Mississippi Highway 47

The route is located in Clay and southeastern Chickasaw counties.[3][4] The route is legally defined in Mississippi Code § 65-3-3,[5] and it is maintained by Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) as part of the Mississippi State Highway System.[1]

MS 47 starts at the intersection of MS 50 and Mhoon Road, and it begins traveling northwest. The road travels through a rural area of Clay County, and it turns west at Pea Ridge Road.[6] The route enters the unincorporated area of Siloam, and it turns north at Siloam–Griffith Road. At Lake Grove Road and Harper Road, MS 47 turns west and travels through Abbott. At Palo Alto, the route turns northwest and travels along Long Branch. At Barr Road, MS 47 turns northeast and crosses over Houlka Creek past Sparta Road. The road intersects Brand–Una Road at Barrs Mill, and it enters Chickasaw County at County Line Road.[3] In Chickasaw County, MS 47 intersects County Road 186 (CRD 186) at McCondy and turns north at MS 8 in Trebloc. The route meets CRD 166 west of Macedonia,[4] and state maintenance ends at Aberdeen Road near Buena Vista.[7] The road continues as MS 385, which travels into the Tombigbee National Forest.[4]

MS 47 and MS 8 in Trebloc

The gravel road that became MS 47 has existed at least since 1928, from West Point to Houston.[8] By 1934, the road was designated as MS 47, starting at MS 10 and ending at MS 8.[9][10] MS 8 was rerouted south of Buena Vista to Trebloc by 1944, and the northern terminus of MS 47 remained at Buena Vista.[11][12] A section of MS 47 near MS 10 was paved by 1953,[13][14] and another from south of the Clay–Chickasaw county line to MS 8 by 1955.[14][15] All of the route south of MS 8 was paved by 1957, and a new gravel road was constructed north of MS 47 to MS 32.[16][17] The gravel road was designated as MS 385 one year later.[17][18] After being proposed in July 1957,[19] the section from Trebloc to Buena Vista was paved by 1958.[17][18] MS 10 was renumbered to MS 50 by 1960.[18][20]