Brookhaven, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
 Brookhaven City Hall | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location of Brookhaven, Mississippi | |
  Brookhaven, Mississippi Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:31°34′55″N90°26′35″W / 31.58194°N 90.44306°W /31.58194; -90.44306 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Lincoln |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Larry Jointer (D)[1][2] |
| Area | |
• Total | 21.73 sq mi (56.28 km2) |
| • Land | 21.64 sq mi (56.05 km2) |
| • Water | 0.089 sq mi (0.23 km2) |
| Elevation | 489 ft (149 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 11,674 |
| • Density | 539.4/sq mi (208.27/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes | 39601-39603 |
| Area code | 601 |
| FIPS code | 28-08820 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0667590 |
| Website | brookhaven-ms |
Brookhaven is a city inLincoln County, Mississippi, United States, 55 miles (89 km) south of the state capital ofJackson. The population was 11,674 people at the2020 U.S. census.[4] It is thecounty seat of Lincoln County.[5] It was named after the town ofBrookhaven, New York, by founder Samuel Jayne in 1818.
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Brookhaven is located in what was formerly territory of theChoctaw. The city was founded in 1818 by Samuel Jayne from New York, who named it after the town of Brookhaven on Long Island.[6] Most of the Choctaw were forced out of Mississippi in the 1830s underIndian Removal, and were given lesser land inIndian Territory.
The railroad was constructed through Brookhaven in 1858.[6] It connected Brookhaven withNew Orleans to the south andMemphis to the north.
During theCivil War, Brookhaven was briefly occupied at noon on April 29, 1863, by a raiding party ofUnion cavalry under the command of ColonelBenjamin Grierson. The Union force burned public buildings and destroyed the railroad.[7] This was rebuilt after the war.
In 1908, a mob of 2,000 White people assaulted a military guard and kidnapped a Black man,Eli Pigot, and murdered him in broad daylight.[8]
In 1936 Brookhaven was chosen as the site of the Stahl-Urban garment plant.[9]
In 1955,Lamar Smith, a black farmer andWorld War I veteran, was shot to death by whites mid-day on the lawn of the county courthouse in Brookhaven.[10] He had been working to organizevoter registration among blacks, who had been largelydisenfranchised in the state since 1890 by barriers created by whites. After World War II, Smith was among the many veterans who became activists for civil rights, determined to regain their constitutional rights. Nobody was prosecuted for his murder.[10]
In 2022, D'Monterrio Gibson, a blackFedEx driver was chased down andshot at by two white men after Gibson had delivered a package to an incorrect address and then retrieved it.[11][12] He was driving an unmarked FedEx truck.
Brookhaven is in central Lincoln County.I-55 passes through the west side of the city, with access from Exits 38, 40, and 42. I-55 leads north 55 miles (89 km) toJackson, the state capital, and south 79 miles (127 km) toHammond, Louisiana.US 51 runs parallel to I-55, passing through the west side of Brookhaven closer to the city center. US-51 leads north 20 miles (32 km) toHazlehurst and south 25 miles (40 km) toMcComb.US 84 passes through the south side of Brookhaven, leading east 36 miles (58 km) toPrentiss and west 61 miles (98 km) toNatchez.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.7 square miles (56.3 km2), of which 21.7 square miles (56.1 km2) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2), or 0.41%, are water.[13] The city expanded in late 2007 to almost triple its previous area, through a vote of annexation, to bring in suburban developments surrounding the older town and equalize taxing and services provided to the new metropolitan area.[14][15]
| Climate data for Brookhaven, Mississippi (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 85 (29) | 86 (30) | 92 (33) | 96 (36) | 102 (39) | 106 (41) | 109 (43) | 106 (41) | 106 (41) | 99 (37) | 89 (32) | 87 (31) | 109 (43) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 57.2 (14.0) | 61.6 (16.4) | 68.6 (20.3) | 75.0 (23.9) | 82.0 (27.8) | 87.6 (30.9) | 89.7 (32.1) | 90.1 (32.3) | 86.0 (30.0) | 77.5 (25.3) | 66.8 (19.3) | 59.4 (15.2) | 75.1 (23.9) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 46.7 (8.2) | 50.6 (10.3) | 57.3 (14.1) | 63.7 (17.6) | 71.7 (22.1) | 78.0 (25.6) | 80.3 (26.8) | 80.2 (26.8) | 75.6 (24.2) | 65.3 (18.5) | 55.0 (12.8) | 48.9 (9.4) | 64.4 (18.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 36.1 (2.3) | 39.6 (4.2) | 46.0 (7.8) | 52.3 (11.3) | 61.3 (16.3) | 68.5 (20.3) | 70.8 (21.6) | 70.3 (21.3) | 65.2 (18.4) | 53.2 (11.8) | 43.2 (6.2) | 38.5 (3.6) | 53.8 (12.1) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 2 (−17) | −10 (−23) | 14 (−10) | 26 (−3) | 38 (3) | 44 (7) | 54 (12) | 54 (12) | 37 (3) | 25 (−4) | 17 (−8) | 5 (−15) | −10 (−23) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 6.52 (166) | 5.88 (149) | 5.71 (145) | 5.84 (148) | 4.44 (113) | 4.57 (116) | 5.71 (145) | 5.14 (131) | 4.30 (109) | 3.64 (92) | 4.19 (106) | 5.64 (143) | 61.58 (1,564) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 9.8 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 10.3 | 8.5 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 9.1 | 98.5 |
