The Magnolia State is full of surprises, and one of the biggest is the Mississippi River Basin Model in Jackson. At 200 acres, it’s the biggest small-scale model in the world! It’s an amazingly unique gem, which makes the fact that it was abandoned and left to decay, pretty shocking.

Billed as the Army Corps of Engineers’ “most ambitious research project,” the Mississippi River Basin Model is in Jackson’s Buddy Butts Park.
Emily Pace Hunt/Google
Today, it’s abandoned and overgrown.
Absolutely massive, the 200-acre model portrays 41% of the U.S. and the more than 15,000 miles of rivers that make up the Mississippi River Basin!
US Army Corps of Engineers/Wikimedia
It's so big that it can only be seen in its entirety from the air.
The model was commissioned following two severe floods – the Great Flood of 1927 and the Great Flood of 1937.
Friends of Mississippi River Basin Model/Facebook
Prior to its construction, the Mississippi River could only be studied section-by-section. However, after the Great Flood of 1937, it became clear that the river is complex and needed to be studied as a whole.

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Work on the model began in 1943, and wasn’t completed until 1966. That’s 23 years!
Friends of Mississippi River Basin Model/Facebook
Because World War II was going on when the model was built, manpower was limited. And so, the Army Corps of Engineers had to utilize the manpower available - Italian and German POWs. The laborers, some of whom were German engineers, were actually handpicked for the project.
Once complete, the model was used for 79 simulations, with each lasting several weeks, sometimes months.
Friends of Mississippi River Basin Model/Facebook
Researchers gathered a great deal of info from the model. In fact, the info gathered from one simulation prevented major flooding in Omaha.
Not only a useful tool, but the model was once a popular tourist destination, too.
US Army Corps of Engineers/Wikimedia
In its heyday, it drew about 5,000 people a year.
Shockingly, the model was used for less time than it took to build!
Friends of Mississippi River Basin Model/Facebook
In the 1970s, computer modeling was the norm, rendering the model useless. By 1990, the Army Corps of Engineers gave the model to the city of Jackson. The city couldn’t afford to maintain it, and so, they simply abandoned it.

Luckily, all hope isn’t lost for the model. The group, Friends of the Mississippi River Basin Model, are currently working to restore the model as well as Buddy Butts Park. For more info on this massive model, check out the Friends of the Mississippi River Basin Model website or Facebook page.

So, did you know about this abandoned model? Have you seen it in person? If so, what’d you think? Tell us!

This isn’t the state’s only abandoned site. Click here for a route that leads to some of the state’s most interesting abandoned places.

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Buddy Butts Park, 6180 McRaven Rd, Jackson, MS 39209, USA