# Magnolia, Mississippi

Magnolia is a city in Pike County, Mississippi and the county seat. The population was 2,420 at the 2010 census. Magnolia is within the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area.

## History

Magnolia was founded in 1856 by Ansel H. Prewett, a local civic leader and cotton planter. Knowing that the approaching New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad (now the Illinois Central Railroad) would need a station for water and fuel, Prewett sold a right-of-way to the railroad company – for one dollar, according to legend – and divided a section of his plantation into town lots, which he sold to investors. Prewett, while serving as temporary sheriff of Pike County, was killed by outlaws in the early 1870s escorting a prisoner on the very railroad that made Magnolia a viable community.
Magnolia grew rapidly in the 1860s, and in the late nineteenth century Magnolia served as a popular small-town resort for wealthy New Orleanians, who took trains north from New Orleans to enjoy Magnolia's fresh air and sparkling creeks. At one time early Magnolia boasted an opera house, skating rink, and several hotels that catered largely to these tourists.
In 1860 Magnolia's first newspaper, the Grand Trunk Magnolian, was established by John Waddill. It did not last the war and was succeeded by the establishment of the Magnolia Gazette by J.D. Burke in 1872. The Magnolia Herald was established by Luke W. Conerly in 1875 and he continued as its proprietor and editor until 1878.

## Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.5 km$^2$), of which 3.2 square miles (8.3 km$^2$) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km$^2$) (1.52%) is water.
Within the city limits there is the confluence of the Minnehaha River and the Little Tangipahoa River.

## Demographics

Magnolia racial composition as of 2020 :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White | 508 | 26.98% |
| Black or African American | 1,276 | 67.76% |
| Native American | 2 | 0.11% |
| Asian | 5 | 0.27% |
| Other/Mixed | 68 | 3.61% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 24 | 1.27% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,883 people, 825 households, and 444 families residing in the city.

## Notable people

* Dorothy Bainton, doctor and first woman to chair a department at University of California, San Francisco
* Prentiss Barnes (1925-2006), bass singer in the doo-wop group The Moonglows. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
* Danny Brabham, former American Football League player
* Jeremy Bridges, former National Football League player
* Kelvin Butler, member of the Mississippi Senate from 2004 to 2016 and 2021 to 2024
* Laphonza Butler (born 1979), U.S. Senator from California.
* Angela Cockerham, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
* Jimmy Cockerham, Negro league catcher
* Aunjanue Ellis (born 1969), Oscar-nominated actress.
* Sam Holden, former National Football League offensive tackle
* Samuel C. Lancaster, engineer and landscape artist
* Jim Marshall, former Canadian Football League player
* Evander McNair, brigadier general in the Confederate States Army
* Herman Neugass (1915–1991), track & field athlete who boycotted the 1935 Olympic trials
* Joseph Elias Norwood, former member of the Mississippi Senate
* William Parsons, Director of the Kennedy Space Center, oversaw return to flight following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.
* Darryl Pounds, former NFL player
* J. H. Price, former justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi
* Michael Farris Smith, writer
* Lynne Spears (born 1955), author and mother of Bryan, Britney, and Jamie Lynn Spears.
* Tre' Stallings, former NFL player
* Davion Taylor (born 1998), NFL Linebacker drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, 3rd round, in 2020.
* T. C. Taylor, former NFL player and head coach of the Jackson State Tigers
* Thad Vann, head football coach for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles from 1949 to 1968 and member of the College Football Hall of Fame
* Sammy Williams, former NFL offensive tackle

## Transportation
### Highways

* Interstate 55
* U.S. Highway 51
* Mississippi Highway 48

### Air

* McComb-Pike County Airport

## Education

The City of Magnolia is served by the South Pike School District.
The town has one public library.
Pike County is in the district of Southwest Mississippi Community College.

## Recreation

* Percy Quin State Park
* Homochitto National Forest 42 miles away

## Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Magnolia has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.