Mount Olive is a town in Covington 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. The population was 895 at the 2020 census.

History

The town of Mount Olive was incorporated on May 18, 1900, making the town older than Magee to the north and older than Collins to the south. The railroad tracks were completed in 1899. The population of Mount Olive in 2016 was 975.

Geography

U.S. Route 49, a four-lane divided highway, follows the western border of the town and leads northwest to

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, the state capital, and southeast to

Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 48,730 in 2020, making it the 5th m ...

. Mississippi Highway 35 passes through the southern end of town and leads northeast to Mize and southwest to Columbia. 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 , all land. It is in the valley of Okatoma Creek, part of 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

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 895 people, 589 households, and 492 families residing in the town. 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 893 people, 348 households, and 239 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 396 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 46.81%

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 ...

, 51.96%

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 ...

, 0.11%

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 1.12% 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 0.56% of the population. There were 348 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.4% 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, 25.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.19. In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.5% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $22,019, and the median income for a family was $26,146. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $16,719 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 $11,008. About 26.9% of families and 34.2% 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 47.4% of those under age 18 and 24.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town of Mount Olive is served by the Covington County School District. It is served by Mount Olive Elementary School and Mount Olive High School.

Notable people

* Rose Bascom (1922-1993), trick roper, trick rider, Hollywood movie actress, Mississippi Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee * Howard Easterling,

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

* W. Ralph Eubanks, author, journalist, professor * Fred McNair, former professional football

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and head coach of Alcorn State and the brother of Steve McNair * Steve McNair (1973-2009), All-Pro quarterback for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

* Hannah Roberts, Miss Mississippi 2015, 1st runner-up to Miss America 2016

References

External links

Town of Mount Olive official website
{{authority control Towns in Covington County, Mississippi Towns in Mississippi