Kilmichael is a town in Montgomery 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. Per the 2020 census, the population was 639.

History

The population in 1900 was 227. The Bank of Kilmichael was established in 1904. In 2001, the all-white board of aldermen cancelled town elections after citing a need for more time to implement election changes. Allegedly, the elections were delayed in order to avoid electing black politicians. The

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

intervened under the

Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movem ...

and forced a special election, in which Kilmichael elected its first black mayor and three black aldermen.

Geography

Kilmichael is in east-central Montgomery County. U.S. Route 82 runs through the northeast part of the town on a four-lane bypass. The highway leads west to Winona, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and east to Eupora. Mississippi Highway 413 leads southeast from Kilmichael to French Camp. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.14%, are water. The Big Black River, a tributary of the

, passes just south of the town limits.

Demographics

2020 census

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 830 people, 314 households, and 233 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 367 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 53.37%

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 ...

, 46.27%

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 ...

, 0.24% Native American, and 0.12% 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 0.96% of the population. There were 314 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% 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, 23.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.09. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $24,712, and the median income for a family was $30,909. Males had a median income of $25,192 versus $18,281 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 $12,457. About 24.8% of families and 25.3% 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 34.7% of those under age 18 and 28.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Kilmichael is served by the Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District. Two schools in Kilmichael (Montgomery County Elementary and Montgomery County High School) closed in 2018. The town was previously served by the Montgomery County School District. Montgomery County Elementary School, formerly Kilmichael Elementary School, and Montgomery County High School were both located in Kilmichael. At one time Kilmichael Elementary had 1,000 students. In 1989, Kilmichael High School and Duck Hill High School consolidated into one school. In 1990, the name was changed to Montgomery County High School. Circa 2001 Kilmichael Elementary had 366 students. In 2004, Kilmichael Elementary and Duck Hill Elementary consolidated to form Montgomery County Elementary School. Effective July 1, 2018, the Montgomery County and Winona Separate School District consolidated into the Winona-Montgomery district. The initial plan is to have one elementary and one high school in Winona, just 11 miles west of Kilmichael.

Notable people

* Hackett Dyre, 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 ...

from 1916 to 1920 and member of the

Mississippi Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

from 1936 to 1940 * Grace Hightower, philanthropist, singer, actress and socialite * Bobby Howell, member of the

from 1992 to 2015 *

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

, blues guitarist; reared in Kilmichael.

References

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