Editing Magee, Mississippi

{{More citations needed|date=July 2016}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Magee, Mississippi
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|nickname                 = 
|image_skyline            = Downtown Magee, Mississippi March 2013.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Downtown Magee in March 2013                 
|image_flag               = Flag of Magee, Mississippi.png
|image_map = Simpson_County_Mississippi_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Magee_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Magee, Mississippi
| pushpin_map = USA
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in the United States
| subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Mississippi]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Mississippi|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Simpson County, Mississippi|Simpson]]
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = [[Mayor-council government|Mayor-Council]]
|leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name              = Dale Berry<ref>{{cite web |title=Our City Welcomes You |publisher=City Of Magee |url=http://www.cityofmagee.com/ |access-date=July 1, 2016}}</ref>
|leader_title1            = [[Alderman|Board of Aldermen]]
|leader_name1             = Mark Grubbs<br>Lewana Thompson<br>Sammie Tebo<br>Patrick Brown<br>Sue Honea
|established_title        = [[City]]
|established_date         =  February 25, 1900
|unit_pref  = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_28.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 24, 2022}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 13.62
|area_land_km2            = 13.62
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi         = 5.26
|area_land_sq_mi          = 5.26
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 3988
|population_density_km2   = 292.80
|population_density_sq_mi = 758.32
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = −6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = −5
|elevation_m              = 132
|elevation_ft             = 433
|coordinates              = {{coord|31|52|22|N|89|44|1|W|region:US-MS_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 39111
|area_code                = [[Area code 601|601]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 28-44600
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0673055
|website                  = [http://www.cityofmagee.com/ www.cityofmagee.com] 
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
}}

'''Magee''' is a city in [[Simpson County, Mississippi]], United States. It is part of the [[Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi|Jackson metropolitan area]].

==History==
The first settlers in the area were Arthur Mangum and Phil Magee, who came into the area around 1820. Pioneers from Virginia and the Carolinas followed. The town of Magee was originally named Mangum, after Arthur Mangum; it kept this name until 1859.<ref name="ancestry1">{{cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~eastozarka/mangum/magg07.htm |title=mangum - magg07.htm - Generated by Personal Ancestral File |website=Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com |access-date=2017-05-02}}</ref>

In 1840, Willis Magee built a [[grist mill]] on Little Goodwater Creek, inside the present city limits. He started the first and only postal service in the area in 1855.<ref>{{cite book|title=Magee The First 100 Years 1900-2000|publisher=John P. "Pat" Brown}}</ref>

Robert Solomon Magee was the first post master in Magee and the city of Magee was named after him.

Richard Farthing came to Magee in 1859 when he was in the leather tanning business. He bought 80 acres of land and also built a tanyard and used water from the mill pond to tan his leather.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |title=Magee The First 100 Years 1900-2000 |publisher=John P. "Pat" Brown}}</ref> The population of Magee in 1919 was 786. There were approximately 23 businesses in the area at the time.<ref name="auto"/>

Magee is approximately 42 miles south of Jackson, 45 miles north of Hattiesburg,<ref name="auto"/> and 12 miles south of Mendenhall, the county seat of Simpson County.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.distance-cities.com/distance-mendenhall-ms-to-magee-ms|title=Distance between Mendenhall, MS and Magee, MS|website=www.distance-cities.com}}</ref>

Magee's first mayor was R.P. Vinson, who served from 1900 to 1907.<ref name="auto"/>

In 2013, First Baptist Church in downtown Magee was seriously damaged by a fire but has been restored.<ref>{{cite web |title=First Baptist Church in Magee rebuilt, better than ever|date=30 May 2017 |url=https://churchexecutive.com/archives/rise-ashes-leaders-historic-first-baptist-church-magee-rebuilt-better-ever-2-million-fire |access-date=15 May 2019}}</ref>

Windham's Restaurant is located in Magee, and was established in 1963, locally known as "Zip's". In 2015, the Zip Burger was voted the best hamburger in Mississippi.<ref>{{cite web | title = Zip Burger in Magee Named Best Burger in Mississippi | publisher = Eat, Drink, Mississippi | url = http://www.eatdrinkmississippi.com/zip-burger-in-magee-named-best-burger-in-mississippi.html | access-date = July 13, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160816035932/http://www.eatdrinkmississippi.com/zip-burger-in-magee-named-best-burger-in-mississippi.html | archive-date = August 16, 2016 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://mageenews.wpengine.com/zip-burger-named-top-burger-in-state-of-ms/|title=Zip Burger named top burger in State - MageeNews.com|last=Honea|first=Sue |date=18 February 2015 |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref>

In 2017, the Magee Sportsplex was renamed the Jimmy Clyde Sportsplex in honor of former Magee mayor Jimmy Clyde.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ratcliffe|first1=Jason|title=Jimmy Clyde Sportsplex|url=http://mageenews.wpengine.com/jimmy-clyde-sportsplex/|publisher=Magee News|date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>

As of 2017, the mayor of Magee is Dale Berry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mageenews.wpengine.com/magees-mayor-dale-berry/|title=Magee's Mayor Dale Berry - MageeNews.com|last=Honea|first=Sue|date=17 May 2017 |access-date=23 May 2018}}</ref>

