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Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
 

Rodney Cutoff/Bayou Pierre

Panel #28 Mississippi Riverwalk

 
 
Rodney Cutoff/Bayou Pierre Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, May 18, 2010
1. Rodney Cutoff/Bayou Pierre Marker
Inscription.
A) Rodney Cutoff
Mile 388.0 AHP

Opened in 1936 the Rodney Cutoff bypassed an old river bend and the ghost town that once was the busy river town of Rodney. Over 4,000 people lived in the town of Rodney in the 1850’s and its bustling port rivaled Natchez and Vicksburg, MS when the Civil War intervened. The town began to fade when the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad opened in 1886, taking away its steamboat trade. A few years later, the river moved west, leaving Rodney trapped behind swamps and sandbars. When the Rodney Cutoff was made in 1935, the town was practically deserted and its abandoned buildings were left to crumble.

B) Bayou Pierre
Mile 394.3 AHP

When the Spanish took over this region, their generous land grants attracted many settlers to the Bayou Pierre. Among the first were the Bruin family from Virginia, who established a plantation called Bruinsburg here at the mouth of the bayou in 1788. Aaron Burr stopped here on his way to New Orleans in 1807. Burr had been Thomas Jefferson’s Vice-President but had resigned after killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel and was in political disfavor. He claimed he was going to Louisiana to settle on land he owned, but there were rumors of a plot to seize New Orleans and attack Mexico. At Brunsburg, Burr learned that Jefferson had ordered
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his arrest on charges of treason, and he turned himself in. He was later acquitted.
 
Erected by Mississippi Riverwalk. (Marker Number 28.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & StreetcarsWar, US CivilWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1886.
 
Location. 35° 8.968′ N, 90° 3.507′ W. Marker is in Memphis, Tennessee, in Shelby County. Marker can be reached from Island Drive, 0.8 miles south of West A.W. Willis Avenue when traveling south. Located in Mud Island River Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 125 N Front St, Memphis TN 38103, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Mississippi Riverwalk (here, next to this marker); Ohio River (here, next to this marker); Cairo, Illinois (here, next to this marker); Islands No. 2, 3, and 4 / Fort Jefferson, Kentucky / Bird’s Point, Missouri (here, next to this marker); Island No. 5 (Wolf Island)/Belmont, Missouri/Columbus, Kentucky (here, next to this marker); Donaldson Point, Missouri/Island No. 8/Hickman, Kentucky/Dorena Crevasse (here, next to this marker); New Madrid, Missouri/Cates Casting Field/Island No. 10 (here, next to this marker); Tiptonville, Tennessee/Bixby Towhead (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Memphis.
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Also see . . .
1. Bayou Pierre. Bayou Pierre — river in Mississippi, United States. It is a tributary of the Mississippi River merging just downstream from the town of St. Joseph, Louisiana on the opposite bank. (Submitted on March 18, 2018, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.) 

2. Aaron Burr. Jefferson's warrant, however, followed Burr, who fled toward Spanish Florida. He was intercepted at Wakefield, in Mississippi Territory (now in the state of Alabama), on February 19, 1807. He was confined to Fort Stoddert after being arrested on charges of treason.[71] Burr was treated well there. For example, in the evening of February 20, 1807, when Burr appeared at the dinner table, he was introduced to Frances Gaines, the wife of the commandant Edmund P. Gaines. She was also the daughter of Judge Harry Toulmin, who had issued Burr's arrest warrant. Mrs. Gaines and Burr played chess that evening and continued this entertainment during his confinement at the fort. (Submitted on March 18, 2018, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 24, 2018. It was originally submitted on March 18, 2018, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 203 times since then and 17 times this year. Photo   1. submitted on March 18, 2018, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
 
Editor’s want-list for this marker. Wide shot of marker and its surroundings. • Can you help?

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Mar. 28, 2024