Scooba, Mississippi

Scooba is a town in Kemper County, Mississippi, United States.[3] The population was 732 at the 2010 census.

Scooba, Mississippi
Town
Town of Scooba
Scooba railway station in 1975
Location of Scooba, Mississippi
Scooba Location in the United States
Coordinates: 32°49′41.5″N 88°28′35.1″W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Kemper
Named for	Choctaw: scooba ("Reed brake")
Area [1]
• Total	2.48 sq mi (6.42 km^2)
• Land	2.48 sq mi (6.42 km^2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km^2)
Elevation	213 ft (65 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	732
• Estimate  (2019)[2]	686
• Density	276.72/sq mi (106.85/km^2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	39358
Area code(s)	662
FIPS code	28-66160
GNIS feature ID	677458[3]

History

The first permanent settlement at Scooba was made in the 1830s.[4] Scooba is a Choctaw word meaning "reed brake", and the early settlement was noted for its productive farmland.[5]

A line of the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad passed through Scooba. A Democratic weekly newspaper, The Kemper Herald, was established in Scooba in 1876. By the early 1900s, Scooba had several residential homes, a hotel, a livery barn, a post office, two saw milling plants, a cotton gin, a general store, five churches (three white and two colored), a school, and a bank (the Bank of Kemper, established in 1904). Scooba was a local market for cotton.[5]

In late December 1906, Scooba and Wahalak, Mississippi, were the sites of white rioting against blacks. In the various conflicts, which started with confrontations between passengers and conductors on the railroad, a total of 12 blacks and two whites were killed by December 26. The county sheriff called in the state militia for assistance. The events were covered by national newspapers.[6]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²), all land.

Scooba is adjacent to U.S. Route 45, Mississippi Highway 16, and a railroad. It is 35 miles (56 km) north of Meridian and 50 miles (80 km) south of Columbus.[7]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	286		—
1910	322		12.6%
1920	700		117.4%
1930	933		33.3%
1940	606		−35.0%
1950	734		21.1%
1960	513		−30.1%
1970	626		22.0%
1980	511		−18.4%
1990	541		5.9%
2000	632		16.8%
2010	732		15.8%
Est. 2019	686	[2]	−6.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 632 people, 204 households, and 139 families residing in the town. The population density was 257.3 people per square mile (99.2/km²). There were 244 housing units at an average density of 99.3 per square mile (38.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 54.91% African American, 44.30% White, 0.16% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.79% of the population.

There were 204 households, out of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 27.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 29.7% from 18 to 24, 19.5% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 127.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 134.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $18,875, and the median income for a family was $31,375. Males had a median income of $30,500 versus $29,063 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,110. About 30.3% of families and 25.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.2% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Town of Scooba is served by the Kemper County School District.

The main campus of East Mississippi Community College, including the college system's administrative headquarters, is in Scooba.[7] EMCC was featured on the Netflix documentary Last Chance U, which chronicled their 2015 and 2016 football seasons.

Notable people

• Abner M. Aust Jr. - United States Air Force officer[10]
• Kevin Granger - professional basketball player.
• Charles Jones - played four seasons in the National Basketball Association.
• John J. Pettus - 23rd Governor of Mississippi; moved to Scooba at age 22.[11]

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
3. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Scooba
4. Baca, Keith A. (2007). Native American Place Names in Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-60473-483-6.
5. Rowland, Dunbar (1907). Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. 2. Southern Historical Publishing Association. pp. 624, 625.
6. "Whites in Race War Kill Blacks Blindly/ Innocent Negroes Shot in the Mississippi Trouble", New York Times, 26 December 1906; accessed 20 March 2017
7. "CATALOG 2007-2009 Archived 2010-12-18 at the Wayback Machine." East Mississippi Community College. 8 (8/147). Retrieved on March 1, 2011.
8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
9. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
10. Hall of Valor-Abner Maurice Aust
11. Dubay, Robert W. (1975). John Jones Pettus, Mississippi Fire-Eater. University Press of Mississippi. p. 5.

External links