Austin, Mississippi

Austin, Mississippi
Unincorporated community
Austin, Mississippi
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Tunica
Elevation	197 ft (60 m)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	38676
GNIS feature ID	666428

Austin is an unincorporated community in Tunica County, Mississippi.

Once a thriving shipping port on the Mississippi River, Austin served as county seat from 1847 to 1888. Earlier county seats were Commerce and Peyton.

History

Austin was founded in 1847 and named for Austin Miller, who donation land on which the town and a courthouse were built.

Austin was burned in 1863 by Union soldiers of the Mississippi Marine Brigade under the command of Alfred W. Ellet. Two houses were spared.

The town rebuilt and was incorporated in 1871, though it is no longer incorporated.

In 1884, the area was flooded when a nearby levee broke. When waters receded, a large sandbar had been left between the town and the Mississippi River, and steamboats could no longer land. The completion of the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway 3 mi (4.8 km) east of Austin in the late 1880s further contributed to its isolation.

In 1888, the county seat was moved to Tunica, a more accessible location.

The construction of the Hardin Cutoff in 1942, which created Tunica Lake, moved the Mississippi River an additional 7 mi (11 km) west of Austin.

Notable person

• Sport McAllister (1874-1962), professional baseball player.