Ridgeland is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,340 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Jackson metropolitan area.

History

In 1805, the

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

Indian Agency, headed by Silas Dinsmoor, was located in what is now Ridgeland. The structure was then called "Turner Brashear's Stand" until about 1850. It was adapted for use as a hotel named the King's Inn. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, General Stephen Lee used the inn as a headquarters. The hotel continued to operate until 1896, when it was destroyed by fire. In 1853, James B. Yellowley founded the community of Yellowley's Crossing (later named "Jessamine" after his wife). In 1896, Edward Treakle and Gordon Nichols, two real estate developers from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, purchased the land from Yellowley and established the Highland Colony Company. They created plans for a town to be named "Ridgeland" and launched an advertising campaign to entice people from the northern United States to move south. Agriculture was the community's dominant revenue source, with pears and strawberries as the leading crops grown for sale. In the early 20th century, Ridgeland was home to a hotel, sawmill, and a canning company. The main business section of Ridgeland was along Jackson Street, due to the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

located on the street. In 1910 a two-room school was created, and the schools combined with those of Madison by 1925. Rapid growth in the city's population began in the 1960s. Northpark Mall opened in 1984 and brought more growth to the area. Highland Colony Parkway was built in the 1990s.

Geography

Ridgeland is a suburban city in southern Madison County, between Madison to the north and Jackson, the state capital, to the south. The Ross Barnett Reservoir borders the city to the east. 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 ...

, Ridgeland has a total area of , of which are land and , or 6.41%, are water, mostly from Ross Barnett Reservoir, an impoundment on the Pearl River. Most of the city drains southward to the Pearl River in Jackson, while the northwest corner of the city is part of the Big Black River watershed flowing west to the

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 ...

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 24,340 people, 10,632 households, and 6,046 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 24,047 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 57.5% White, 32.5% Black, 0.2% Native American, 4.0% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.1% from some other race and 1.0% from two or more races. 4.7% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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 20,173 people, 9,267 households, and 9,022 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 9,930 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 77.05%

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 ...

, 18.44%

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 ...

, 0.15% Native American, 2.95% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 0.55% from other races, and 0.82% 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 1.55% of the population. There were 9,267 households, out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% 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, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.8% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.90. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 40.3% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males. The median incomes for a household in the city was $43,066, and the median income for a family was $59,249. Males had a median income of $40,632 versus $29,634 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 $28,704. About 5.5% of families and 7.4% 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 9.2% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Bomgar, a tech company, C Spire Wireless, the sixth largest wireless provider in the United States, and Cal-Maine Foods, the largest shell egg producer in the United States, are all headquartered in Ridgeland. The largest mall in the Jackson metro area, Northpark Mall, is located on County Line Road in southern Ridgeland. Another shopping center, Renaissance at Colony Park, is in central Ridgeland.

Education

Ridgeland is served by the Madison County School District, as well as by two private schools: Saint Andrew's Episcopal School and Christ Covenant School. The Veritas School was a private school which closed in 2015. Ridgeland has a campus of Holmes Community College. Ridgeland is home of the Baptist Children's Village, which provides short-term and long-term care for abandoned, neglected, or abused children and counseling to broken families. Ridgeland made national headlines in 2022 when mayor Gene F. McGee refused to send $110,000 in approved city funding to the Madison County Library System because the library system contained books that "went against his Christian beliefs".

Notable people

* The Band Perry *

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...

, country music singer; born and raised in Ridgeland until moving to nearby

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

when she was in the 8th grade * George Jackson, songwriter and singer; died at his home in Ridgeland * Bianca Knight, track and field athlete * David McRae, Mississippi State Treasurer * J. Walter Michel, 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 ...

* David H. Nutt, lawyer and philanthropist, the richest person in Mississippi as of 2014 * Jim Pace, racing driver * Rubel Phillips, Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1963 and 1967; spent his last years in retirement in RidgelandBilly Hathorn, "Challenging the Status Quo: Rubel Lex Phillips and the Mississippi Republican Party (1963-1967)", ''The Journal of Mississippi History'' XLVII, November 1985, No. 4, pp. 240-264

References

{{Authority control Cities in Mississippi Cities in Madison County, Mississippi Cities in Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi Populated places established in 1805 1805 establishments in Mississippi Territory