Guntown, Mississippi

History

Guntown is named for Virginia loyalist émigré James G. Gunn (d. 1826) who found asylum among the Chickasaw in present-day Lee County. 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

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 4.5 sqmi, of which 4.5 sqmi is land and 0.22% is water.

Demographics

2020 census

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 of 2000, there were 1,183 people, 443 households, and 337 families residing in the city. The population density was 261.1 PD/sqmi. There were 482 housing units at an average density of 106.4 /sqmi. 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.

Notable people

• Cornelius Augustus, baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues
• L. T. Kennedy, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1918 to 1935
• Chad McMahan, member of the Mississippi Senate
• Esther Smith, gospel music singer

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. (1904). "Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. VIII".
3. Scott, Wm. Forse. (1893). "The Story of a Cavalry Regiment: The Career of the Fourth Iowa Veteran Volunteers from Kansas to Georgia, 1861-1865". [[G. P. Putnam's Sons]].
4. . "Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28". *[[National Archives and Records Administration*.
5. . (2017). "The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi: The "Blue Book," 2016-2020". *[[Delbert Hosemann]], [[Secretary of State of Mississippi*.
6. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
7. "Explore Census Data".
8. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
9. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lee County, MS". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
10. "Cornelius Augustus Stats".
11. Rowland, Dunbar. (1923). "The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi". Department of Archives and History.
12. "Chad McMahan".
13. Carpenter, Bil. (2005). "Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia". Hal Leonard Corporation.