Bruce is a town situated along the

Skuna River The Skuna River is a tributary of the Yalobusha River, about long, in north-central Mississippi in the United States. Via the Yalobusha and Yazoo Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. Course The Skuna River rises about ...

in Calhoun 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. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 1,707. Currently, Jimmy Hubbard is the mayor.

History

The town was named for E. L. Bruce, founder of the E. L. Bruce Company, a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

operation. The sawmill industry is still vital in the town, with

Weyerhaeuser The Weyerhaeuser Company ( ) is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company has manufactured wood products for over a c ...

operating a mill. Bruce is also home to other timber-related businesses.

Geography

Bruce is located in north-central Calhoun County.

Mississippi Highway 9 Mississippi Highway 9 (MS 9) in the Appalachian Mountains, Appalachian Foothills (aka North Central Hills) region of northeastern Mississippi, running north–south from Mississippi Highway 30, MS 30 east of New Albany, Mississippi, New Alb ...

runs through the center of town, leading south to Pittsboro, the county seat, south to Calhoun City, and northeast to Pontotoc.

Mississippi Highway 32 Mississippi Highway 32 (MS 32) is a state highway in northern Mississippi it runs from east to west for , serving the counties of Bolivar County, Mississippi, Bolivar, Sunflower County, Mississippi, Sunflower, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, T ...

crosses Highway 9 in the center of Bruce and leads east to New Houlka and northwest to Water Valley. 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 ...

, Bruce has a total area of , all land. The Skuna River, a tributary of the

Yalobusha River The Yalobusha River is a river, long, in north-central Mississippi in the United States. It is a principal tributary of the Yazoo River, via which it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The name "Yalobusha" comes from the Choctaw ...

and then the

Yazoo River The Yazoo River is a river primarily in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before the Ame ...

, passes south of the town.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,707 people, 714 households, and 335 families residing in the town.

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 2,097 people, 889 households, and 562 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,005 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 53.27%

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 ...

, 44.35%

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 ...

, 0.52% Native American, 0.86% from other races, and 1.00% 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 1.19% of the population. There were 889 households, out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.3% 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, 22.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.98. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $20,417, and the median income for a family was $31,806. Males had a median income of $34,063 versus $21,380 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 $14,233. About 20.1% of families and 29.3% 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 46.6% of those under age 18 and 26.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town of Bruce is served by the Calhoun County School District. There are three public schools in the district: Bruce, Calhoun City, and Vardaman. Bruce is a Level 5 High School, which is the highest academic ranking in Mississippi. Calhoun City is slightly smaller than Bruce High School. Bruce and Calhoun City High are both District 2A schools, and Vardaman High is a District 1A school. The Bruce Trojan High School baseball team were 2A State Champions in 2012, the Bruce Lady Trojan High basketball team were 2A State Champions in 1998 and 2002, and the Bruce Trojan High School football team were 2A State Champions in 1996. Brad Logan is a school board member.

Notable people

* Charles Beckett, former member of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...

Ron Lundy Fred Ronald Lundy (June 25, 1934 – March 15, 2010) was a popular radio announcer in New York City, heard on WABC 770 AM from 1965 to 1982 and on WCBS-FM 101.1 from 1984 until his retirement in 1997. Career Lundy was born June 25, 1934, in ...

, former WABC-AM and WCBS-FM disc jockey * Armegis Spearman, former National Football League player and former Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) linebacker * Larry Stewart, philanthropist known for being the original

Secret Santa Secret Santa is a Western Christmas or Saint Nicholas tradition in which members of a group are randomly assigned a person to whom they give a gift. The identity of the gift-giver remains a secret until the end when Secret Santas are revealed. ...

* Frederick Thomas, former National Football League player * Leo Welch, blues musician

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Calhoun County, Mississippi Towns in Mississippi