Durant, Mississippi

Durant, Mississippi
—  City  —
Location of Durant, Mississippi
Coordinates: 33°4′35″N 89°51′23″W / 33.07639°N 89.85639°W / 33.07639; -89.85639Coordinates: 33°4′35″N 89°51′23″W / 33.07639°N 89.85639°W / 33.07639; -89.85639
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Holmes
Area
– Total	2.3 sq mi (5.8 km2)
– Land	2.2 sq mi (5.8 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	259 ft (79 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	2,932
– Density	1,316.4/sq mi (508.3/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	39063
Area code(s)	662
FIPS code	28-20500
GNIS feature ID	0669521

Durant is a city in Holmes County, Mississippi, United States. It was founded in 1858 as a station on the Mississippi Central Railroad, later part of the Illinois Central. Durant was named for Louis Durant, a Choctaw chief, who had lived on a bluff just across the nearby Big Black River. The population was 2,932 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Durant is located at 33°4′35″N 89°51′23″W / 33.07639°N 89.85639°W / 33.07639; -89.85639 (33.076313, -89.856405)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), of which, 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.89%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 2,932 people, 1,075 households, and 744 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,316.4 people per square mile (507.6/km²). There were 1,209 housing units at an average density of 542.8 per square mile (209.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 28.79% White, 70.16% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.78% of the population.

There were 1,075 households out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.9% were married couples living together, 30.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.9% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,659, and the median income for a family was $25,065. Males had a median income of $26,500 versus $20,200 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,210. About 27.9% of families and 35.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.1% of those under age 18 and 26.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The city of Durant is served by two school districts - Durant and Holmes County. Their schools are William Sullivan High School and Durant Public.

Famous residents

• Jimmy W. Jamison Recording Artist, Singer, Entertainer, several top ten hits and videos with groups such as Survivor and Cobra Writer and vocalist of Baywatch TV show theme.
• Thomas Howell Binford (August 25, 1896) was born in Durant. Officer during the Battle of the Java Sea. Knight in the Order of William for bravery in battle.
• Absolom M. West (planter, politician, Civil War general, labor organizer and Vice Presidential candidate, 1818–1894) owned a plantation near Durant prior to the American Civil War.
• J. Joe Ferguson (Director of the Geography Education Program at the National Geographic Society) Victim of the September 11 attack on the Pentagon in Washington, DC.
• Lt. Col. Jerry Dickerson Jr. (US Army) Victim of the September 11 attack on the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

References

1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.