Guntown, Mississippi

This article is about the U.S. city. For the American Civil War battle of the same name, see Battle of Brices Cross Roads.

Guntown, Mississippi
City
City of Guntown
Guntown City Hall
Location in Lee county and Mississippi
Guntown Location of Guntown in the United States
Coordinates: 34°26′35.4″N88°39′35.2″W / 34.443167°N 88.659778°W / 34.443167; -88.659778
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Lee
Districts	1, 2
Founded	April 13, 1866 (1866-04-13)
Incorporated	February 16, 1867 (1867-02-16)
Named for	James G. Gunn
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
•  Mayor	Brent Lindsey
•  Council	Board of Aldermen
Area [1]
• Total	4.67 sq mi (12.10 km2)
• Land	4.66 sq mi (12.07 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)
Elevation	400 ft (122 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,410
• Density	517.17/sq mi (199.68/km2)
Time zone	UTC−06:00 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−05:00 (CDT)
ZIP code(s)	38849
Area code(s)	662
FIPS code	28-29940
GNIS feature ID	670808, 2406630
Highways	U.S. Highway 45 Highway 145
Major airport	Memphis Airport (MEM)

Guntown is a city in Lee County, Mississippi, located in the northern part of the Tupelo micropolitan area. The population was 2,410 at the 2020 Census.

Etymology

Guntown is named for Virginia Loyalist émigré James G. Gunn (d. 1826) who found asylum among the Chickasaws in present-day Lee County. ^[2]

History

Union cavalry officers described Guntown as "a station and small village on the Mobile & Ohio road." ^{[3] [4]} The U.S. post office was established on April 13, 1866, marking the official launch of the service in Guntown. ^[5] This was followed by incorporation on February 16, 1867, and appointment of the first mayor that year. ^[6]

Geography

Guntown is located along Mississippi Highway 145, with the older parts of the city lying further to the east near the railroad tracks. U.S. Route 45 traverses the western part of the city, running roughly parallel to MS 145. Baldwyn lies just to the north of Guntown, and Saltillo lies just to the south.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.5 square miles (12 km²), of which 4.5 square miles (12 km²) is land and 0.22% is water.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	325		—
1910	330		1.5%
1920	365		10.6%
1930	369		1.1%
1940	349		−5.4%
1950	299		−14.3%
1960	269		−10.0%
1970	304		13.0%
1980	359		18.1%
1990	692		92.8%
2000	1,183		71.0%
2010	2,083		76.1%
2020	2,410		15.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [7]

2020 census

Guntown Racial Composition ^[8]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	1,686	69.96%
Black or African American	511	21.2%
Native American	7	0.29%
Asian	10	0.41%
Pacific Islander	2	0.08%
Other/Mixed	107	4.44%
Hispanic or Latino	87	3.61%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 2,410 people, 880 households, and 671 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the census ^[9] of 2000, there were 1,183 people, 443 households, and 337 families residing in the city. The population density was 261.1 inhabitants per square mile (100.8/km²). There were 482 housing units at an average density of 106.4 per square mile (41.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.98% White, 24.18% African American, 0.34% Asian, 0.42% from other races, and 0.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.01% of the population.

There were 443 households, out of which 45.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 21.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 34.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,188, and the median income for a family was $29,783. Males had a median income of $27,868 versus $20,375 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,456. About 19.3% of families and 24.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.5% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Guntown is served by the Lee County School District. ^[10]

Notable people

• Cornelius Augustus, baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues ^[11]
• L. T. Kennedy, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1918 to 1935 ^[12]
• Chad McMahan, member of the Mississippi Senate ^[13]
• Esther Smith, gospel music singer ^[14]

See also

• Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site
• List of places named after people in the United States

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
2. Riley, Franklin L., ed. (1904). Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. VIII. Oxford, Mississippi. pp. 546(n.15), 587–88. OCLC   1051757975 – via Internet Archive.
3. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. IV. New-York: The Century Co. 1888. p. 420. OCLC   62079420. OL   7103131M – via Internet Archive.
4. Scott, Wm. Forse (1893). The Story of a Cavalry Regiment: The Career of the Fourth Iowa Veteran Volunteers from Kansas to Georgia, 1861-1865. New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons. p. 236. OCLC   1085341346. OL   6916689M – via Internet Archive.
5. Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives.
6. The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi: The "Blue Book," 2016-2020. Delbert Hosemann, Secretary of State. 2017. p. 357.
7. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
8. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
9. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
10. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lee County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022. - Text list
11. "Cornelius Augustus Stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
12. Rowland, Dunbar (1923). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History. p. 199.
13. "Chad McMahan". Mississippi State Senate. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
14. Carpenter, Bil (2005). Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia . Hal Leonard Corporation. pp.  379–80. ISBN   9780879308414.

External links

Government

• City of Guntown on Facebook

General information

• Geographic data related to Guntown, Mississippi at OpenStreetMap
• Guntown, Mississippi at Ballotpedia
• Lee-Itawamba Library System
• Works by or about Guntown, Mississippi at Internet Archive