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Shankstown

Ghost town · Jefferson County, Mississippi

Lorman quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1939, 1:62,500)
Lorman quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1939, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Shankstown is a ghost town in Jefferson County, Mississippi. It is one of 14 former communities in Jefferson County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 12th among the 57 Mississippi counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Shankstown as a historical populated place on the Lorman topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 31.8146° N, 91.0293° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleLorman
Elevation276 ft
Nearest living townFayette, MS
Distance to it7.3 miles
GNIS feature ID707704
Coordinates31.81461, -91.02927

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Shankstown is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Fayette, MS (population 1,602), about 7.3 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 276 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Shankstown?

Shankstown is in Jefferson County, Mississippi, at 31.8146, -91.0293.

How many ghost towns are in Jefferson County?

Jefferson County, Mississippi has 14 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.