SOUTHAVEN, MISSISSIPPI

'Southaven', a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 28,977. By 2007 its population was well over 40,000. Southaven is traversed from north to south by the Interstate 55 freeway, most of which has recently been widened to 10 lanes.
The city's primary commercial district is along MS Hwy-302 (Goodman Rd.) near the interchange with the I-55, though much development is spreading to other corridors like Church Rd. and Getwell Rd. In recent years, Southaven has experienced explosive growth. As well as seeing a major influx of middle-income families, Southaven has become a major retail hub. Several big box retailers, auto dealers, and specialty stores have made Southaven home. The city is also home to the DeSoto Civic Center, a large venue for sporting and concert events, and one of Mississippi's largest hospitals, Baptist Memorial Hospital - DeSoto.
Southaven has passed Meridian and Greenville to become Mississippi's fifth-largest city, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
The estimates, for July 1, 2005, show Southaven with 38,840 residents, an increase of 2,595, or 7.2 percent from the previous year. The estimates also show that no other Mississippi city grew by as many as 2,000 residents during the year. Many cities and towns across the state have lost population.^[1]
Southaven hosts the minor league hockey team, the Mississippi RiverKings.

Contents

History

Geography

Neighboring Cities

Demographics

Local Area Attractions

Education

Colleges and Universities

Public Secondary Schools

Public Elementary Schools

Private Schools

Other facts

External links

References

History

Incorporated in 1980, Southaven is one of the fastest growing cities in the southeast United States. In just 20 years, Southaven has doubled its land mass and the population has increased three fold. The Mississippi Main Street program has included Southaven as one of its participant cities due to recent efforts to promote its US-51 & Stateline Rd (Main Street) area as its downtown.

Geography

Southaven is located at (34.966729, -89.987298).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 88.0 km² (34.0 mi²). 87.5 km² (33.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.52%) is water.
Annual precipitation: 50 inches, well distributed throughout the year. March is wettest month while October is driest.
Annual snowfall: Less than 2 inches per year
Average Temperatures: January 42 F July 81F

Neighboring Cities

★ Memphis, Tennessee

★ Olive Branch, Mississippi

★ Horn Lake, Mississippi

★ Hernando, Mississippi

★ Walls, Mississippi

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,977 people, 11,007 households, and 8,134 families residing in the city. The population density was 331.2/km² (857.9/mi²). There were 11,462 housing units at an average density of 131.0/km² (339.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.33% White, 6.65% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.13% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.26% of the population.
There were 11,007 households out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.7% 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 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $46,691, and the median income for a family was $52,333. Males had a median income of $36,671 versus $26,557 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,759. About 5.3% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Local Area Attractions

★ DeSoto Civic Center

★ Tunica Casino Resort

★ Graceland

★ FedExForum

★ Autozone Park

★ Arkabutla Lake

★ Memphis Motorsports Park

★ Southaven Towne Center

Education

Colleges and Universities

★ University of Mississippi - Desoto

★ Northwest Mississippi Community College

Public Secondary Schools

The City of Southaven is served by the DeSoto County School District.

★ Southaven High School

★ DeSoto County Career and Technology Center

★ Southaven Middle School

★ DeSoto Central High School

★ DeSoto Central Middle School

Public Elementary Schools

★ Greenbrook Elementary

★ Southaven Elementary School

★ Hope Sullivan Elementary

★ DeSoto Central Elementary

Private Schools

★ Southern Baptist Educational Center (SBEC)

★ Church of God at Southaven Christian Academy(COGSCA)

Other facts

★ Southaven was the boyhood home of noted novelist John Grisham who also practiced law there for almost a decade.

★ While its name would indicate otherwise, the city of Southaven is actually in the far north of the state. The name came from the fact that it was originally called ''South Whitehaven'', after the Memphis Suburb Whitehaven, Tennessee. The city's name was later changed as a result of the city not being in Tennessee.

★ Southaven is the boyhood home of Alt-Country Singer Songwriter Cory Branan

External links

★ City of Southaven

★ ''Go DeSoto'', Community website covering Southaven Mississippi

★ Southaven Chamber of Commerce

★ Southaven travel guide from Wikitravel

★ Baptist Memorial Hospital - DeSoto

References

1. http://www.chuckroberts.com/resources/show/43