Carthage, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
 Leake County Courthouse in Carthage | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location of Carthage, Mississippi | |
  Carthage, Mississippi Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:32°44′29″N89°32′6″W / 32.74139°N 89.53500°W /32.74139; -89.53500 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Leake |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Laurie Henderson |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.34 sq mi (24.19 km2) |
| • Land | 9.29 sq mi (24.07 km2) |
| • Water | 0.05 sq mi (0.12 km2) |
| Elevation | 351 ft (107 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 4,901 |
| • Density | 527.39/sq mi (203.63/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 39051 |
| Area code | 601 |
| FIPS code | 28-11780 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0668123 |
| Website | www |
The city ofCarthage is thecounty seat ofLeake County,Mississippi, United States.[2] The population was 5,075 at the 2010 census.
Carthage is home to theCarthage Historic District including the Leake County Courthouse, aMississippi Landmark. The largest chicken processing plant in the world is located in Carthage.
Carthage was established in 1834, and became the county seat. The Harris family were early settlers, and named the town after their former home ofCarthage, Tennessee. A courthouse and jail were built in 1836, and a post office was established the following year. Carthage was incorporated in 1876. A brick courthouse replaced the previous one in 1877, and was replaced again in 1910.[3][4] The present courthouse was designed byE. L. Malvaney and completed in 1939.[5]The Carthaginian newspaper was established in 1872, and remains in publication today.
By 1900, agriculture was the primary industry in Leake County. ThePearl River, located 2 mi (3.2 km) south of Carthage, was used to ship goods by steamboat to and fromJackson, the state capital . Although a railroad eventually ran through Carthage, it did not play a significant role in the development of the town. In 1914, the Merrill Brothers Logging Company built a logging railroad fromCanton to McAfee, passing through Carthage. The line was taken over in 1927 by the Canton and Carthage Railroad, which then established commercial service to Carthage. The railroad was abandoned in 1960.[4][6]
In 1927, Jackson'sDaily Clarion Ledger wrote an article entitled "Carthage is a Good Progressive and Enterprising City - Thriving Center of Leake County Holds Modern Benefits". By then, Carthage had schools, churches, an ice plant, two banks, a Masonic Hall, and a Coca-Cola bottling plant.[4]
The population had surpassed 2,000 by 1964, and the town was reclassified as a city.[4]
Carthage Historic District includes the county courthouse, commercial and residential properties of various architectural styles and is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. TheCarthage Post Office andJordan House are individually listed.[4]
WhenCarthage, Texas established in 1848, it was named after Carthage, Mississippi.[7]
As early as 1948, Carthage began holding an annual "Tri-Racial Goodwill Festival", in which all citizens were included. Although the directors of the first festival separated whites, African Americans and Native Americans, this was corrected in subsequent years. The local newspaper reported that at the 1949 festival, "friendship and goodwill fellowship permeated the air".[8]: 68
In 1964, a group known as Americans for the Preservation of the White Race initiated a boycott in Carthage against white-owned businesses that were complying with theCivil Rights Act.[9] When members of theStudent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee tried to open aFreedom School in Carthage, local whites told them their deed was invalid, and threatened to burn the school.[10] In 1967, shots were fired into the home of anNAACP worker in Carthage.[11]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.4 square miles (24 km2), of which 9.4 square miles (24 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (0.53%) is water.
Thegeographic center of Mississippi is located 9 mi (14 km) west-northwest of Carthage.
