Petal, Mississippi
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Petal is a city in Forrest 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 ...
, along the Leaf River. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 10,454 in the 2010 census, increasing to 11,010 in the 2020 census.


History

The first postmaster of Petal was Irving A. Polk. The post office was established in 1903 and was named after the daughter of a first settler. It is the only city in the U.S. with this name. Petal incorporated on April 5, 1974. Petal was a community filled with farmers. This is slowly changing with new businesses coming into the city. The
International Checker Hall of Fame The International Checker Hall of Fame (ICHF) operated from 1979 to September 29, 2007, when a fire burned over 20,000 square feet with smoke and water damage on the 15,000 balance. The ICHF was founded by Charles Walker, who was many times MS Sta ...
was located in Petal until September 29, 2007, when of the building caught fire. Petal was extensively damaged by an
EF3 The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated EF-Scale) is a scale that rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage a tornado causes. It is used in the United States and France, among other countries. The EF scale is also unofficially ...
tornado on January 21, 2017.


Geography

As of the 2010 census, the city had a total area of , of which was land and , or 1.62%, was water. The city's area had increased by nearly 75% since 2000, following an annexation effort approved in 2002. Major sub-communities as of the annex are Macedonia, Barrontown, Carterville, Sunrise, and Leeville. The Harvey community (currently downtown Petal) hosts city departments.


Demographics


2010 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 2010, there were 10,454 people, 3,918 households, and 2,867 families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was 619.8 people per square mile. There were 4,261 housing units at an average density of 331.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 86.1%
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 ...
, 9.9%
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 ...
, 0.2% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 1.3% from other races, and 1.7% 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 3.5% of the population. There were 3,918 households, out of which 23.5% had own children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% 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, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals under 18 and 26.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.13. The median income for a household in the city was $29,637, and the median income for a family was $35,343. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $20,741 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 city was $13,996. About 11.9% of families and 15.0% 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 19.4% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.


2020 Census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 11,010 people, 3,655 households, and 2,746 families residing in the city.


Education

The city is served by the Petal School District.


Notable people

* Larry Byrd, 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 ...
*
William Leon Clark William Leon Clark (March 21, 1911 – March 19, 2005) was Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force. He was born in Scott County, Mississippi on March 21, 1911 and grew up in Hattiesburg and Petal. He attended Pearl River Communi ...
, former
Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force The Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force is the second senior-most Military chaplain, chaplain in the United States Air Force]Chaplain Corps holding the rank of brigadier general, and acting as principal deputy to the Chief of ...
* Percy Dale East, journalist *
Demarcus Evans Demarcus Malik Evans (born October 22, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Gary SouthShore RailCats of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Te ...
,
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
* Tom King, former member of the
Mississippi State 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 ...
* Dan M. Lee, Justice of the
Supreme Court of Mississippi The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the Supreme court, highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in 1818 per the terms of the first constitution of the state and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appeals from 1832 to 1 ...
from 1981 to 1998 * Kris Mangum, professional football player * Cliff Pace, 43rd World Champion of Bass Fishing, 2013
Bassmaster Classic The Bassmaster Classic (known as the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic for sponsorship reasons) is a tournament in the sport of professional bass fishing, organized by the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society. It was first held in 1971 on Lake Mead, N ...
*
Javon Patterson Javon Patterson (born July 8, 1997) is a former American football center. He played college football at Ole Miss. He is currently working at Ole Miss Athletics Foundation as the Director of Development with emphasis on Former Student Athletes. ...
, professional football player *
Ray Perkins Walter Ray Perkins (November 6, 1941 – December 9, 2020) was an American football coach and player. He played as a wide receiver for the University of Alabama and Baltimore Colts. He later worked as a football coach for 28 years, including sti ...
, University of Alabama wide receiver; attended Petal High School, where he was an All-American * Nate Rolison, former Major League Baseball
first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
* Charles Walker, former Mississippi state
checkers Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), is a group of Abstract strategy game, strategy board games for two players which involve forward movements of uniform game ...
champion * Tom Walters,
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
for the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...


References


External links


City of Petal official website
{{Authority control Cities in Mississippi Cities in Forrest County, Mississippi Cities in Hattiesburg metropolitan area