Episode 199 The Devil's Road: The Ghost Town of Rocky Springs

Once a thriving community along the Natchez Trace, Rocky Springs, Mississippi, has nearly vanished into the woods. An old brick church, a cemetery, and a handful of remnants are all that remain of a town once home to thousands. In Part Three of The Devil's Road, Southern Mysteries explores the forgotten history and haunting legends of one of Mississippi's most intriguing ghost towns.

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Episode Sources

• National Park Service. Rocky Springs Town Site. Natchez Trace Parkway.
• National Park Service. Civil War: Rocky Springs Area. Natchez Trace Parkway.
• National Park Service. Hiking the Rocky Springs Section of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail.
• Historic American Buildings Survey. Rocky Springs Park, Mission 66 Structures. HABS No. MS-291.
• Historical Marker Database. The Town of Rocky Springs Historical Marker.
• Mississippi Genealogy and History Network. Rocky Springs Historic Cemetery. Claiborne County, Mississippi.
• Mississippi State University Extension Service. Rocky Springs, MS. Bug's Eye View, Vol. 2, No. 27, 2016.
• John Y. Simon, editor. The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, Volume 8: April 1–July 6, 1863. Southern Illinois University Press, 1979.
• U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Volume XXIV.
• Mississippi State University Libraries. Orville Elias Babcock Diaries.
• Emilye Crosby. A Little Taste of Freedom: The Black Freedom Struggle in Claiborne County, Mississippi. University of North Carolina Press, 2005.
• J. L. Power. The Epidemic of 1878 in Mississippi: Report of the Yellow Fever Relief Work. 1879.
• Mississippi Encyclopedia. “Yellow Fever.”
• The Richmond Planet. “Horrible Crimes.” May 12, 1894.
• Equal Justice Initiative. Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror.
• Mississippi Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. 2010 Conference Journal.
• Alan Huffman. “Finis.” April 18, 2010.
• Karen Steele. “Learning from the Grandmothers: Sarah.”
• Karen Steele. “Learning from the Grandmothers: Joan.”

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.