Meridian, Mississippi

Meridian is a city in and the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. The population of the city is 41,148, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Some history on the city can be found here. The town boomed in the aftermath of the Civil War, and experienced its "Golden Age" from 1880 to 1910. The railroads in the area provided for both passenger transportation and industrial needs, stimulating industry, businesses and a population boom. Related commercial activity increased in the downtown area. It was the largest city in Mississippi between 1890 and 1930, before being overtaken by Jackson, which Jackson has taken by a wide margin since.
Meridian 	Mississippi
Incorporated 	February 10, 1860
Nickname 	Queen City, Murderidian (by some trainers and local residents)
Motto 	"A Better Longitude On Life"
County 	Lauderdale
Population 	41,148
Elevation 	344 ft (105 m)
Mayor 	Kamar Clarke
Gym Leader 	Jackson Murray - Fire-type specialist Gym
City Guildmaster	Shiloh Black
ZIP codes 	39301-39307
== Demographics ==
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the city is:
61.66% Black or African American (25,371)
34.89% White (14,356)
3.45% Other (1,421)
30.2% (12,426) of Meridian residents live below the poverty line.
== Theft rate statistics ==
Over the years, Meridian has, unfortunately, been a hotspot for Team Rocket's activities in Eastern Mississippi, mainly due to it being the largest city in the region, and due to being where 20 and 59 meet, along a middle point between Jackson and Tuscaloosa/Birmingham, and just a drive down 59 south to New Orleans. And the fact that the city has become economically depressed in recent years hasn't helped, although Team Rocket was here long before that. It has the 10th-highest Pokemon theft rate in the state, and the 7th-highest murder rate. The city reported 61 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 10.43 murders a year. A lot of residents are negative about Meridian's future, as seen by many comments on WTOK articles and on forums, and the crime has made it difficult to sell a house in the city. Many are moving out to the county to escape crime, taxes and the decay. The amount of Pokemon getting murdered on a yearly basis has earned the city the nickname "Murderidian". Combine that with no momentum for new industrial or large scale economic development, terrible city schools, high taxes, people being terminally pessimistic and very negative about the place, and the poor planning, leadership and corruption in the city government, it is unknown if Meridian will be making progress any time soon, as the city failed to re-establish itself after the railroad industry declined when the interstates came.
== Pokemon ==
See the Lauderdale County page for more info.
== Fun facts ==
* The area is served by two military facilities, Naval Air Station Meridian and Key Field, which employ over 4,000 people. NAS Meridian is home to the Regional Counter-Drug Training Academy (RCTA) and the first local Department of Homeland Security in the state. Key Field is named after brothers Fred and Al Key, who set a world endurance flight record in 1935. The field is now home to the 186th Air Refueling Wing of the Air National Guard and a support facility for the 185th Aviation Brigade of the Army National Guard. Rush Foundation Hospital is the largest non-military employer in the region, employing 2,610 people. Among the city's many arts organizations and historic buildings are the Riley Center, the Meridian Museum of Art, Meridian Little Theatre, and the Meridian Symphony Orchestra. Meridian was home to two Carnegie libraries, one for whites and one for African Americans. The Carnegie Branch Library, now demolished, was one of a number of Carnegie libraries built for blacks in the Southern United States during the segregation era.
* The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center (The MAX) is located in downtown Merdian. Jimmie Rodgers, the "Father of Country Music", was born in Meridian. Highland Park houses a museum which displays memorabilia of his life and career, as well as railroad equipment from the steam-engine era. The park is also home to the Highland Park Dentzel Carousel, a National Historic Landmark. It is the world's only two-row stationary Dentzel menagerie in existence. Other notable natives include Miss America 1986 Susan Akin; James Chaney, an activist who was one of three civil rights workers murdered in 1964; and Hartley Peavey, founder of Peavey Electronics headquartered in Meridian. The federal courthouse was the site of the 1966–1967 trial of suspects in the murder of Chaney and two other activists. For the first time, an all-white jury convicted a white official of a civil rights killing.
* In September 1995, Team Rocket targeted a major PokeBall production plant in the city of Meridian, invaded the plant, opening fire inside, killing 5 workers and 5 Pokemon, and taking the remaining workers and Pokemon hostage, and the boss of the plant was captured and taken away to an undisclosed location. The organization had effectively seized the plant, the main focus being on them going after the development project of the first Master Ball to ever be marketed in the U.S., and got ahead to finishing it up. They held control over the plant for nine months, before in June 1996, the federal government barged in and captured all of the Team Rocket members, arresting them and freeing the captured workers and boss, who had been fed and watered during this time, with thankfully no deaths. The Team Rocket members who participated in the murders of the workers and Pokemon, and the ones who abducted the boss were sentenced to life in a federal prison with no chance of parole, while the others got sentences ranging from 5 to 50 years in jail. The Silph Co. was the victim of a similar attack two years later, but not as violent. And it wasn't successful, either.
* Despite all of its problems, Meridian has a large amount of amenities, as it is the largest city in its area. A lot of fast food and chain restaurants, no shortage of hotels, Walmart, Nintendo World, Bonita Lakes Mall (which isn't that nice these days), plenty of shopping centers, dollar stores, a community college, Bonita Lakes Park, the East Mississippi Battle Academy, a couple of truck stops, a regional airport, Tractor Supply Co., and many other chain stores, a former PokeSoul recording studio that, although has not been used since 1969, is a historical landmark, plenty of sports fields and battlefields, and much more.
* Team Rocket's Mississippi branch leader from 2005 to 2012, Julian Humphrey, is a native of Meridian.
* Local stations that broadcast out of Meridian include WTOK-TV (ABC 11), WMAW (PBS 14), WMDN (CBS 24), and WGBC (FOX 30, 30-DT2 NBC).
* The Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum and the Mississippi Electric Museum are both located in Meridian.
Category:Mississippi Cities