Snow Lake Shores, Mississippi

Snow Lake Shores, Mississippi
Town
Location of Snow Lake Shores, Mississippi
Snow Lake Shores, Mississippi Location in the United States
Coordinates: 34°49′26″N89°14′30″W / 34.82389°N 89.24167°W / 34.82389; -89.24167
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Benton
Established	1958 [1]
Incorporated	1996 [1]
Government
•  Mayor	Doug Irby
Area [2]
• Total	0.90 sq mi (2.32 km2)
• Land	0.68 sq mi (1.76 km2)
• Water	0.22 sq mi (0.56 km2)
Elevation	417 ft (127 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	306
• Density	449.34/sq mi (173.54/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	38603
Area code	662
FIPS code	28-68960
GNIS feature ID	1744604
Website	snowlakeshores.ms

Snow Lake Shores is a town in Benton County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 319 at the 2010 census. ^[3]

Geography

Snow Lake Shores is located at 34°49′26″N89°14′30″W / 34.82389°N 89.24167°W / 34.82389; -89.24167 (34.823963, -89.241555) ^[4] along Mississippi Highway 4 in west-central Benton County, approximately 4 miles (6 km) west of Ashland and 14 miles (23 km) northeast of Holly Springs.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.89 square miles (2.3 km²), of which 0.69 square miles (1.8 km²) is land and 0.23 square miles (0.6 km²), or 24.13%, is water. ^[3] The town consists of homes built around Snow Lake, an impoundment on Big Snow Creek, a tributary of the Tippah River and ultimately the Tallahatchie River.

History

The first Anglo settlers in the area were John M. Ferrell and his wife, who moved from Tennessee to a site west of present-day Snow Lake Shores in 1839. One of their ten children, Emaline, married an Englishman – Joe Shone. They built a house two miles east of the Ferrell homestead that became known as Shone's Pond. ^[5] The area around Shone's Pond consisted mostly of marsh and cypress swamps. The names Shone's Mill and Shone's Mill Pond were sometimes applied to the area in its early years.

In 1947, New Yorker Walter Utley moved to neighboring Marshall County with plans to build a resort-style development in the area. Big Snow Creek with its three forks looked to be a good prospect. Around 1956, a partnership of three men – including Utley – organized to develop a residential subdivision that became known as Snow Lake Shores. In 1957, Big Snow Lake was created by building a dam on a local stream. ^[6] Snow Lake Shores was established in 1958 as a private, restricted resort community. ^[1] It was marketed as a safe, family-friendly place for people to both vacation and live year-round. A volunteer fire department was created in 1974. ^[6]

After 38 years of existence, Snow Lake Shores was incorporated as a town in 1996. ^{[1] [7]} Incorporation meant that the town would be eligible to receive grants for paving roads and installing a new water system. ^[6] Eddie Koen was appointed as the first mayor of Snow Lake Shores along with five aldermen who served as the new town's governing body until municipal elections were held in October 1996. ^{[7] [8]}

Although the permanent resident population of Snow Lake Shores stands at around 300, that figure can grow to over 900 during the summer months as seasonal residents and vacationers come to the community. ^[1]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2000	300		—
2010	319		6.3%
2020	306		−4.1%
U.S. Decennial Census [9]

2020 census

Snow Lake Shores racial composition ^{[10] [lower-alpha 1]}

Race	Number	Percentage
White (NH)	268	87.12%
Black or African American (NH)	12	3.92%
Some Other Race (NH)	4	1.31%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)	15	4.9%
Hispanic or Latino	7	2.29%
Total	306

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 306 people, 192 households, and 98 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the census ^[13] of 2000, there were 300 people, 147 households, and 105 families residing in the town. The population density was 438.7 inhabitants per square mile (169.4/km²). There were 297 housing units at an average density of 434.3 per square mile (167.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.00% White, 2.00% African American, 0.67% from other races, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.33% of the population.

There were 147 households, out of which 12.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.3% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.39.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 10.0% under the age of 18, 2.3% from 18 to 24, 19.7% from 25 to 44, 40.3% from 45 to 64, and 27.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 55 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $30,625, and the median income for a family was $33,750. Males had a median income of $28,250 versus $20,556 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,603. About 6.8% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.2% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.

Education

Snow Lake Shores is served by the Benton County School District.

References

1. "FireWise Communities in MS". Mississippi Forestry Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 6, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
3. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Snow Lake Shores town, Mississippi". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
4. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
5. "History of Snow Lake Shores". SnowLakeShores.net. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
6. "2008 marks the 50th anniversary of Snow Lake". Barbara Salling. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
7. "It's official! Snow Lake is now a town". Pages From The Past. The South Reporter. July 18, 1996. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
8. "Snow Lake officials ready to start work". Pages From The Past. The South Reporter. October 17, 1996. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
9. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
10. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
11. https://www.census.gov/ ^{[ not specific enough to verify ]}
12. "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
13. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.

1. Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race. ^{[11] [12]}

External links

• Town of Snow Lake Shores official website