Most People Have Long Forgotten About This Vacant Ghost Town In Rural Mississippi
By Daniella DiRienzo|Published October 12, 2021
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Daniella DiRienzo
Author
Though Daniella was born in New York and has lived in a couple of other states, Mississippi has been her home for more than 30 years. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, Daniella began to hone her writing skills through various internships. In the years since, she’s had the privilege of having her articles appear in several publications, such as the Mississippi-based Parents & Kids Magazine. She’s also had the honor of interviewing actress Sela Ward for The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience.
Rodney and Rocky Springs are easily the most popular ghost towns in Mississippi, but they’re not the only ones. Mississippi is filled with ghost towns, like Electric Mills, that most have long forgotten about or never even heard of in the first place. However, like its more popular counterparts, the story of the rise and fall of Electric Mills is an interesting one.
Electric Mills is located along Highway 45 in Kemper County.
A far cry from the thriving community it once was, present-day Electric Mills is completely deserted. In fact, a historical marker is just about all that remains of Electric Mills.
At the time, using electricity to power a mill was a new concept. To put things into perspective – the mill at Electric Mills was the first fully functioning electric lumber mill east of the Mississippi River.
Electric Mills was basically owned by the mill, and because of such, the town’s population was comprised completely of mill employees and their families.
Electric Mills had lots of amenities that were usually reserved for larger cities.
The town’s affiliation with the mill had a few perks. For instance, all of the town’s buildings and dwellings had electric lights, which were provided by the mill – free of charge.
A flourishing community, Electric Mills had just about everything you can think of.
There was a church, men’s club, school, hospital, two hotels, a movie theater, train depot, auto garage, service station, several shops, including a barber shop, shoe shop, and meat market, and more.
Sadly, Electric Mills’ prosperity was short lived.
