Shannon, MS

Shannon is a Lee County town on Mississippi Highway 145, west of US 45, with Chiwapa Creek flowing south of the community. The town was named for Samuel Shannon, who settled here in the early 1800s, and its present location followed the Mobile and Ohio Railroad in the 1850s. Shannon incorporated in 1860; the railroad pulled commerce toward the town, where cotton farming, grain handling, cotton gins, and even a short-lived Coca-Cola bottling operation joined the local story.

That rail-and-farm base now shares the map with General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems at 112 Bryan Boulevard. The Shannon facility develops and tests defense systems, including electromagnetic launch and recovery equipment for aircraft carriers; in March 2026, the Mississippi Development Authority announced a further production expansion. Lee County School District serves local students, while Town Hall and town departments cluster on Broad Street. The local read is a small Lee County town with a railroad past, a defense-manufacturing present, and a clear highway-and-creek frame.