Roxie is a town in
Franklin County,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, United States. The population was 497 at the
2010 census,
down from 569 at the 2000 census. This rural town developed with the construction of railroads in the area.
History
Roxie was founded in 1886 on a plot of farmland donated by John Quincy Adams Graves, who was the County Supervisor and a former soldier in the Regimental Band of the 4th Volunteer Mississippi Regiment during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 ...
. The town was named in honor of Graves' newborn daughter.
Roxie was incorporated in 1890.
The town was located at the crossroads of the
Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway
The Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway was built between 1888 and 1890 and was admitted to the Illinois Central Railroad system in 1892. It ran between Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, through Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Baton ...
and the
Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad
The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (Y&MV) was incorporated in 1882 and was part of the Illinois Central Railroad system (IC). Construction began in Jackson, Mississippi, and continued to Yazoo City, Mississippi. The line was later expanded ...
. Most of the early residents were employed by the railroads or worked in the logging industry and sawmills.
Roxie's children attended the Roxie School, whose motto was ''Home of the Tigers''. In 1962, the high school portion of the school shut down, and all students from grades 9 to 12 were bussed to the new
Franklin High School in
Meadville. Roxie School continued for a few years after as an elementary school.
Geography
Roxie is located in western Franklin County. U.S. Routes
84 and
98 pass through the town, leading east to
Meadville, the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
, and west to
Natchez Natchez may refer to:
Places
* Natchez, Alabama, United States
* Natchez, Indiana, United States
* Natchez, Louisiana, United States
* Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States
* Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...
.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, Roxie has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 469 people, 136 households, and 119 families residing in the town.
Recreation
Significant forests and recreation areas are found nearby, including:
*
Clear Springs Recreation Area
Clear may refer to:
*Transparency and translucency, the physical property of allowing light to pass through
Arts and entertainment Music Groups
* Clear (Christian band), an American CCM group from Cambridge, Minnesota
* Clear (hardcore band), a ...
, listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
*
Homochitto National Forest
Homochitto National Forest is a U.S. National Forest in southwestern Mississippi comprising . In the mid-1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began reforestation of the area and developing a system of roadways and recreational areas.
Ge ...
*
Sandy Creek Wildlife Management Area
Sandy may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Sandy (surname), a list of people
*Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983)
* (Sandy) ...
Education
Roxie is served by the
Franklin County School District.
Notable people
*
Cat Iron, blues singer and guitarist
*
James Ford Seale
James Ford Seale (June 25, 1935 – August 2, 2011) was a Ku Klux Klan member charged by the U.S. Justice Department on January 24, 2007, and subsequently convicted on June 14, 2007, for the May 1964 kidnapping and murder of Henry Hezekiah Dee an ...
,
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
member convicted of conspiracy and of the 1964 kidnappings of
Henry Hezekiah Dee
''Mississippi Cold Case'' is a 2007 feature documentary produced by David Ridgen of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about the Ku Klux Klan murders of two 19-year-old black men, Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, in Southwest Missi ...
and
Charles Eddie Moore
''Mississippi Cold Case'' is a 2007 feature documentary produced by David Ridgen of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about the Ku Klux Klan murders of two 19-year-old black men, Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, in Southwest Missis ...
, two young African-American men who were drowned by him and fellow conspirators.
*
Richard Nathaniel Wright (1908 – 1960), African-American author of novels, short stories and non-fiction. Wright was the grandson of slaves, and much of his literature concerned racial themes, especially those involving the struggles of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid-20th centuries.
References
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Towns in Franklin County, Mississippi
Towns in Mississippi
1886 establishments in Mississippi
Populated places established in 1886