Guntown, Mississippi

{{about|the U.S. city|the American Civil War battle of the same name|Battle of Brices Cross Roads|the borough nicknamed "guntown"|Girardville, Pennsylvania}}

{{Infobox settlement

|name = Guntown, Mississippi

|settlement_type = City

|official_name = City of Guntown

|image_skyline = Guntown-City-Hall-ms.jpg

|imagesize = 280px

|image_caption = Guntown City Hall

|image_map = Lee_County_Mississippi_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Guntown_Highlighted.svg

|mapsize=250x200px

|map_caption = Location in Lee county and Mississippi

|pushpin_map = USA

|pushpin_label = Guntown

|pushpin_relief = yes

|pushpin_label_position = left

|pushpin_map_caption = Location in the United States

|coordinates = {{coord|34|26|35.4|N|88|39|35.2|W|region:US-MS_type:city|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

|subdivision_type = Country

|subdivision_type1 = State

|subdivision_type2 = County

|subdivision_name = {{Flagu|United States}}

|subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Mississippi}}

|subdivision_name2 = Lee

|subdivision_type3 = Districts

|subdivision_name3 = 1, 2

|government_footnotes =

|government_type = Mayor–Council

|leader_title = Mayor

|leader_name = Brent Lindsey

|leader_party = I

|leader_title1 = Council

|leader_name1 = Board of Aldermen

|established_title = Founded

|established_date = {{start date|1866|4|13}}

|established_title1 = Incorporated

|established_date1 = {{start date|1867|2|16}}

|named_for = James G. Gunn

|unit_pref = Imperial

|area_total_km2 = 12.10

|area_land_km2 = 12.07

|area_water_km2 = 0.03

|area_total_sq_mi = 4.67

|area_land_sq_mi = 4.66

|area_water_sq_mi = 0.01

|population_as_of = 2020

|population_footnotes =

|population_total = 2410

|population_density_km2 = 199.68

|population_density_sq_mi = 517.17

|timezone = CST

|utc_offset = −06:00

|timezone_DST = CDT

|utc_offset_DST = −05:00

|elevation_m = 122

|elevation_ft = 400

|postal_code_type = ZIP code

|postal_code = 38849

|area_code_type = Area code

|area_code = 662

|blank_name = FIPS code

|blank_info = {{FIPS|28|29940}}

|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID

|blank1_info = {{GNIS4|670808}}, {{GNIS4|2406630}}

|blank2_name = Highways

|blank2_info = {{Unbulleted list|20px U.S. Highway 45|20px Highway 145}}

|blank3_name = Major airport

|blank3_info = Memphis Airport (MEM)

|pop_est_as_of =

|pop_est_footnotes =

|population_est =

|area_footnotes = {{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_28.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 24, 2022}}

}}

Guntown, officially the City of Guntown, is a city in Lee County, Mississippi, United States. It is located in the northern part of the Tupelo micropolitan area. The population was 2,410 at the 2020 Census.

History

Guntown is named for Virginia loyalist émigré James G. Gunn (d. 1826) who found asylum among the Chickasaw in present-day Lee County.{{cite book|editor-last=Riley|editor-first=Franklin L.|title=Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. VIII|url=https://archive.org/details/publications08missuoft/page/n7/mode/2up|year=1904|location=Oxford, Mississippi|pages=546(n.15), 587–88|oclc=1051757975|via=Internet Archive}} During the American Civil War, United States Cavalry officers described it as "a station and small village on the Mobile & Ohio road."{{cite book |author=|title=Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. IV|url=https://archive.org/details/battlesleaders04underich/page/420/mode/2up|year=1888|location=New-York|publisher=The Century Co.|page=420

|oclc=62079420|ol=7103131M|via=Internet Archive}}{{cite book|last=Scott|first=Wm. Forse|title=The Story of a Cavalry Regiment: The Career of the Fourth Iowa Veteran Volunteers from Kansas to Georgia, 1861-1865|url=https://archive.org/details/storyofcavalryre00scot/page/236/mode/2up|year=1893|location=New York and London|publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons|page=236|oclc=1085341346|ol=6916689M|via=Internet Archive}} Founded on April 13, 1866,{{Citation|author=|title=Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28|publisher=National Archives|place=Washington, D.C.}} it was initially incorporated as the "Town of Guntown" on February 16, 1867.{{cite book|author=|title=The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi: The "Blue Book," 2016-2020|publisher=Delbert Hosemann, Secretary of State|date=2017|page=357}}

Geography

Guntown is located along Highway 145, with the older parts of the city lying further to the east near the railroad tracks. U.S. Route 45 traverses the western part of the city, running roughly parallel to MS 145. Baldwyn lies just to the north of Guntown, and Saltillo lies just to the south.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|4.5|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|4.5|sqmi|km2}} is land and 0.22% is water.

Demographics

{{US Census population

|align=right

|1900= 325

|1910= 330

|1920= 365

|1930= 369

|1940= 349

|1950= 299

|1960= 269

|1970= 304

|1980= 359

|1990= 692

|2000= 1183

|2010= 2083

|2020= 2410

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}

}}

=2020 census=

class="wikitable"

|+Guntown Racial Composition{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US2829940&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=2021-12-08|website=data.census.gov}}

!Race

!Num.

!Perc.

White

|1,686

|69.96%

Black or African American

|511

|21.2%

Native American

|0.29%

Asian

|10

|0.41%

Pacific Islander

|0.08%

Other/Mixed

|107

|4.44%

Hispanic or Latino

|87

|3.61%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,410 people, 880 households, and 671 families residing in the town.

=2000 census=

As of the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}} of 2000, there were 1,183 people, 443 households, and 337 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|261.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 482 housing units at an average density of {{convert|106.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 74.98% White, 24.18% African American, 0.34% Asian, 0.42% from other races, and 0.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.01% of the population.

There were 443 households, out of which 45.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 21.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 34.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,188, and the median income for a family was $29,783. Males had a median income of $27,868 versus $20,375 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,456. About 19.3% of families and 24.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.5% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Guntown is served by the Lee County School District.{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28081_lee/DC20SD_C28081.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801001436/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28081_lee/DC20SD_C28081.pdf |archive-date=2022-08-01 |url-status=live|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lee County, MS|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=2022-07-31}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28081_lee/DC20SD_C28081_SD2MS.txt Text list]

Notable people

Cornelius Augustus, baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues{{cite web |title=Cornelius Augustus Stats |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/augusco01.shtml |website=baseball-reference.com |access-date=January 17, 2023}}
L. T. Kennedy, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1918 to 1935{{Cite book|last=Rowland|first=Dunbar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z8sGAQAAIAAJ&q=Kennedy|title=The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi|date=1923|publisher=Department of Archives and History |page=199 |language=en}}
Chad McMahan, member of the Mississippi Senate{{cite web |title=Chad McMahan |url=http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/members/senate/mcmahan.xml |website=Mississippi State Senate |access-date=January 17, 2023}}
Esther Smith, gospel music singer{{cite book|title=Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia|url=https://archive.org/details/uncloudydaysgosp00carp|url-access=registration|first=Bil|last=Carpenter|year=2005|pages=[https://archive.org/details/uncloudydaysgosp00carp/page/379 379]–80|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |isbn=9780879308414}}