Marion is a town in Lauderdale 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. It is a northeastern suburb of

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

, 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 ...

. The population of Marion was 1,479 at the 2010 census.

History

The town was named for

Francis Marion Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the "Swamp Fox", was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and t ...

, a military leader known as the "Swamp Fox". Marion was Lauderdale County's seat from its founding to

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. Prior to the war, Marion was a prosperous town inhabited by numerous planters and enslaved African Americans. In 1840, it had a drugstore, two blacksmith shops, six dry goods stores, and two academies (one for girls and another for boys). It also had at least one newspaper, the ''Lauderdale Republican''. In 1850, Congress donated land to Alabama and Mississippi in order to build the

Mobile & 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 ( ...

, which bypassed Marion and constructed a station two miles to the southwest in a village called McLemore's Old Field (now the city of

). During the 1850s, land values in Lauderdale County increased by 176 percent, which allowed many non-slaveholding whites to purchase slaves to grow cotton, build roads, and clear the surrounding forests for cultivation. By 1860, Lauderdale County's enslaved population had more than doubled—a fact that fed support for secessionism after the election of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. On February 16, 1864, U.S. Army forces commanded by General

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

raided Marion and destroyed the railroad connecting it to Meridian. In 1870, voters opted to move the county seat from Marion to Meridian, which had expanded rapidly since the end of the Civil War.

Geography

Marion is located in central Lauderdale County at (32.422182, -88.647323). It is bordered to the north, west, and south by the city of Meridian. Downtown Meridian is to the southwest via Dale Drive.

U.S. Route 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporati ...

passes through the east side of Marion on a four-lane bypass that continues south around Meridian. The bypass ends at the northeast corner of Marion, and US 45 continues north-northeast from there to

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

. 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 , or 0.27%, are water. Sowashee Creek forms the eastern boundary of the town and flows southwest through Meridian to join

Okatibbee Creek Okatibbee Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Tributaries include Chickasawhay Creek, Sowashee Creek, and Suqualena Creek. Okatibbee Creek joins the Chunky River to form the Chickasawhay River, making it one of the headwater s ...

, part of the

Chickasawhay River The Chickasawhay River is a river about long in southeastern Mississippi in the United States. It is a principal tributary of the Pascagoula River that flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The Chickasawhay's tributaries also drain a portion of wester ...

and ultimately the

Pascagoula River The Pascagoula River is a river, about 80 miles (130 km) long, in southeastern Mississippi in the United States. The river drains an area of about 8,800 square miles (23,000 km²) and flows into Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico. ...

watershed.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,751 people, 667 households, and 436 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 1,305 people, 468 households, and 324 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 555 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 52.87%

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 ...

, 45.82%

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 ...

, 0.23% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.61% 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 1.69% of the population. There were 468 households, out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% 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, 28.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.00. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 70.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 62.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,413, and the median income for a family was $28,438. Males had a median income of $27,778 versus $17,303 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 $10,504. About 30.5% of families and 32.8% 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 50.1% of those under age 18 and 20.5% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Marion has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Notable people

Oscar Lee Gray Oscar Lee Gray (July 2, 1865 – January 2, 1936) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama. Born in Marion, Mississippi, Gray attended school in Choctaw County, Alabama. He studied law, graduated from the University of Alabama in 1885, and was ...

, member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1915 to 1919

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Towns in Lauderdale County, Mississippi Towns in Mississippi Meridian micropolitan area