| Climate data for Carthage, Mississippi, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1955–2015 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 82 (28) | 86 (30) | 89 (32) | 94 (34) | 97 (36) | 104 (40) | 104 (40) | 106 (41) | 104 (40) | 95 (35) | 87 (31) | 82 (28) | 106 (41) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 74.5 (23.6) | 77.6 (25.3) | 83.3 (28.5) | 86.4 (30.2) | 90.9 (32.7) | 95.0 (35.0) | 97.5 (36.4) | 97.7 (36.5) | 94.5 (34.7) | 89.0 (31.7) | 82.2 (27.9) | 75.7 (24.3) | 99.0 (37.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 56.8 (13.8) | 61.2 (16.2) | 69.1 (20.6) | 75.8 (24.3) | 83.0 (28.3) | 89.2 (31.8) | 92.1 (33.4) | 91.7 (33.2) | 87.5 (30.8) | 77.8 (25.4) | 66.8 (19.3) | 58.2 (14.6) | 75.7 (24.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 45.1 (7.3) | 48.9 (9.4) | 56.4 (13.6) | 63.4 (17.4) | 71.1 (21.7) | 78.3 (25.7) | 81.4 (27.4) | 80.9 (27.2) | 75.8 (24.3) | 64.4 (18.0) | 53.8 (12.1) | 46.7 (8.2) | 63.8 (17.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 33.5 (0.8) | 36.6 (2.6) | 43.7 (6.5) | 51.1 (10.6) | 59.2 (15.1) | 67.3 (19.6) | 70.7 (21.5) | 70.1 (21.2) | 64.1 (17.8) | 51.1 (10.6) | 40.8 (4.9) | 35.1 (1.7) | 51.9 (11.1) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 15.8 (−9.0) | 19.5 (−6.9) | 25.7 (−3.5) | 33.4 (0.8) | 44.4 (6.9) | 54.6 (12.6) | 61.7 (16.5) | 60.9 (16.1) | 46.4 (8.0) | 32.7 (0.4) | 25.1 (−3.8) | 18.1 (−7.7) | 12.2 (−11.0) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −5 (−21) | −1 (−18) | 13 (−11) | 26 (−3) | 38 (3) | 44 (7) | 51 (11) | 52 (11) | 36 (2) | 26 (−3) | 15 (−9) | 1 (−17) | −5 (−21) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 5.71 (145) | 5.32 (135) | 5.05 (128) | 6.31 (160) | 4.38 (111) | 3.92 (100) | 5.08 (129) | 4.70 (119) | 3.80 (97) | 3.88 (99) | 4.34 (110) | 5.32 (135) | 57.81 (1,468) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.2 (0.51) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 9.9 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 7.7 | 8.3 | 8.8 | 7.5 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 7.0 | 9.5 | 93.7 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Source 1: NOAA[12] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service (mean maxima/minima 1981–2010)[13] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 285 | — | |
| 1890 | 322 | 13.0% | |
| 1900 | 416 | 29.2% | |
| 1910 | 315 | −24.3% | |
| 1920 | 635 | 101.6% | |
| 1930 | 998 | 57.2% | |
| 1940 | 1,766 | 77.0% | |
| 1950 | 1,925 | 9.0% | |
| 1960 | 2,442 | 26.9% | |
| 1970 | 3,031 | 24.1% | |
| 1980 | 3,453 | 13.9% | |
| 1990 | 3,819 | 10.6% | |
| 2000 | 4,637 | 21.4% | |
| 2010 | 5,075 | 9.4% | |
| 2020 | 4,901 | −3.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[14] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White | 1,458 | 29.75% |
| Black or African American | 2,366 | 48.28% |
| Native American | 78 | 1.59% |
| Asian | 41 | 0.84% |
| Pacific Islander | 1 | 0.02% |
| Other/Mixed | 106 | 2.16% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 851 | 17.36% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 4,901 people, 1,359 households, and 1,024 families residing in the city.
As of thecensus[16] of 2000, there were 4,637 people, 1,490 households, and 1,065 families residing in the city. The population density was 495.9 inhabitants per square mile (191.5/km2). There were 1,654 housing units at an average density of 176.9 per square mile (68.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 52.86%White, 44.25%African American, 1.04%Native American, 0.43%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 0.58% fromother races, and 0.82% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 1.94% of the population.
There were 1,490 households, out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% weremarried couples living together, 23.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,052, and the median income for a family was $30,069. Males had a median income of $27,060 versus $17,280 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $12,986. About 21.5% of families and 26.8% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 39.6% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.
The largest chicken processing plant in the world—able to process 2.5 million chickens per week—is located onHighway 35 north of Carthage. Originally owned by Choctaw Maid Farms, the plant was flanked by a largetrailer park built in the mid-1990s to house the factory's growing Hispanic migrant workforce, and the Hispanic population of Carthage increased from 1.9 percent to 12.3 percent between 2000 and 2010. The plant was purchased byTyson Foods in 2003, and employs 1,700.[8][16][17][18]
The Square Affair is held annually each May, and features walks, runs, a children's fishing rodeo, an idol competition, vendors, fireworks, and a basketball tournament.[19]
McMillian Park in Carthage has baseball diamonds, tennis courts, soccer field, disc golf course, two playgrounds, and a fishing pond.
Lincoln Park in Carthage has a baseball diamond, basketball court, walking trail, and community center.
The City of Carthage is served by theLeake County School District includingLeake Central High School.
Carthage is served byMississippi Highway 35,Mississippi Highway 16, andMississippi Highway 25.
The Carthage-Leake County Airport is located north of the city.
Carthage is protected by its own police and fire departments.
The Baptist Medical Center in Carthage provides hospital services and critical care.
Municipalities and communities ofLeake County, Mississippi,United States | ||
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| City |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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