Editing Petal, Mississippi (section)

==History==
The first postmaster of Petal was Irving A. Polk.<ref>Gallagher, John S. and Patera, Alan H. (1996). ''Mississippi Post Offices'', p. 247. Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot, {{ISBN|0-943645-35-2}}.</ref> The post office was established in 1903<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&searchtext=petal&state=&county=&searchtype=word|title=Notification Service &#124; Post Offices|website=www.postalhistory.com}}</ref> and was named after the daughter of a first settler.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Moyer|first1=Armond|last2=Moyer|first2=Winifred|title=The origins of unusual place-names|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89058322223;view=1up;seq=106|year=1958|publisher=Keystone Pub. Associates|page=102}}</ref> It is the only city in the U.S. with this name.
Petal incorporated on April 5, 1974. Petal was a community filled with farmers. This is slowly changing with new businesses coming into the city.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

The [[International Checker Hall of Fame]] was located in Petal until September 29, 2007, when {{convert|20000|sqft}} of the {{convert|35000|sqft|adj=on}} building caught fire.<ref name="roads">{{Cite web|url=http://www.roadsideamerica.com/news/16615|title=Checker Hall of Fame: Game Over|work=Roadside America}}</ref><ref name="sgt">{{Cite web|url=http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/oct/08/cause-sought-in-sept-29-fire/|title=Cause Sought in Sept. 29 Fire|publisher=Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group}}</ref>

Petal was extensively damaged by an [[Enhanced Fujita scale|EF3]] [[Tornado outbreak of January 21–23, 2017#Hattiesburg – Petal, Mississippi|tornado on January 21, 2017]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.gov/jan/20170121tor |title=January 21, 2017 Tornadoes and Severe Thunderstorms |website=NWS Jackson, MS |publisher=NWS Jackson, MS |access-date=January 26, 2017}}</ref>
[[File:January 21, 2017, Petal, Mississippi, tornado damage.jpg|left|thumb|January 21, 2017, Petal, Mississippi, tornado damage]]