Magee, Mississippi
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Magee, Mississippi | |
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| Downtown Magee in March 2013 Downtown Magee in March 2013 | |
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| Location of Magee, Mississippi Location of Magee, Mississippi | |
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| Coordinates: 31°52′22″N 89°44′1″W / 31.87278°N 89.73361°WCoordinates: 31°52′22″N 89°44′1″W / 31.87278°N 89.73361°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Simpson |
| City | February 25, 1900 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-Council |
| • Mayor | Dale Berry[1] |
| • Board of Aldermen | Mark Grubbs Lewana Thompson Sammie Tebo Patrick Brown Sue Honea |
| Area | |
| • Total | Template:Infobox settlement/areadisp |
| • Land | Template:Infobox settlement/areadisp |
| • Water | Template:Infobox settlement/areadisp |
| Elevation | Template:Infobox settlement/lengthdisp |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 3,988 |
| • Density | Template:Infobox settlement/densdisp |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 39111 |
| Area code(s) | 601 |
| FIPS code | 28-44600 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0673055 |
| Website | www.cityofmagee.com |
Magee is a city in Simpson County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Jackson metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Magee had a population of 3,988.[3]
History
The first settlers in the area were Arthur Mangum and Phil Magee, who came into the area around 1820. Pioneers from Virginia and the Carolinas followed. The town of Magee was originally named Mangum, after Arthur Mangum; it kept this name until 1859.[4]
In 1840, Willis Magee built a grist mill on Little Goodwater Creek, inside the present city limits. He started the first and only postal service in the area in 1855.[5]
Robert Solomon Magee was the first post master in Magee and the city of Magee was named after him.
Richard Farthing came to Magee in 1859 when he was in the leather tanning business. He bought 80 acres of land and also built a tanyard and used water from the mill pond to tan his leather.[6] The population of Magee in 1919 was 786. There were approximately 23 businesses in the area at the time.[6]
Magee is approximately 42 miles south of Jackson, 45 miles north of Hattiesburg,[6] and 12 miles south of Mendenhall, the county seat of Simpson County.[7]
Magee's first mayor was R.P. Vinson, who served from 1900 to 1907.[6]
In 2013, First Baptist Church in downtown Magee was seriously damaged by a fire but has been restored.[8]
Windham's Restaurant is located in Magee, and was established in 1963, locally known as "Zip's". In 2015, the Zip Burger was voted the best hamburger in Mississippi.[9][10]
In 2017, the Magee Sportsplex was renamed the Jimmy Clyde Sportsplex in honor of former Magee mayor Jimmy Clyde.[11]
As of 2017, the mayor of Magee is Dale Berry.[12]
The city of Magee was featured in the Discovery Channel reality TV series Dirty Jobs.[13]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.9 square miles (13 km2), all land. Magee is located between Jackson and Hattiesburg on U.S. Highway 49 at the intersection of three Mississippi Highways: 541, 545, and 28. Magee is approximately 155 miles north of New Orleans, Louisiana, and approximately 142 miles north of Mobile, Alabama.[14][15]
Climate
Magee has a humid subtropical climate, with an annual mean temperature 65.8 degrees and average annual rainfall of 56.9 inches (1,450 mm).
March 2009 tornado
On March 26, 2009, around 1:30 a.m., an EF3 tornado struck the north part of the city. The tornado destroyed 60 homes and caused 25 injuries, with no fatalities.[16] The tornado significantly damaged the town's water treatment plant, interrupting service to the entire town. Circuit Riders and other technicians from the Mississippi Rural Water Association worked with the city staff, local contractors and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to restore water service.[17] Using four MEMA generators, the rural water staff was able to restore service to Magee by 2:20 p.m. the next day.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Magee had a population of 3,988. The median age was 35.1 years. 27.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.1 males age 18 and over.[18][19]
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[20]
There were 1,468 households in Magee, of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 30.3% were married-couple households, 20.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 40.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[18]
There were 1,708 housing units, of which 14.1% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.6%.[18]
| Race | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| White | 1,790 | 44.9% |
| Black or African American | 1,909 | 47.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 8 | 0.2% |
| Asian | 37 | 0.9% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 1 | 0.0% |
| Some other race | 95 | 2.4% |
| Two or more races | 148 | 3.7% |
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) | 131 | 3.3% |
Demographic estimates
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,702 | 42.6% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,966 | 49.2% |
| Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) | 161 | 4.05% |
| Other (Hispanic) | 116 | 2.92% |
| White (Hispanic) | 41 | 1.03% |
As of 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that there were 3,943 people and 1,264 households residing in the city.[22]
Economy
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Prominent area industries include Tyson Foods, Polk's Meat Products, Real Pure Beverage Group, and Howard Industry.
The Simpson County Development Foundation Industrial Park is an ultramodern, 205-acre (0.83 km2) industrial park located on four-lane Highway 49.
Arts and culture
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The Chamber of Commerce sponsors the annual Homecoming, the Christmas Parade, tree lighting and caroling.
Crazy Day is an annual event on Main Street, traditionally held the third Saturday of the month of September. Locals set up booths to sell products or homemade goods.
Magee is also the home of the former Broadcountry Cinema 3 Theater, opened in 1985 and owned by Butch McCall. The theater was closed in 2010. The theater now serves as the location of Shining Starz ABA Autism Therapy.[23][24]
A new civic center provides space for meetings for civic clubs and other organizations and houses the Magee Chamber of Commerce office.
