Poplarville

History

Poplarville was named for Poplar Jim Smith, the original owner of the town site.

Pearl County was officially formed in 1872. The county courthouse was located in the Masonic building but it burned not long after the county was formed. The records went in the fire. Due to the fire, substandard tax rolls and the poor numbers of residents the county was abolished in 1878.

In the year 1890 the new Pearl RIVER county was formed by an act of the Legislature that appropriated lands from both Hancock county to the south and Marion county to the north. Just prior to the establishment of the new county a railroad was built through the area, the New Orleans and Northeastern which greatly helped grow the areas population.

Poplarville was designated the county's seat of the new government, the city named after "Poplar" Jim Smith who owned much of the land in the area. The city was incorporated several years before the new county was established, March 4th, 1886. Poplarville had only 236 residents as of the 1890 census, but by 1900 the population soared over 325% to 990 residents!

The first Pearl River Courthouse was built in Poplarville in 1892 costing $8,298. It later housed the Pearl River County Hospital. The city's first school opened the same year which saved parents from having to bring their children to Lumberton, almost 25 miles north of Poplarville.

In 1907, a young lawyer, minister, and farmer from Pearl River County, Theodore Bilbo, was elected to the Mississippi Senate, beginning a long political career that took him twice to the governor's mansion, ending in a 12-year tenure in the U. S. Senate. In 1909, two years prior to Bilbo's election to the post of Lieutenant Governor, Pearl River County Agricultural High School was established at Poplarville. In 1923, the progressive community opened the first of Mississippi's junior colleges at the Agricultural High School. George Tindall wrote in his book "The Emergence of the New South 1913-1945" about Bilbo, "in the four Bilbo years, (which was his first term as Governor) "according to the Federal Commission of Education, Mississippi made more educational progress than any other state."

Pearl River County continued growing, prosperity followed. Its citizens decided that the original county courthouse was inadequate and in 1918, construction of the 2nd courthouse began. The $130,000 cost was immense but the building was completed and occupied in June 1920.

Poplarville is home to Pearl River Community College, Mississippi's first and Community College.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina inflicted damage on Poplarville, with the storm's most powerful, unofficially recorded gust of wind reported at Pearl River Community College, of 135 mph (217 km/h). On September 2, 2005, Ohio Army National Guard arrived in Poplarville to assist with the recovery. Initial efforts were the security of banks, pharmacies and gas stations as well as responses to rural emergencies. The unit stayed for three weeks ultimately checking on every family and structure in the county. On September 5, 2005, George W. Bush, Laura Bush, and Governor Haley Barbour visited Pearl River Community College to view the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Pearl River County is a dry county but municipalities control whether to stay dry or not. On March 25, 2014, Poplarville citizens voted to allow for beer and low alcohol percentage wine sales. The final vote count was 361 votes for the measure and 149 against.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10 km2), of which, 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (0.52%) is water.

Climate

Poplarville has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with short spring times followed by hot summers and short, mild winters. Snowfall is a rarity, usually once every 10 years.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Poplarville had a population of 2,833. The median age was 25.9 years. 17.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 84.7 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 790 households in Poplarville, of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.4% were married-couple households, 15.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 39.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 961 housing units, of which 17.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.0%.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,601 people, 852 households, and 558 families residing in the city. The population density was 676.5 inhabitants per square mile (261.2/km2). There were 936 housing units at an average density of 243.4 per square mile (94.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 74.32% White, 23.95% African American, 0.50% Asian, 0.15% Native American, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.

There were 852 households, out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% were married couples living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 20.8% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,417, and the median income for a family was $32,339. Males had a median income of $35,250 versus $21,667 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,833. About 20.8% of families and 25.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.8% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Theodore G. Bilbo, U.S. Senator, was born in 1877 in Juniper Grove, an eastern township of Poplarville.

Jimmy Buffett, musician, lived in Poplarville for a period of time starting in 1959.

Grady C. Cothen, preacher and president of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary from 1970 to 1974

Glen Day, PGA Tour Golfer.

Jonathan J. C. Grey, federal judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Chapel Hart, country music group.

Jim Henderson, radio voice announcer for the New Orleans Saints from 2012 to 2018

Hudson Holliday, politician and Major General in the Mississippi National Guard

Zac Houston, Major League Baseball pitcher

John Lumpkin, head football coach of the Mississippi State Teachers for the 1930 season

Whitney Miller, the United States' first MasterChef.

Jansen Owen, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives

Mack Charles Parker, African-American victim of lynching in the United States.

Argile Smith, pastor and president of Louisiana Christian University from 2014 to 2015

Education

The City of Poplarville is served by the Poplarville School District and is home to Pearl River Community College.