Woodville, Mississippi
Town in Mississippi, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Woodville is one of the oldest towns in Mississippi and is the county seat of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, United States.[2] Its population as of 2020 was 928.[3]
Woodville, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
Wilkinson County Courthouse in Woodville | |
 Location of Woodville, Mississippi | |
  Woodville, Mississippi Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 31°6′10″N 91°17′59″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Wilkinson |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Jesse Stewart 2025- |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.03 sq mi (2.68 km2) |
| • Land | 1.03 sq mi (2.68 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 404 ft (123 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 928 |
| • Density | 895.7/sq mi (345.83/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 39669 |
| Area code | 601 |
| FIPS code | 28-81120 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0679870 |
| Website | www |
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), all land.
History
According to a steamboat man named Samuel Clement, after the Battle of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson took from the U.S. armory two cannons that had been used at the Battle of Saratoga and sent one to Woodville and one to Natchez.[4] In 1831 there was a plan to build a railroad from Woodville to St. Francisville at Bayou Sara under the title of West Feliciana Railroad Company.[5]
- Needs a year that the city was founded.
Woodville Historic District, encompassing many of the older buildings in the urban center, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[7] | Pop 2010[8] | Pop 2020[9] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 291 | 250 | 217 | 24.41% | 22.81% | 23.38% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 882 | 823 | 677 | 73.99% | 75.09% | 72.95% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0.00% | 0.55% | 0.22% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.11% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.22% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 11 | 8 | 24 | 0.92% | 0.73% | 2.59% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 8 | 9 | 5 | 0.67% | 0.82% | 0.54% |
| Total | 1,192 | 1,096 | 928 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2020 census
Per the 2020 United States census, there were 928 people, 386 households, and 277 families residing in the town; its racial composition was 77.95% black, 22.38% non-Hispanic white, 0.22% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 2.8% other or mixed, and 0.54% Hispanic or Latino of any race.[3]
Education
Wilkinson County School District serves Woodville. There are three education facilities near Woodville: Wilkinson County Elementary School, Wilkinson County High School, and the private school Wilkinson County Christian Academy, which was established in 1969 as a segregation academy.[10]
Wilkinson County is in the district of Southwest Mississippi Community College.[11]
Media
The Woodville Republican, a weekly newspaper founded in 1823, is the oldest surviving business (and thus the oldest newspaper) in Mississippi.[12]
Notable people
- Julia K. Wetherill Baker (1858–1931), writer and poet, was born in Woodville[13]
- Betty Bentley Beaumont (1828–1892), author, merchant, cotton factor, hotel owner
- Henry Cohen (rabbi), served here from 1885 to 1888 before going to Galveston, Texas, where he became a nationally known community leader
- Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America; lived near here for a couple of years as a youth on Rosemont, his parents' plantation, and attended Woodville Academy before going to school in Kentucky.
- Ronnie Edwards, Louisiana politician, born in Woodville[14]
- George Gonda, NFL player and mayor of Woodville[15]
- Will E. Keller, businessman
- Rudolph Matthews, handball player
- Edward Grady Partin (1924–1990), born in Woodville, he became a Teamsters Union business agent from Baton Rouge. His testimony sent Jimmy Hoffa to prison.[16]
- Carnot Posey, Civil War Confederate general
- Peter Randolph, early 19th century Federal judge
- Dan Reneau, President of Louisiana Tech University
- William Grant Still, African-American classical composer and Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee was born in Woodville on May 11, 1895.
- Matt Tolbert, professional baseball infielder
- W. P. S. Ventress (1854–1911), Mississippi state legislator
- George W. Wheeler, Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court (1920–30)
- Lester Young (1909–1959), jazz musician and Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee was born in Woodville.[17]
- William Henry Young, Wisconsin politician, born in Woodville
