Nitta Yuma, a near-ghost town along Highway 61 in Sharkey County, Mississippi, carries a name rooted in the Choctaw language, meaning “trail of the bear.” Founded in the early 1800s by Major Burwell Vick, who also established Vicksburg, the settlement grew from a plantation carved out of Choctaw lands along Deer Creek. By the 1840s, the Vick and Willis families transformed the area into a thriving cotton hub, with Henry W. Vick earning the title “King Cotton” for his high-yield cotton seed. At its peak, Nitta Yuma bustled with over 300 residents, boasting three gins, two sawmills, a railroad, and even electricity by 1886—before many U.S. cities.

The town’s fortunes faded as the cotton industry waned, and by the 2020 Census, only eight residents remained. Today, descendants like the Phelps family preserve its legacy, restoring historic buildings like the post office and a general store housing over 3,000 vintage dolls. Nitta Yuma’s pre-Civil War cabins and antebellum homes stand as timeworn relics, drawing explorers to its quiet, haunting charm—a snapshot of the Delta’s past, frozen in time.