad to haul products from the Leaf River Cellulose mill that was built adjacent to the site of Old Augusta.[9]
When the site was evaluated for the National Register of Historic Places during the 1970s, it was determined that the town had been divided into three spatial units—a government district, a business district, and a residential district.[1] But there was little more than brick and concrete rubble where buildings had once stood, and the area had reverted to woodland.