Magee Public Library, the first public library in Magee, was established in 1935. Maude Turner was librarian. In 1937, the library was named Mims Williams Memorial Library. It is now a member of the Central Mississippi Regional Library System. The new library was built in 1975.
Education
The City of Magee is served by the Simpson County School District.
Public schools
- Magee High School
- Magee Middle School
- Magee Elementary
Higher learning
A branch of Copiah-Lincoln Community College is located in Magee.
Media
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Newspapers
The Magee Courier and Simpson County News serve Magee.[25]
Online news
Mageenews.com serves the local area.[26]
Radio and television
- WSJC 810 AM (talk radio)
- WKXI 107.5 FM (urban adult contemporary)
- WSMP-LP 96.9 FM (owned by Church Alive)
- WRBJ-TV channel 34, a television station licensed to Magee, but serving Jackson and with no presence in Magee
Infrastructure
Transportation
- Highways: U.S. Hwy 49; State Highways 28, 545, and 541.
- Railroad: Canadian National Railway (formally Illinois Central) serves the Magee area.
- Bus lines: Greyhound Bus serves the area.
- Airport: The Magee Municipal Airport (FAA identifier 17M) is located three miles west of Magee. It maintains a lighted 3,104 ft (946 m) × 50 ft (15 m) runway and is attended 24 hours a day. There is a hangar, lobby and office building complex (no control tower). The complex is equipped with automatic dusk to dawn lights, a beacon, and a wind directional device.
Public services
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A new city hall, police station and city jail have been completed. There are 16 full-time police personnel, including the Chief of Police and 12 auxiliary officers.
Magee has 36 trained volunteer firemen and one full-time Fire Marshall, four class A pumpers, 1 class A pumper/tanker, 1 ladder truck, one rescue unit and two utility trucks. Emergency medical services are provided by ASAP EMS, CORP.
In the Magee, Mississippi National Guard Unit, there are 149 members with five full-time personnel.
Notable people
- Roland Dale, professional football player
- Bo Davis, professional football coach[27]
- Woody Evans, librarian and writer
- Carlos Funchess, college basketball coach[28]
- Justin Griffith, professional football player[29]
- Ed Hardy, professional football player
- Micah Xavier Johnson, perpetrator of the 2016 Dallas ambush
- Jarrian Jones, professional football player[30]
- John Mangum, professional football player and father of John and Kris[31]
- John Mangum Jr., professional football player
- Kris Mangum, professional football player[32]
- Dan Monroe Russell Jr., United States federal judge
- Terrill Shaw, professional football player
- Harold Shaw, professional football player
- Prentiss Walker, farmer, businessman and politician
- Joseph Warren, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives[33]
References
- ↑ "Our City Welcomes You". City Of Magee. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
- ↑ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
- ↑ "mangum - magg07.htm - Generated by Personal Ancestral File". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ↑ Magee The First 100 Years 1900-2000. John P. "Pat" Brown.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Magee The First 100 Years 1900-2000. John P. "Pat" Brown.
- ↑ "Distance between Mendenhall, MS and Magee, MS". www.distance-cities.com.
- ↑ "First Baptist Church in Magee rebuilt, better than ever". May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
- ↑ "Zip Burger in Magee Named Best Burger in Mississippi". Eat, Drink, Mississippi. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ↑ Honea, Sue (February 18, 2015). "Zip Burger named top burger in State - MageeNews.com". Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ↑ Ratcliffe, Jason (July 8, 2017). "Jimmy Clyde Sportsplex". Magee News.
- ↑ Honea, Sue (May 17, 2017). "Magee's Mayor Dale Berry - MageeNews.com". Retrieved May 23, 2018.
- ↑ "Magee's Dirty Job!". mageenews.com. January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ↑ "Magee, MS→Mobile, AL". Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ↑ "How far is magee%2Cms to New Orleans - Search". Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ↑ US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "NWS Jackson, MS, March 25 and 26, 2009 Severe Weather Outbreak". www.weather.gov. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Rural Water assists Mississippi town after tornado". National Rural Water Association. 2009. Archived from the original on January 2, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ↑ "Magee, MS | Data USA". datausa.io. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Census profile: Magee, MS". Census Reporter. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Shining Starz ABA". Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ↑ "Broadcountry Cinema III in Magee, MS - Cinema Treasures". Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ↑ "Home | Magee Courier-Simpson County News". www.simpsoncounty.ms. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ↑ "Home". MageeNews.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ↑ Honea, Sue (January 18, 2016). "Former Magee Stand Out, Bo Davis, named Defensive Line Coach by FootballScoop.com". MageeNews.com. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
- ↑ Honea, Sue (March 21, 2019). "Magee Native Carlos Funchess wins SWAC Championship!". MageeNews.com. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
- ↑ "Justin Griffith". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
- ↑ Cook, Joe (April 26, 2024). "Jarrian Jones picked in NFL draft by the Jaguars". WAPT. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
- ↑ Cleveland, Rick (May 24, 2016). "Before John, Kris and Jake Mangum, there was Big John, Sr". MSFame.com. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
- ↑ "Ed Hardy". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
- ↑ "Joseph Warren". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
- Articles needing additional references from July 2016
- Use American English from June 2025
- Use mdy dates from July 2023
- Coordinates not on Wikidata
- Articles needing additional references from May 2020
- Articles needing additional references from May 2018
- Articles needing additional references from December 2017
- Cities in Mississippi
- Cities in Simpson County, Mississippi
- Cities in Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi