Artesia is a town in Lowndes 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 ...

. The population was 304 at the 2020 census, down from 440 at the 2010 census.

History

Artesia was originally ''Artesia Junction'', a junction point on the

Mobile and Ohio Railroad Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

. During the railroad's construction in the 1850s, an offer was made to the towns of Columbus and

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to route the railroad through the towns, but both towns refused. Columbus reconsidered a few months later; but by that time, the railway had already chosen a route well to the west of the town. However, the railroad did extend a spur line in order to serve Columbus, and that spur line joins the main line at the site of present-day Artesia. Artesia was the site of a voter suppression incident in 1876 in which a group of heavily armed white men from Starkville came to intimidate black voters in the Republican Club. Federal troops were called to intervene, which enraged many whites, who depicted the event as a negro riot. The name originates from a cluster of

artesian well An artesian well is a well that brings groundwater to the surface without pumping because it is under pressure within a body of rock or sediment known as an aquifer. When trapped water in an aquifer is surrounded by layers of Permeability (ea ...

s that were found in the area.

Geography

Artesia is located at (33.416077, -88.645249). 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 has a total area of , of which is land and 1.33% is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 304 people, 159 households, and 185 families.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 440 people living in the town. 84.5% were

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 ...

, 13.0%

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 ...

, 1.1% Asian, 0.2% from some other race and 1.1% of two or more races. 0.5% were

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or Latino of any race. 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 498 people, 176 households, and 124 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 196 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 79.32%

, 19.88%

, 0.20% Asian, 0.40%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 0.20% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population. There were 176 households, out of which 39.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.7% 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, 30.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.50. In the town, the population was spread out, with 33.7% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $18,438, and the median income for a family was $21,429. Males had a median income of $20,000 versus $13,750 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 $8,716. About 42.2% of families and 43.0% 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 60.0% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Town of Artesia is served by the Lowndes County School District.

Notable person

* Jim Roberts, former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

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References

{{authority control Towns in Lowndes County, Mississippi Towns in Mississippi