Duncan, Mississippi -- A Glance into the Past

When Bolivar and Coahoma Counties were formed in 1836, the area in which Duncan is now located was a part of Coahoma; it became a part of Bolivar in 1842. The early settlers began to come to the area in the 1850s -- most of them landing at Australia on the Mississippi River. James Brown, one of the first big landowners, obtained land patents west of Duncan in 1853. Newman H. Dobbs received a land patent on the site of the present town of Duncan in 1855.

The mighty Mississippi River was the highway, and Australia Landing the entry point for this area of the Delta until the completion of the railroad from Memphis to New Orleans in 1884. R. A. Brown, grandson of James, built his home near the railroad, and others followed; a small community formed, and the Duncan Post Office was established in 1885. Incorporated as a village in February 1890, Duncan later became a town. R. A. Brown was elected as the first mayor. The Duncan Post Office, and later the village,  was named for Robert P. Duncan,  a prominent Memphis attorney who had bought a plantation from    W. N. Brown, son of James, in 1876. Brownsville originally had been the favored name for the post office, but it was rejected because a post office with that name already existed in Mississippi.

Andrew Jackson Donelson, ward and nephew of President Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel, owned a large plantation southwest of Duncan from 1857 until his death in 1871. Another early settler in the area was B. B. Wilson, whose daughter married John Preston Young. Young later became a prominent magistrate and circuit judge in Memphis; he also wrote an early history of Memphis. Unlike most landowners in the area, Wilson freed all of his slaves before the Civil War.

The population of Duncan increased rapidly after 1900, a thriving community blossomed forth. In 1904 the population was estimated to be 400 and a bank had been established in the town. A devastating tornado hit the town in February 1929, and many people were killed and injured; there was extensive property damage.

Throughout the years, residents and former residents of Duncan have served in positions of  leadership and attained a certain amount of fame and distinction. They have served as President Pro Tempore of the Mississippi Senate; represented Bolivar County in the State Legislature; served as President of the Bolivar County Farm Bureau and as Directors of the Mississippi Farm Bureau; served as President of the Bolivar County Historical Society and as President of the Mississippi Historical Society; designed bridges for the Interstate Highway System across the Mississippi River; achieved moderate fame for "singing the Blues;" won an award for paintings at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904; and other notable achievements.

In 2002, Duncan is more or less a "bedroom community." Most of its residents commute to work in the larger towns of Clarksdale to the north,  and Shelby and Cleveland to the south. Many also work at the casinos in Coahoma and Tunica counties. Quiet and peaceful, the people of Duncan still boast that it is "the best little town in the Mississippi Delta" in which to live.

TNB......