Walnut Grove, Mississippi
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Walnut Grove is a town in Leake 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 510 at the 2020 census, a sharp decrease from 1,911 at the 2010 census, due to the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility being closed by the state in September 2016 because of repeated problems at the troubled facility. It had been privately owned and operated since 2001 under a contract with the state Department of Corrections. By 2011 it was the largest juvenile facility in the nation.
Golden Memorial State Park Golden Memorial State Park is a public recreation area in the U.S. state of Mississippi located off Mississippi Highway 492, southeast of Walnut Grove. Activities and amenities The day-use state park State parks are parks or other protec ...
is located east of the town.


History

Walnut Grove began as a European-American settlement in a nearby location, now referred to as "Old Walnut Grove". This area was developed as cotton plantations in the antebellum era. The town was incorporated in 1884. A post office was established in 1854, and in the early 1900s, electricity and street lights were installed. The Jackson and Eastern Railway was completed from
Union, Mississippi Union is a town in Neshoba and Newton counties, Mississippi. The population was 2,042 at the 2020 census. Geography Union is located at (32.571320, -89.118118). Most of the town is in Newton County with a portion extending north into adjace ...
to Walnut Grove in 1923, and then extended to nearby Tuscola, Mississippi in 1925. The town was surveyed at its present location in 1923. Two canals were built near Walnut Grove in the late 1920s to improve transportation. Walnut Grove received a telephone franchise in 1927, and was connected to the Forest exchange. In 1962, a sewage and water system was installed, and in 1966, natural gas was installed. In 1970, the town organized and trained a volunteer fire department, though the first fire truck was not purchased until 1974. Walnut Grove's Town Marshal J.T. "Jake" Trest, was murdered in 1979. His killer,
Edward Earl Johnson Edward Earl Johnson (June 22, 1960 – May 20, 1987) was a man convicted in 1979 at the age of 18 and subsequently executed by the U.S. state of Mississippi for the murder of a policeman, J.T. Trest, and the sexual assault of a 69-year-old woma ...
, was executed in 1987. In 1981, William Grady Sims, was elected as mayor of Walnut Grove and was repeatedly re-elected, serving until 2012. He was one of the longest-serving mayors in the state. By 2006 the town annexed the property of the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility, which had been constructed nearby in the county in 2001. It added a large area and population of prisoners to the town. As the facility was privately owned, although operated under contract to the state, it made payments to the city in lieu of taxes. In addition, the operating company appointed Sims as warden of the prison in 2009. The company's payments in lieu of taxes for the prison constituted 15% of the city's budget in 2011. State expansion of the prison population at this facility made it the largest youth facility in the nation. In 2009, Sims took a female prisoner to a nearby motel and raped her. He was convicted of charges and sentenced to seven months in confinement. Numerous investigations of conditions at the prison resulted in a class-action suit filed in 2010 in federal court against its management and the state. The federal government started a separate investigation by the Department of Justice. Sims resigned as warden. In 2011 he was indicted on two federal charges; in February 2012 he resigned as mayor under a federal plea agreement. In October 2011, he was ordered by the state auditor to pay "$31,530 for using city employees and equipment to work on private prisons in the area, including the one he ran.""Longtime mayor of Miss. town, William Grady Sims, accused of sexually assaulting an inmate"
CBSnews.com, October 26, 2011; accessed January 30, 2016.


Geography

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 0.8 square miles (2.1 km), all land.


Cityscape

The community's town hall, post office, and library are in the central part of Walnut Grove.


Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 510 people, 286 households, and 172 families residing in the town. 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 488 people, 215 households, and 127 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 239 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 57.38%
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 ...
, 40.78%
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 ...
, 0.20% Native American, 0.20%
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 ...
, and 1.43% 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 0.41% of the population. There were 215 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% 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, 20.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 3.00. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.1% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $21,719, and the median income for a family was $27,981. Males had a median income of $21,667 versus $26,000 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 $11,851. About 25.2% of families and 29.8% 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 47.1% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over. The 2006 population estimate had 1,424 residents; this dramatic increase is due to the annexation of the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility and its inmate population.Walnut Grove
." ''First Impressions''.
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...
, February 2008. 0 (3/21). Retrieved on August 14, 2010. "Looking at the MDA profile, the population growth is impressive (year 2000 – 488, year 2006 – 1,424). However, we learned that most of this population growth has been due to the location and annexation of the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility."
The continued growth through estimates for 2016 largely represented additional inmate population.


Economy

Marco Apparel, a clothing manufacturer, opened in Walnut Grove in 1984. In 2001, it laid off more than 100 employees. The city was struggling to survive. In 2001, the privately owned Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility was opened in unincorporated county land after being constructed for private operation under contract with the state; it was designed for youth offenders of 18 and under in age. Originally it was considered a model facility. But the state kept raising the age of offenders who were incarcerated there, and some prisoners aged there, so the population included young men in their 20s as well as much younger youths. From 2003 to 2010, the prison was operated by
Cornell Companies Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments. The company's headquarters were located in Houston, Texas. On August 12, 2010, Cornell was acquired b ...
, which merged that year with
GEO Group The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. The company ...
. The town annexed the prison property before 2006, thereby markedly increasing its population. The prisoners outnumbered town residents by a two to one ratio. In addition to hiring town residents as guards and staff, the prison paid the city substantial amounts in lieu of taxes, with payments making up 15% of the city's annual budget in 2011. The facility was subject of many state and federal investigations and was closed in September 2016.


Government

The Town of Walnut Grove has an alderman/mayor form of government, with the mayor voting in case of a tie. City government is made up of six elected aldermen from
single-member district A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. In some countries, such as Australia and India ...
s, a mayor elected
at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...
, an elected municipal clerk, and an appointed police chief. The mayor is Brian Gomillion, elected in 2013, and the Board of Aldermen includes: Jerry Darby, Teresa Darby, Pamela Gill, Shantell Edwards, Cindy Jones, and Mike Johnson.


Education

The town is served by the Leake County School District: *Leake County Elementary (K-6) * Leake County High School (7–12)


Notable people

* Thomas Norman Brooks, former member of the
Mississippi 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 ...
* Homer Casteel,
Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi The lieutenant governor of Mississippi is the second-highest ranking elected executive officer in the U.S. state of Mississippi, below the governor of Mississippi, and is the only official in the state to be a member of two branches of state gov ...
1920 to 1924 * Jerrion Ealy,
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
*
Sue Gunter Sue Gunter (May 22, 1939 – August 4, 2005) was an American women's college basketball coach. She is best known as the head coach of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Lady Tigers basketball team. Gunter was inducted into the Women's Basketb ...
, Olympic silver medalist and member of the
Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
; former coach of the LSU Lady Tigers * Na'Taki Osborne Jelks, environmental scientist *
Edward Earl Johnson Edward Earl Johnson (June 22, 1960 – May 20, 1987) was a man convicted in 1979 at the age of 18 and subsequently executed by the U.S. state of Mississippi for the murder of a policeman, J.T. Trest, and the sexual assault of a 69-year-old woma ...
, convicted of murder. Executed in 1987. * Ken Lewis, former CEO, President, and Chairman of the
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
* Luther Riley, college basketball coach; grew up in Walnut Grove


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control Towns in Leake County, Mississippi Towns in Mississippi