Kokomo is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

and

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Marion 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, the first year it was listed as a census-designated place, it had a population of 150.

History

The community was named after the city of

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...

. Kokomo was organized by the family of Phillip Enoch of Fernwood, Mississippi, around 1912. The Enochs planned to build a railroad east from

Tylertown Tylertown is a town in and the county seat of Walthall County, Mississippi, United States. Its population was 1,515 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is approximately fifty-five miles southwest from the Hattiesburg metropolitan ...

and established railroad stops along the planned route. Kokomo was the last planned station, but the railroad was never constructed. Kokomo was once home to a

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps) is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principall ...

distillery,

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shops, café, barbershop, grocery stores, gristmills, and a pharmacy. A school first began operating in Kokomo in 1904. The Kokomo High School was closed in 1959.

Geography

Kokomo is in western Marion County, with

U.S. Route 98 U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola and Apalachicola, Florida, and has sin ...

forming its southern border. US 98 leads northeast to Columbia, the Marion

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 southwest to

. 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 Kokomo CDP has an area of , of which , or 0.36%, are water. The community is drained to the south by tributaries of Tenmile Creek, which flows east to the

Pearl River The Pearl River (, or ) is an extensive river system in southern China. "Pearl River" is often also used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Pearl tributaries within Guangdong, specifically the Xi ('west'), Bei ('north'), and Dong ( ...

Demographics

2020 census

Education

It is in the Marion County School District.
Text list
/ref> Marion County is in the service area of

Pearl River Community College Pearl River Community College is a public community college in Poplarville, Mississippi. It was founded as Pearl River County Agricultural High School in 1909 and became the first junior college in Mississippi in 1921. Residents of Hancock, ...

Notable people

* Charles Coleman, former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Marion County, Mississippi Census-designated places in Marion County, Mississippi 1912 establishments in Mississippi Unincorporated communities in Mississippi Mississippi placenames of Native American origin