Edwards is a town in Hinds County,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, United States. The population was 1,034 at the 2010 census, down from 1,347 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Edwards is named for Dick Edwards, owner and proprietor of the Edwards House in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. Edwards was originally named "Amsterdam" and settled in the 1830s. In 1832, it suffered from a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic and was then bypassed by the Alabama and Vicksburg Railroad. This happened in 1839 when R. O. Edwards' plantation became a stop on the railroad known as Edwards Depot. The depot was burned to prevent its use during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in 1863. The current site of Edwards was chosen in 1866 and was incorporated in 1871. In 1882, the Southern Christian Institute was opened by the

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

in the town to educate African Americans. It later became Bonner-Campbell College. In 1897, Edwards suffered an attack of yellow fever that killed many residents of the town.

Geography

Edwards is in western Hinds County, on high ground east of the Big Black River, which forms the Warren County line. Interstate 20 runs along the northern border of the town, with access from Exit 19. I-20 leads east to Jackson, the state capital, and west to Vicksburg. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town of Edwards has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 995 people, 404 households, and 193 families residing in the town.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 1,034 people living in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 82.4% Black, 15.4% White, 0.7% Native American, 0.1% Asian and 0.6% from two or more races. 0.9% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,347 people, 461 households, and 335 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 505 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 78.92%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 20.19%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.15% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population. There were 461 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 33.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.47. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.6% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 82.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,231, and the median income for a family was $31,786. Males had a median income of $26,094 versus $19,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $12,308. About 19.0% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 32.4% of those under age 18 and 18.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Edwards is served by the Hinds County School District and is zoned to Bolton/Edwards Elementary-Middle School in

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

and Raymond High School in

Raymond Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

. Jackson/Hinds Library System operates the Lois A. Flagg Library in Edwards, adjacent to the Edwards Head Start Center.

Notable people

* Carnella Barnes, pioneering African American

minister * Betty Currie, personal secretary of

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, moved to

Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan ( ) is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Chicago, Waukegan is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its population was 89,321, makin ...

as a child * George Flaggs Jr., mayor of

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...

* Johnny Fuller, blues and rock 'n' roll musician *

Otis Harris Otis Harris Jr. (born June 30, 1982, in Edwards, Mississippi) is an American track and field athlete. He won the silver medal in the Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres, 400 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Harris atte ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who won gold and silver medals at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

* George W. Lee, vice-president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership * Fiddlin' Joe Martin, blues musician *

Charlie Patton Charlie Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), more often spelled Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of America ...

, blues musician and inductee in the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame * Melvin Powell,

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

pitcher * Aurelius Southall Scott, educator and newspaper editor * Norman Francis Vandivier, aviator

References

External links

Town of Edwards official website
{{Authority control Towns in Hinds County, Mississippi Populated places established in the 1830s 1830s establishments in Mississippi