# Crystal Springs, Mississippi

Crystal Springs is a city in Copiah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,044 as of the 2010 census, down from 5,873 in 2000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.

## Geography

U.S. Route 51 runs through the northwest part of Crystal Springs, intersecting Interstate 55 at the latter's Exit 72. I-55 leads north 24 miles (39 km) to Jackson, the state capital, and 29 miles (47 km) south to Brookhaven.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14.2 km$^2$), of which 5.4 square miles (14.1 km$^2$) is land and 0.039 square miles (0.1 km$^2$), or 0.96%, is water.

### Climate

Climate data for Crystal Springs Experiment Station, Mississippi (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1892–1954, 1985–present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 89 (32) | 86 (30) | 94 (34) | 93 (34) | 101 (38) | 104 (40) | 107 (42) | 108 (42) | 107 (42) | 100 (38) | 91 (33) | 87 (31) | 108 (42) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 58.1 (14.5) | 62.6 (17.0) | 69.5 (20.8) | 76.4 (24.7) | 83.7 (28.7) | 89.9 (32.2) | 92.2 (33.4) | 92.3 (33.5) | 87.8 (31.0) | 79.3 (26.3) | 68.3 (20.2) | 60.8 (16.0) | 76.7 (24.8) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 47.4 (8.6) | 51.3 (10.7) | 57.9 (14.4) | 64.9 (18.3) | 72.7 (22.6) | 79.3 (26.3) | 81.7 (27.6) | 81.5 (27.5) | 76.8 (24.9) | 66.7 (19.3) | 56.4 (13.6) | 49.9 (9.9) | 65.5 (18.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 36.7 (2.6) | 40.1 (4.5) | 46.3 (7.9) | 53.4 (11.9) | 61.7 (16.5) | 68.7 (20.4) | 71.3 (21.8) | 70.7 (21.5) | 65.7 (18.7) | 54.1 (12.3) | 44.4 (6.9) | 39.1 (3.9) | 54.4 (12.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 3 (−16) | −7 (−22) | 16 (−9) | 27 (−3) | 35 (2) | 50 (10) | 55 (13) | 54 (12) | 40 (4) | 26 (−3) | 17 (−8) | 2 (−17) | −7 (−22) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 6.12 (155) | 5.87 (149) | 5.79 (147) | 5.73 (146) | 4.42 (112) | 5.57 (141) | 5.39 (137) | 5.76 (146) | 3.93 (100) | 3.35 (85) | 4.65 (118) | 5.93 (151) | 62.51 (1,588) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.2 (0.51) | 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) | 0.4 (1.0) | 0.7 (1.8) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 8.9 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 9.4 | 9.2 | 8.6 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 94.1 |
| 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 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Source: NOAA ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

Crystal Springs racial composition as of 2020 :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,464 | 30.11% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 3,007 | 61.85% |
| Native American | 1 | 0.02% |
| Asian | 16 | 0.33% |
| Pacific Islander | 4 | 0.08% |
| Other/Mixed | 108 | 2.22% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 262 | 5.39% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,862 people, 1,418 households, and 982 families residing in the city.

## Education

Crystal Springs is served by the Copiah County School District. Copiah Academy is a local private school in the area. Copiah-Lincoln Community College is located in Wesson. Crystal Springs was the first school in Mississippi to allow black students to attend.
The Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library operates a branch in Crystal Springs.

## Controversies

On February 2, 1922, Will Thrasher was lynched, the first lynching in Copiah County in 20 years.
Civil rights-era violence related to passage of civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965, led the armed Deacons for Defense and Justice to established centers in both Crystal Springs and nearby Hazlehurst, in 1966 and 1967. They acted to provide physical protection for African-American protesters who were working with the NAACP on a commercial boycott of white merchants to force integration of stores and employment, to gain jobs for African Americans at places where they were patrons. Eventually the protesters won the removal of discriminatory practices at stores and African Americans gained some jobs in these local businesses.
In 2012, the First Baptist Church denied a black couple permission to be married there after objections from church members. The pastor performed the wedding at a different church.

## Notable people

* Hulette F. Aby, former attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma
* Dexter Allen, blues guitarist
* Bruce M. Bailey, author and humorist
* Joseph W. Bailey, U.S. senator from Texas
* Percy Bland, mayor of Meridian, Mississippi
* Tom Funchess, former professional football offensive tackle
* Larry Grantham, American Football League linebacker and member of the *New York Jets (Super Bowl III champions)
* White Graves, former professional football defensive back
* Pat Harrison, a Democratic member of the *U.S. Congress in the 1920s and 1930s
* Anita C. Hill, Lutheran minister
* Tommy Johnson, Delta blues musician
* George Kinard, former professional football guard
* Phil Redding, former Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals
* Hunter Renfroe, professional baseball player
* Alton D. Slay, four-star general in the United States Air Force
* Malcolm Taylor, former professional football defensive end