Bassfield, Mississippi

Geography

Bassfield is located in southeastern Jefferson Davis County at (31.497090, -89.746008). Mississippi Highway 42 passes through the town, leading northwest 11 mi to Prentiss, the county seat, and southeast 14 mi to Sumrall. Mississippi Highway 35 passes through the west side of Bassfield, leading north 21 mi to Mount Olive and south 19 mi to Columbia.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Bassfield has a total area of 2.8 km2, all land.

Tornado history

Main article: 2020 Easter tornado outbreak, 2020 Bassfield–Soso tornado, Tornado outbreak of March 13–16, 2025#Kentwood, Louisiana/Society Hill–Carson, Mississippi

On April 12, 2020, at approximately 4:15 CDT, areas east of Bassfield were struck by a large, violent EF4 tornado, causing catastrophic damage. The town just barely avoided being hit again when a large EF3 tornado passed just north of the city only 35 minutes later.

Almost five years later on March 15, 2025, at approximately 12:45 PM CDT, another large, violent, and long tracked EF4 tornado passed just east of the town.

Demographics

2020 census

At the 2020 census, there was 192 people, 103 housing units, and 118 families in the town.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 315 people, 124 households, and 76 families residing in the town. The population density was 290.4 PD/sqmi. There were 144 housing units at an average density of 132.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 64.13% White, 35.56% African American and 0.32% Native American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.27% of the population.

There were 124 households, out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.3% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 28.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 71.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 69.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $18,500, and the median income for a family was $27,500. Males had a median income of $17,292 versus $14,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,283. About 22.7% of families and 25.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 34.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Bassfield is served by the Jefferson Davis County School District, which is among the lowest performing in the state by certain metrics, according to an analysis by ProPublica.

Notable residents

• Cornell Armstrong, professional football player
• A. J. Moore, professional football player
• C. J. Moore, professional football player
• Wilbur Myers, former defensive back for the Denver Broncos
• Ronnie Shows, U.S. congressman (1999–2003)

Gallery

File:Grief (1272794716).jpg|Grief, statue at the Bassfield Catholic Cemetery

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Bassfield town, Mississippi".
3. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Heidelberg town, Mississippi". U.S. Census Bureau.
4. (February 12, 2011). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
5. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
6. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
7. Groeger, Lena. (October 6, 2018). "Miseducation {{!}} Jefferson Davis County School District".
8. Barshop, Sarah. (September 25, 2019). "Three NFL players from a tiny town of 300? Meet the Bassfield Boys".
9. "Wilbur Myers Stats".