Pheba is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

and

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located in

Clay County, Mississippi Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,634. Its county seat is West Point. Its name is in honor of American statesman Henry Clay, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky a ...

, United States. Pheba is located at the intersection of

Mississippi Highway 50 Mississippi Highway 50 (MS 50) is a state highway in Mississippi. It generally follows an east/west track for and runs from MS 9 in Walthall, Mississippi, east to the Alabama state line east of Columbus. MS 50 serves the following Mississippi c ...

and

Mississippi Highway 389 Mississippi Highway 389 (MS 389) is a state highway that runs from south to north in the U.S. State of Mississippi. MS 389 currently exists in two sections. The southern section begins at MS 182 in Starkville. The road travels north out of the ...

and is approximately west of Cedarbluff. Although an unincorporated community, Pheba has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

and a zip code of 39755.

History

Pheba was named for Mrs. Pheba Robinson. The community is located on the former Southern Railway and was incorporated in 1890. A post office first began operation under the name Pheba in 1890. In 2000, Pheba was the site of the first sporting event in which an all-black team participated in a contest sanctioned by the

Mississippi Private School Association The Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) is a consortium of schools in Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas. It is responsible for accreditation of its member private schools as well as governing athletic competition for its ...

(MPSA), which was founded as an organization for

segregation academies Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend desegregated public schools. They were founded between 1954, when the U.S. ...

that originally existed to avoid integration of whites and blacks in public schools when Hebron Christian played against the all-black Christ Missionary and Industrial College High School (CM&I). CM&I had previously not played football for decades and fielded a team of only 14 players. It was first named as a CDP in the 2020 Census which listed a population of 160.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

Notable person

* William "Billy" Jefferson, NFL football player was born in Pheba.

References

Unincorporated communities in Clay County, Mississippi Unincorporated communities in Mississippi Census-designated places in Clay County, Mississippi {{ClayCountyMS-geo-stub