Roxie is a town in Franklin 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 497 at the 2010 census, down from 569 at the 2000 census. This rural town developed with the construction of railroads in the area. About 2/3 of its population is African American and 1/3 white.

History

Roxie was founded in 1886 on a plot of farmland donated by John Quincy Adams Graves, who was the County Supervisor and a former soldier in the Regimental Band of the 4th Volunteer Mississippi Regiment during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. The town was named in honor of Graves' newborn daughter. Roxie was incorporated in 1890. The town was located at the crossroads of the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway and the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad. Most of the early residents were employed by the railroads or worked in the logging industry and sawmills. Roxie's children attended the Roxie School, whose motto was ''Home of the Tigers''. In 1962, the high school portion of the school shut down, and all students from grades 9 to 12 were bused to the new Franklin High School in Meadville. Roxie School continued for a few years after as an elementary school.

Geography

Roxie is located in western Franklin County. U.S. Routes 84 and 98 pass through the town, leading east to Meadville, 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 ...

, and west to Natchez. 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 ...

, Roxie has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 469 people, 136 households, and 119 families residing in the town.

Recreation

Significant forests and recreation areas are found nearby, including: * Clear Springs Recreation Area, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

* Homochitto National Forest * Sandy Creek Wildlife Management Area

Education

Roxie is served by the Franklin County School District.

Notable people

* Cat Iron, blues singer and guitarist * James Ford Seale,

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

member convicted of conspiracy and of the 1964 kidnappings of Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, two young African-American men who were drowned by him and fellow conspirators. * Richard Nathaniel Wright (1908 – 1960), African-American author of novels, short stories and non-fiction. Wright was the grandson of slaves, and much of his literature concerned racial themes, especially those involving the struggles of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid-20th centuries.

References

{{authority control Towns in Franklin County, Mississippi Towns in Mississippi 1886 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1886