Magnolia, Mississippi

Magnolia, Mississippi
City
Location of Magnolia, Mississippi
Magnolia, Mississippi Location in the United States
Coordinates: 31°8′57″N90°27′41″W / 31.14917°N 90.46139°W / 31.14917; -90.46139
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Pike
Government
• Mayor	Tammy Witherspoon (D)
Area [1]
• Total	6.19 sq mi (16.03 km2)
• Land	6.14 sq mi (15.91 km2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.12 km2)
Elevation	305 ft (93 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,883
• Density	306.53/sq mi (118.36/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	39652
Area code	601
FIPS code	28-44680
GNIS feature ID	0673065

Magnolia is a city in Pike County, Mississippi and the county seat. ^[2] The population was 2,420 at the 2010 census. Magnolia is within the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Magnolia was founded in 1856 by Ansel H. Prewett, a local civic leader and cotton planter. Knowing that the approaching New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad (now the Illinois Central Railroad) would need a station for water and fuel, Prewett sold a right-of-way to the railroad company – for one dollar, according to legend – and divided a section of his plantation into town lots, which he sold to investors. Prewett, while serving as temporary sheriff of Pike County, was killed by outlaws in the early 1870s escorting a prisoner on the very railroad that made Magnolia a viable community. ^[3]

Magnolia grew rapidly in the 1860s, and in the late nineteenth century Magnolia served as a popular small-town resort for wealthy New Orleanians, who took trains north from New Orleans to enjoy Magnolia's fresh air and sparkling creeks. At one time early Magnolia boasted an opera house, skating rink, and several hotels that catered largely to these tourists.

In 1860 Magnolia's first newspaper, the Grand Trunk Magnolian , was established by John Waddill. It did not last the war and was succeeded by the establishment of the Magnolia Gazette by J.D. Burke in 1872. The Magnolia Herald was established by Luke W. Conerly in 1875 and he continued as its proprietor and editor until 1878. ^[4]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²), of which 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (1.52%) is water.

Within the city limits there is the confluence of the Minnehaha River and the Little Tangipahoa River.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	567		—
1890	676		19.2%
1900	1,088		60.9%
1910	1,823		67.6%
1920	2,012		10.4%
1930	1,660		−17.5%
1940	2,125		28.0%
1950	1,984		−6.6%
1960	2,083		5.0%
1970	1,970		−5.4%
1980	2,461		24.9%
1990	2,245		−8.8%
2000	2,071		−7.8%
2010	2,420		16.9%
2020	1,883		−22.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [5]

Child laborers scattered throughout the Magnolia Cotton Mills spinning room, 1911. Photo by Lewis Hine.

Magnolia racial composition as of 2020 ^[6]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	508	26.98%
Black or African American	1,276	67.76%
Native American	2	0.11%
Asian	5	0.27%
Other/Mixed	68	3.61%
Hispanic or Latino	24	1.27%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,883 people, 825 households, and 444 families residing in the city.

Notable people

• Dorothy Bainton, doctor and first woman to chair a department at University of California, San Francisco ^[7]
• Prentiss Barnes (1925-2006), bass singer in the doo-wop group The Moonglows. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
• Danny Brabham, former American Football League player ^[8]
• Jeremy Bridges, former National Football League player ^[9]
• Kelvin Butler, member of the Mississippi Senate from 2004 to 2016 and 2021 to 2024 ^[10]
• Laphonza Butler (born 1979), U.S. Senator from California.
• Angela Cockerham, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives ^[11]
• Jimmy Cockerham, Negro league catcher ^[12]
• Aunjanue Ellis (born 1969), Oscar-nominated actress.
• Sam Holden, former National Football League offensive tackle ^[13]
• Samuel C. Lancaster, engineer and landscape artist ^[14]
• Jim Marshall, former Canadian Football League player ^[15]
• Evander McNair, brigadier general in the Confederate States Army ^[16]
• Herman Neugass (1915–1991), track & field athlete who boycotted the 1935 Olympic trials
• Joseph Elias Norwood, former member of the Mississippi Senate ^[17]
• William Parsons, Director of the Kennedy Space Center, oversaw return to flight following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.
• Darryl Pounds, former NFL player ^[18]
• J. H. Price, former justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi ^[19]
• Michael Farris Smith, writer ^[20]
• Lynne Spears (born 1955), author and mother of Bryan, Britney, and Jamie Lynn Spears.
• Tre' Stallings, former NFL player ^[21]
• Davion Taylor (born 1998), NFL Linebacker drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, 3rd round, in 2020.
• T. C. Taylor, former NFL player and head coach of the Jackson State Tigers ^[22]
• Thad Vann, head football coach for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles from 1949 to 1968 and member of the College Football Hall of Fame ^[23]
• Sammy Williams, former NFL offensive tackle

Transportation

Highways

• Interstate 55
• U.S. Highway 51
• Mississippi Highway 48

Air

• McComb-Pike County Airport

Education

The City of Magnolia is served by the South Pike School District. ^[24]

The town has one public library.

Pike County is in the district of Southwest Mississippi Community College. ^[25]

Recreation

• Percy Quin State Park
• Homochitto National Forest 42 miles away

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Magnolia has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. ^[26]

See also

• Magnolia Depot

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Martha Lacy Hall, An Historical Sketch of Magnolia, Mississippi: Centennial Celebration, Magnolia, Mississippi, 1856-1956. Magnolia, Mississippi: W. M. Lacy, 1956.
4. Pike County Mississippi 1798-1876 Pioneer Families and Confederate Soldiers by Luke W. Conerly 1909
5. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
6. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
7. "Gold-Headed Cane Award – 1999 Dorothy F. Bainton" (PDF). American Society for Investigative Pathologyy. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
8. "Danny Brabham". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
9. White, Drew. "Throwback Thursday: Jeremy Bridges". 247sports.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
10. "South Pike Alumni of the Week". sphs.southpike.org. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
11. Simms Robertson, Sabrina (April 27, 2023). "Rep. Cockerham's 'landmark bill' aiming to help rape victims obtain justice receives governor's signature". The Natchez Democrat. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
12. "Jimmy Cockerham". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
13. "Sam Holden". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
14. Columbia River Highway Bridges Spanning various creeks along the Columbia River Highway (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. p. 5. Retrieved October 4, 2024– via Library of Congress.
15. "James Marshall". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
16. "Evander McNair". encyclopediaofarkansas.net. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
17. The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi: State of Mississippi. 1912. p. 371.
18. "Darryl Pounds". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
19. Cases Argued and Decided in the Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, in 1932. Washington, D.C.: United States Supreme Court. 1933. p. 133.
20. Bass, Erin Z. (September 12, 2013). "The World of Michael Farris Smith". Deep South Magazine . Retrieved March 7, 2021.
21. "South Pike High Alumni of the Week". sphs.southpike.org. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
22. Keith, J.T. (February 23, 2023). "Jackson State football coach T.C. Taylor is given key to hometown of Magnolia". Clarion Ledger. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
23. "Thad "Pie" Vann". msfame.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
24. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Pike County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved September 27, 2024. - Text list
25. "Welcome from the President". Southwest Mississippi Community College . Retrieved September 27, 2024.
26. "Magnolia, Mississippi Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase. Retrieved May 2, 2017.

External links

• A Brief History of Magnolia by Lucius M. Lampton, MD