Possumneck Traditional Cache

This series highlights some cities, towns, and communities in Mississippi that have unusual names.

Possumneck, MS:  This community got its name from the shape of the area of wooded bottom land that it covered.  Apart from its rather strange-sounding name, Possumneck was well-known for another reason. It was in this area of Attala County around the turn of the 20th century that a few of the county's less than "reputable" businesses decided to set up shop. And it was for this reason that Possumneck also became known as "Dark Corner." Because the timber business was thriving in that area of Attala county in the early 1900's, the community known as Possumneck eventually grew large enough to maintain a post office. But when the Great Depression caused sawmills in the area to shut down, the less than reputable businesses that no longer had paying customers also closed their doors or moved on to more profitable locations across the Big Black River. The post office soon closed, and today Possumneck is but an extinct town with only a blurred memory of its somewhat colorful past.