GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPPI

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'Greenville' is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 41,633 at the 2000 census (likely higher now after Hurricane Katrina devastated areas farther south and east). It is the county seat of Washington County. Greenville is also the largest city in Mississippi north of the I-20 corridor.
Greenville was named after American Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene.
Greenville is located on the eastern bank of Lake Ferguson, an oxbow lake left from an old channel of the Mississippi River. A floating casino is located on the lake near the downtown area. Chicago Mill and Lumber Co. operated a lumber mill on the lake .2 mile south of the casino levee parking lot; the mill specialized in making hardwood boxes until it closed. The Winterville Mounds Historic Site, with museum and picnic area, is located just north of the town at 2415 Highway 1 N; the Indian mounds were built by a tribe that predated the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian tribes.
Greenville was the birthplace of puppeteer Jim Henson, singer Mary Wilson of The Supremes, author Shelby Foote, pro-baseball player Frank White, archaeologist Theresa Helbach, and pioneering Chinese American journalist Sam Chu Lin.
African-American bear hunter and sportsman Holt Collier is buried in Greenville.
Jo Carr (1926-2007), born Bettye Jo Crisler in Greenville, became one of the first women Methodist ministers and church administrators in the South Texas Plains. She was first an English professor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Education

Sports

Notable Residents

External links

Geography

Greenville is located at (33.398577, -91.048356).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 71.6 km² (27.7 mi²). 69.6 km² (26.9 mi²) of it is land and 2.0 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (2.82%) is water. In 1999, Greenville experienced an unprecedented explosion in its cricket population. No one knows why.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 41,633 people, 14,784 households, and 10,422 families residing in the city. The population density was 598.0/km² (1,548.8/mi²). There were 16,251 housing units at an average density of 233.4/km² (604.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 28.92% White, 69.60% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.71% of the population.
There were 14,784 households out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.8% were married couples living together, 27.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.34.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.4% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 85.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,928, and the median income for a family was $30,788. Males had a median income of $29,801 versus $20,707 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,992. About 25.7% of families and 29.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.2% of those under age 18 and 23.6% of those age 65 or over.
Greenville's Jewish [1] population now comprises approximately 65 families. From 1940-1965, Greenville had the largest Jewish population in the state of Mississippi. This reform congregation was chartered as the Hebrew Union Congregation of Greenville, Ms. in 1880. The congregation is still very active with services held every Shabbot, all holidays, and a religious school.

Education

Most of Greenville is served by the Greenville Public School District, while a small portion of the city lies in the Western Line School District.
The private schools, Washington and Greenville Christian, also serve the city; as well as the parochial schools, St. Joseph High School and Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary (which are part of the Diocese of Jackson).

Sports

The Mississippi Miracles, formerly the Mississippi Stingers are an American Basketball Association franchise in Greenville.

Notable Residents

Richard Bergis, victim of the "Mr. Bergis prank calls."

External links

★ City of Greenville

★ History of Greenville's Jewish community (from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life)