A Mississippi Genealogy & History Collection
Georgetown, Mississippi is a small town in eastern Copiah County, perched along the Pearl River where Mississippi Highways 27 and 28 meet. The area originally belonged to the Choctaw Nation, and long before there was a town, Indigenous trails and early wagon routes passed through the site, making it a natural stopping point for travelers heading between eastern Mississippi, Alabama, and the Mississippi River settlements. After the early 1800s Choctaw land cessions opened the region to American settlement, farms, trading stops, and river landings slowly took shape along the riverbank, eventually giving rise to a small community that would become Georgetown.
The town developed around transportation — first the river, then the railroad, and later the highways. When rail lines crossed the Pearl River near Georgetown, the community gained shipping access for timber, farm products, and supplies, giving it the ingredients for a thriving rural town. Businesses, homes, churches, and stores clustered along what became Railroad Avenue, and Georgetown grew steadily through the early and mid-20th century. Evidence of that era remains today, including the Alford-Little House south of town and the Pearl River bridge on Highway 28, both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Like many small Southern towns, Georgetown eventually felt the impact of shifting economic patterns. River traffic faded, railroads consolidated or rerouted, and industrial opportunities moved elsewhere. As agriculture modernized and younger generations sought jobs in larger cities, the population gradually declined from a mid-century high of over 400 residents to 252 recorded in the 2020 census. Storefronts that once served everyday needs went quiet, leaving the town with the quiet, time-capsule feel visitors notice today — the kind that makes you wonder if you accidentally drove into a history book.
Despite its size, Georgetown has never fully faded. Local pride runs deep, and efforts to sustain community life continue — one example being the town board’s decision in the 2010s to support a restaurant so residents would still have a gathering place. Modern Georgetown may be small, but it retains a distinctive identity shaped by the river, the railroad, and generations of families whose histories are tied to the surrounding farmland and pine woods.
Today, Georgetown stands as a reminder of how geography once determined a town’s fate — how a river crossing, a rail line, and a roadway could create a community. Its slower pace, preserved structures, and well-worn street grid still hint at the busier decades that came before. For historians, genealogists, and curious travelers, it offers a glimpse into rural Mississippi’s past — proof that even the smallest towns have long stories, just told in a quieter voice.
