Woodville is one of the oldest towns in Mississippi and is the county seat of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, United States.[2] Its population as of 2020 was 928.[3]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), all land.
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 965 | — | |
| 1890 | 950 | −1.6% | |
| 1900 | 1,043 | 9.8% | |
| 1910 | 1,233 | 18.2% | |
| 1920 | 1,012 | −17.9% | |
| 1930 | 1,113 | 10.0% | |
| 1940 | 1,433 | 28.8% | |
| 1950 | 1,609 | 12.3% | |
| 1960 | 1,856 | 15.4% | |
| 1970 | 1,734 | −6.6% | |
| 1980 | 1,512 | −12.8% | |
| 1990 | 1,393 | −7.9% | |
| 2000 | 1,192 | −14.4% | |
| 2010 | 1,096 | −8.1% | |
| 2020 | 928 | −15.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[4] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| Black or African American | 677 | 72.95% |
| White | 217 | 23.38% |
| Other/Mixed | 26 | 2.8% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 5 | 0.54% |
| Native American | 2 | 0.22% |
| Asian | 1 | 0.11% |
Per the 2020 United States census, there were 928 people, 386 households, and 277 families residing in the town; its racial composition was 77.95% black, 22.38% non-Hispanic white, 0.22% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 2.8% other or mixed, and 0.54% Hispanic or Latino of any race.[3]
Education
Wilkinson County School District serves Woodville. There are three education facilities near Woodville: Wilkinson County Elementary School, Wilkinson County High School, and the private school Wilkinson County Christian Academy, which was established in 1969 as a segregation academy.[5]
Media
The Woodville Republican, a weekly newspaper founded in 1823, is the oldest surviving business (and thus the oldest newspaper) in Mississippi.[6]
Notable people
- Julia K. Wetherill Baker (1858–1931), writer and poet, was born in Woodville[7]
- Betty Bentley Beaumont (1828–1892), author, merchant, cotton factor, hotel owner
- Henry Cohen (rabbi), served here from 1885 to 1888 before going to Galveston, Texas, where he became a nationally known community leader
- Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America; lived near here for a couple of years as a youth on his parents' plantation and attended Woodville Academy, before going to Kentucky to school.
- Ronnie Edwards, Louisiana politician, born in Woodville[8]
- Henry Herbert Ogden, aviator in 1924 US Army Air Services around the world flight,[9]
- Will E. Keller, businessman
- Rudolph Matthews, handball player
- Edward Grady Partin (1924–1990), born in Woodville, he became a Teamsters Union business agent from Baton Rouge. His testimony sent Jimmy Hoffa to prison.
- Carnot Posey, Civil War Confederate general
- Peter Randolph, early 19th century Federal judge
- Dan Reneau, President of Louisiana Tech University
- William Grant Still, African-American classical composer and Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee was born in Woodville on May 11, 1895.
- Matt Tolbert, professional baseball infielder
- W. P. S. Ventress (1854–1911), Mississippi state legislator
- George W. Wheeler, Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court (1920–30)
- Lester Young, jazz musician and Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee was born in Woodville.[10]
- William Henry Young, Wisconsin politician, born in Woodville
References
- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ Dangerfileld, Celnisha. "Mapping Race, School Segregation, and Black Identities in Woodville, Mississippi: A Case Study of a Rural Community". Journal of Rural Community Psychology - Mapping Race. Archived from the original on January 23, 2009.
- ^ r2WPadmin. "Woodville Republican". Mississippi Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Willard, Frances, and Mary Livermore, eds. A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-Seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks Of Life. New York: Moulton, 1893, p. 48.
- ^ "Rep. Rodnette Bethley "Ronnie" Edwards". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
- ^ This Day in Aviation, 6 Apr 1924
- ^ Gelly, Dave (2007). Being Prez: The Life and Music of Lester Young. Equinox. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-84553-058-7.
External links
- History of Woodville's Jewish community (from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life)
Municipalities and communities of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Towns |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
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