You would never guess it now but, in its day, Rodney was a very important port and, in fact, only missed becoming the capital of Mississippi by 3 votes! There are maps as far back as 1715, identifying the location, where it's said the Indians used to cross the Mississippi River. By the 1840's, it was a thriving town and the busiest port between New Orleans and St. Louis, and a main port of call for the famous riverboats of the time. Rodney was home to the first opera house in the state and its citizens saw plays usually seen only in Philadelphia and New York. However, Rodney's prosperity was betrayed by its biggest asset. The Mississippi River would eventually abandon Rodney, when it changed its course, and this, in combination with the economy of the post-Civil War south, doomed Rodney's future.

(text taken from this site)