Myrtle is a town in Union 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 490 at the 2010 census.

History

Myrtle is rooted in a settlement known as "Candy Hill," which was established about south of the town's present location in 1857. When Candy Hill applied for a post office after the Civil War, it changed its name to "Myrtle," after the abundance of myrtle trees growing in the area. Following the construction of the

Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad The Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in the southern United States. The company was created by consolidation in 1887 from a line of the same name (which was originally incorporated in Mississippi on F ...

in the 1880s, the town shifted northward to its present location.

Geography

Myrtle is located northwest of New Albany along

Mississippi Highway 178 Mississippi Highway 178 (MS 178), or simply "Old 78", is a east-west State highway (US), state highway across the northern portion of the state of Mississippi. It is the former alignment of U.S. Route 78 in Mississippi, U.S. Route 78 (US&n ...

Interstate 22 Interstate 22 (I-22) is a Interstate Highway in the US states of Mississippi and Alabama, connecting I-269 near Byhalia, Mississippi, to I-65 near Birmingham, Alabama. I-22 is also Corridor X of the Appalachian Development Highway ...

passes through the southern part of town. 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.

Demographics

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 407 people, 162 households, and 117 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 183 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 85.26%

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 ...

, 13.02%

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 ...

, 1.72% from other 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 1.72% of the population. There were 162 households, out of which 42.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% 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, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.01. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.7% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,125, and the median income for a family was $34,583. Males had a median income of $25,227 versus $20,875 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 $11,268. About 12.1% of families and 15.3% 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 15.5% of those under age 18 and 24.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town of Myrtle is served by the Union County School District.

Notable people

* Henry Clay Collins, Mississippi state senator (1916-1920, 1932-1936) *

Armintie Price Armintie Ada (Price) Herrington (born April 3, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Price, who played collegiately at the Universit ...

, WNBA Player

References

External links

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