Not many have heard of Sylvestria. However, that wasn’t always the case. At one time, it was a thriving railroad community with two schools, a church, and several large homes. Today, the only sign of Sylvestria’s existence is a defunct track of railroad and an overgrown cemetery.

The community of Sylvestria was located northeast of present-day Holly Springs.
Phillip Knecht, Contributed Photo
Today, an overgrown cemetery marks the site of the community.
It was founded in 1836 by Benjamin Cottrell, a wealthy planter from North Carolina.
Phillip Knecht, Contributed Photo
Upon his arrival, he built a log cabin. The cabin would eventually come to be known as Sylvestria, which means "cabin in the woods."
Malcolm McPherson and his wife, Mary Wall McPherson, were the next to move to Sylvestria.
Phillip Knecht, Contributed Photo
Following Malcolm’s death, Mary was joined in Sylvestria by her brother, William Wall. In 1846, the siblings built Sunnyside, a modest Greek Revival house. Another Wall sibling, Robert, and his wife Martha Pegues Wall moved to the area, too. Their home, which was known as Cloverland, was built in 1848.
Sylvestria flourished rather quickly, and by 1840, it had a church and two schools.
Phillip Knecht, Contributed Photo
The community’s first resident, Benjamin Cottrell, opened the Sylvestria Female Academy in his home in 1836. Then in 1837, he built a log cabin to serve as the Sylvestria Methodist Church. Many of the community’s original residents are buried in the cemetery pictured, which was located next to the church. In 1840, Cottrell’s brother opened the Sylvestria Male Academy.

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Sylvestria saw its heyday in the 1850s, when the Mississippi Central Railroad came to the area.
Phillip Knecht, Contributed Photo
The railroad ran right through Sylvestria, making it extremely easy to send and receive goods. Additionally, it was a "flag stop," which meant residents had easy access to rail travel.
In the years that followed the Civil War, Sylvestria began to slowly dwindle away.
Phillip Knecht, Contributed Photo
A big loss came in 1925, when Cottrell’s home burned down. Not long after, Cloverland saw a similar fate and was also destroyed by a fire. In 1931, tragedy struck again, when the church caught fire.
All is not lost, though.
Phillip Knecht, Contributed Photo
The columns from Cloverland were preserved and can actually be seen today – they were added to Greenwood in Holly Springs in the 1930s.
What’s more, a couple of prominent figures come from Sylvestria.
Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History/Wikimedia
First, there’s Elias Cottrell, who became a bishop and founded the Mississippi Industrial College in 1905. Also from Sylvestria, Edward Hull "Boss" Crump Jr. went on to become the Mayor of Memphis.

For more information on Sylvestria, check out the Hill Country History website.

So, did you know about Sylvestria? Know of another community that’s faded away over time? Tell us!

This is just one of the ghost towns in Mississippi. Click here to read about the state’s most notorious ghost town, Rodney.

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