Shuqualak, pronounced "sugar lock", is a town in

Noxubee County Noxubee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, its population was 10,285. Its county seat is Macon. The name is derived from the Choctaw word ''nakshobi'' meaning "to stink". Geography According t ...

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. As of the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

census, the population was 399. That is down from 501 from the 2010 census. Three locations in Shuqualak, including most of the downtown area, are included 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 ...

History

A post office was established in 1855, and the town was incorporated in 1859. Shuqualak was a stop on the

Mobile and Ohio Railroad Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

, built in the 1850s. ''Shuqualak'' is a name derived from the

Choctaw language The Choctaw language (Choctaw: ), spoken by the Choctaw, an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, US, is a member of the Muskogean languages, Muskogean language family. Chickasaw language, Chickasaw is a separate but closely related l ...

purported to mean "beads".

Geography

Shuqualak is located on

U.S. Route 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporati ...

, midway between

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

and

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

. An auxiliary landing field for

Columbus Air Force Base Columbus Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Columbus, Mississippi. The host unit at Columbus AFB is the 14th Flying Training Wing (14 FTW), which is a part of Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The resident ...

is located south of the town. The name of the auxiliary landing field is Gunshy.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 399 people, 199 households, and 115 families residing in the town.

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 562 people, 214 households, and 148 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 249 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 29.72%

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 ...

, 69.57%

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 ...

, and 0.71% from two or more races. There were 214 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% 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, 28.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.32. In the town, the population was spread out, with 33.1% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $21,875, and the median income for a family was $26,607. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $22,596 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 $12,051. About 30.7% of families and 29.2% 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 28.1% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The Shuqualak Lumber Company was founded in 1948 and employs approximately 150. It is one of the largest privately owned, independent producers of southern yellow pine in the southeastern United States.

Education

The Town of Shuqualak is served by the

Noxubee County School District The Noxubee County School District is an American public school district based in Macon, Mississippi. The district's boundaries parallel that of Noxubee County. Schools * Noxubee County High School (Macon; Grades 9-12) *B. F. Liddell Middle Sc ...

. It was the site of the now defunct Shuqualak Female College, a

female seminary A female seminary is a Private school, private educational institution for women, popular especially in the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when opportunities in Women's education in the United States, educational in ...

founded in 1880.

Notable people

* Vincent Dancy –

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach * James Z. George – Confederate politician and military officer

References

External links

Town of Shuqualak
{{authority control Towns in Noxubee County, Mississippi Towns in Mississippi Mississippi placenames of Native American origin