| Source:NOAA[16][17] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 996 | — | |
| 1870 | 1,614 | 62.0% | |
| 1880 | 1,615 | 0.1% | |
| 1890 | 2,142 | 32.6% | |
| 1900 | 2,678 | 25.0% | |
| 1910 | 5,293 | 97.6% | |
| 1920 | 4,706 | −11.1% | |
| 1930 | 5,288 | 12.4% | |
| 1940 | 6,232 | 17.9% | |
| 1950 | 7,801 | 25.2% | |
| 1960 | 9,885 | 26.7% | |
| 1970 | 10,700 | 8.2% | |
| 1980 | 10,800 | 0.9% | |
| 1990 | 10,243 | −5.2% | |
| 2000 | 9,861 | −3.7% | |
| 2010 | 12,513 | 26.9% | |
| 2020 | 11,674 | −6.7% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[18] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 4,439 | 38.02% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 6,710 | 57.48% |
| Native American | 15 | 0.13% |
| Asian | 117 | 1.0% |
| Pacific Islander | 2 | 0.02% |
| Other/Mixed | 266 | 2.28% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 125 | 1.07% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 11,674 people, 4,346 households, and 2,827 families residing in the city.
As of the2010 census,[19] there were 12,513 people, 4,768 households, and 3,146 families residing in the city of Brookhaven. The population density was 1,714.1 inhabitants per square mile (661.8/km2). There were 5,519 housing units at an average density of 756.0 per square mile (291.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was fairly evenly split with 43.8%White, 54.1%African American, 0.1%Native American, 0.7%Asian, 0.2% fromother races, and 1.0% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 0.9% of the population.
There were 4,768 households, out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.7% weremarried couples living together, 24.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.4% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 20 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.6 years.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,036, and the median income for a family was $40,018. About 25.2% of families and 31.0% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 46.6% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.
Brookhaven'sTemple B'nai Shalom is an example ofMoorish Revival architecture.
In 2025, Democrat Larry Jointer defeated Republican incumbent Joe Cox for mayor.[20]
The city is served by theBrookhaven School District ofpublic schools. Up until 1970, separate systems were maintained for black students and white schools. WhenBrown v. Board required integration of schools in 1954, white citizens refused. In 1970, when the state finally capitulated and desegregated public schools, a private school,Brookhaven Academy, was created to allow white parents to keep their children from attending schools with black children.
In 1988, Brookhaven High School hired a football coach, Hollis Rutter, from Brookhaven Academy. This so upset the black population, who felt that this was a racially-insensitive move, that a school boycott ensued, ultimately resulting in the rescission of Rutter's hiring. This school again came into the spotlight in 2018 when it became known that Cindy Hyde-Smith, a candidate for U.S. Senate known for making racially-incendiary statements, sent her daughter to this school.[21][22]
The statewide magnet high school, theMississippi School of the Arts is also located in the city. FourLincoln County public schools are also located in Brookhaven's rural areas: Bogue Chitto Attendance Center, Enterprise Attendance Center, Loyd Star Attendance Center and West Lincoln Attendance Center. The former institution of higher learningWhitworth Female College, founded in 1858, was located in Brookhaven. The all-women's college closed its doors in 1984.[23]
In 2019, it was reported that the school district still "has largely segregated classrooms – some all-black, some majority white."[24]
Brookhaven is a part of theJackson, Mississippi television market, including news stationsWLBT,WJTV,WAPT, andWDBD. The city is served by a daily newspaper calledThe Daily Leader.
Brookhaven is the secondary principal city of the McComb media market for radio.
Brookhaven containsInterstate 55 andU.S. Route 51, which run parallel to each other going north-south, andU.S. Route 84, which runs east-west.
Amtrak's famousCity of New Orleans (subject of the song ballad written bySteve Goodman and recorded by folk singerArlo Guthrie in 1972) serves Brookhaven, going north and south on the oldIllinois Central andGulf, Mobile and Ohio railroad lines.
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U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith attended and graduated from a segregation academy that were set up so that white parents could avoid having to send their children to schools with black students, a yearbook reveals.
Anna-Michael Smith is one of 34 graduates who will be receiving diplomas in John R. Gray Gymnasium at BA Friday. The ceremony begins at 7 p.m. and it is open to the public. mith is the daughter of Mike Smith and Cindy Hyde-Smith, of Brookhaven. Her mom is the commissioner of agriculture and commerce for the state. The Smiths also raise cattle, which makes Anna-Michael a fifth generation farmer.
Municipalities and communities ofLincoln County, Mississippi,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
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| CDPs | ||
| Other unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
