Gluckstadt is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. It was a census-designated place and unincorporated community until the municipal incorporation of the City of Gluckstadt became effective in June 2021. As of the 2020 census, prior to incorporation, the Gluckstadt CDP had a population of 3,208. The city is located along Interstate 55 in south-central Madison County, between the cities of Madison and Canton. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Gluckstadt was established in June 1905 by several German Catholic families from Klaasville, Lake County, Indiana. The community's name translated into English means "Lucky Town". There is also a town in Germany that has the name Glückstadt. Each year, a German festival is held in Gluckstadt on the grounds of St. Joseph Catholic Church.
In 1964 civil rights workers ran a freedom school in the community. It was firebombed and burned, but the school continued to meet in the ashes of its former location. In the fall of 1964 some of the people who had attended the freedom school in Gluckstadt moved to the one in Canton.
On January 31, 2017, the required two-thirds of qualified electors in the area to be incorporated filed for the incorporation of Gluckstadt. Subsequently, the neighboring city of Canton filed an annexation petition that included some of the territory covered by the incorporation petition of Gluckstadt, putting the incorporation on hold as it worked it way through the courts. In 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that Gluckstadt could incorporate into Mississippi's newest city. The new city was initially represented by Mayor Walter Morrison IV and Aldermen Jayce Powell, Lisa Williams, John Taylor, Miya Warfield Bates and Wesley Slay, who were appointed by the Secretary of State of Mississippi. Gluckstadt held its first municipal general election in 2025.
Gluckstadt is south of Canton, north of Madison, and north of downtown Jackson, the state capital. Interstate 55 passes through the center of Gluckstadt, with access from Exit 112 (Gluckstadt Road). U.S. Route 51 passes through the east side of Gluckstadt, providing a direct route to the centers of Madison and Canton.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city of Gluckstadt has a total area of , of which are land and , or 2.20%, are water. The city is drained by Bear Creek and its tributaries. Bear Creek flows northeast, then northwest to the Big Black River at the Yazoo County border.
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 3,208 people.
Public education for most of the city is provided by the Madison County School District.
The city is served by two elementary schools (grades K-5): Madison Crossing and Mannsdale, by Germantown Middle School (grades 6âÂÂ8), and by Germantown High School (grades 9âÂÂ12). In 2009, Madison County School District granted Gluckstadt a high school when Madison Central became overcrowded. Before the establishment of Germantown High, Madison Crossing Elementary, Mannsdale Elementary, and Germantown Middle were feeder schools to Madison Central.
A section of the city is part of the Canton School District.
Gluckstadt has 50 subdivisions: 25 for Mannsdale Elementary and 25 for Madison Crossing Elementary.
In 2021, Walter C. Morrison IV became Gluckstadt's first mayor. Lindsay Kellum was hired as City Clerk, the first employee hired for the new municipality.