The city of Magee was featured in the Discovery Channel reality TV series Dirty Jobs.<ref>{{cite web |website=mageenews.com |url=https://mageenews.com/magees-dirty-job/ |access-date=18 January 2022|title=Magee's Dirty Job! |date=17 January 2022 }}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|4.9|sqmi|km2}}, all land. Magee is located between [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]] and [[Hattiesburg, Mississippi|Hattiesburg]] on [[U.S. Highway 49]] at the intersection of three Mississippi Highways: 541, 545, and 28. Magee is approximately 155 miles north of [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]], and approximately 142 miles north of [[Mobile, Alabama]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bing.com/search?q=how%20far%20is%20magee%2Cms%20to%20mobile&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&pq=how%20far%20is%20magee%2Cms%20to%20mobile&sc=1-29&sk= |title=Magee, MS→Mobile, AL |access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bing.com/search?q=how+far+is+magee%2Cms+to+New+Orleans&form=EDNTHT&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&msnews=1&rec_search=1&plvar=0&refig=d52be2caca8d4061b6e3dbad1d027128&PC=LCTS&sp=-1&ghc=1&pq=how+far+is+magee%2Cms+to+new+orleans&sc=1-34&qs=n&sk= |access-date=19 November 2019|title=How far is magee%2Cms to New Orleans - Search }}</ref>

===Climate===
Magee has a [[humid subtropical climate]], with an annual mean temperature 65.8 degrees and average annual rainfall of {{convert|56.9|in|mm}}.

===March 2009 tornado===
On [[March 2009 tornado outbreak sequence|March 26, 2009]], around 1:30&nbsp;a.m., an EF3 tornado struck the north part of the city. The tornado destroyed 60 homes and caused 25 injuries, with no fatalities. The tornado significantly damaged the town's water treatment plant, interrupting service to the entire town. [[Circuit rider (water/wastewater)|Circuit Riders]] and other technicians from the [[National Rural Water Association#Members|Mississippi Rural Water Association]] worked with the city staff, local contractors and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to restore water service.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rural Water assists Mississippi town after tornado|year=2009|publisher=[[National Rural Water Association]]|access-date=2009-07-08|url=http://nrwa.org/NRWAupdates/2009%2007%20July/MageeTornado.htm}}</ref> Using four MEMA generators, the rural water staff was able to restore service to Magee by 2:20&nbsp;p.m. the next day.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=right
|1910= 685
|1920= 730
|1930= 964
|1940= 1221
|1950= 1738
|1960= 2039
|1970= 2973
|1980= 3497
|1990= 3607
|2000= 4200
|2010= 4408
|2020= 3988
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|website=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[file:Magee,Mississippi in the early days.jpg|thumb|Historic photo of Magee]] -->

{| class="wikitable"
|+Magee racial composition as of 2020<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US2844600&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=2021-12-17|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
|1,772
|44.43%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
|1,906
|47.79%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|7
|0.18%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|37
|0.93%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
|1
|0.03%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|134
|3.36%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|131
|3.28%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 3,988 people, 1,465 households, and 933 families residing in the city.

==Economy==
[[File:This is a photo of the Magee Post Office.jpg|thumb|Magee Post Office]]
[[File:Downtown Magee,Mississippi Main Street 2013.jpg|thumb|right|Main Street]]

{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2020}}
Prominent area industries include [[Tyson Foods]], Polk's Meat Products, Real Pure Beverage Group, and Howard Industry.

The Simpson County Development Foundation Industrial Park is an ultramodern, {{convert|205|acre|km2|adj=on}} industrial park located on four-lane Highway 49.

==Arts and culture==
{{One source|section|date=May 2020}}
The Chamber of Commerce sponsors the annual Homecoming, the Christmas Parade, tree lighting and caroling.

Crazy Day is an annual event on Main Street, traditionally held the third Saturday of the month of September. Locals set up booths to sell products or homemade goods.

Magee is also the home of the former Broadcountry Cinema 3 Theater, opened in 1985 and owned by Butch McCall. The theater was closed in 2010. The theater now serves as the location of Shining Starz ABA Autism Therapy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089883614021 |title=Shining Starz ABA |access-date=28 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/41962 |access-date=19 May 2019 |title=Broadcountry Cinema III in Magee, MS - Cinema Treasures}}</ref>

A new civic center provides space for meetings for civic clubs and other organizations and houses the Magee Chamber of Commerce office.

Magee Public Library, the first public library in Magee, was established in 1935. Maude Turner was librarian. In 1937, the library was named Mims Williams Memorial Library. It is now a member of the [[Central Mississippi Regional Library System]]. The new library was built in 1975.

==Education==
The City of Magee is served by the [[Simpson County School District]].

===Public schools===
* Magee High School
* Magee Middle School
* Magee Elementary

===Higher learning===
A branch of Copiah-Lincoln Community College is located in Magee.

==Media==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2018}}

===Newspapers===
The ''Magee Courier'' and ''Simpson County News'' serve Magee.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Home {{!}} Magee Courier-Simpson County News|url=https://www.simpsoncounty.ms/|access-date=2020-06-05|website=www.simpsoncounty.ms}}</ref>

=== Online news ===
Mageenews.com serves the local area.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Home|url=https://mageenews.com/|access-date=2020-06-05|website=MageeNews.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Radio and television===
* [[WSJC]] 810 AM ([[talk radio]])
* [[WKXI]] 107.5 FM ([[urban adult contemporary]])
* WSMP-LP 96.9 FM (owned by Church Alive)
* [[WRBJ-TV]] channel 34, a television station licensed to Magee, but serving Jackson and with no presence in Magee

==Infrastructure==
===Transportation===
* Highways: [[U.S. Route 49|U.S. Hwy 49]]; State Highways 28, 545, and 541.
* Railroad: [[Canadian National Railway]] (formally Illinois Central) serves the Magee area.
* Bus lines: Greyhound Bus serves the area.
* Airport: The Magee Municipal Airport (FAA identifier 17M) is located three miles west of Magee. It maintains a lighted {{convert|3,104|ft|m|abbr=on}} × {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on}} runway and is attended 24 hours a day. There is a hangar, lobby and office building complex (no control tower). The complex is equipped with automatic dusk to dawn lights, a beacon, and a wind directional device.

===Public services===
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2017}}
A new city hall, police station and city jail have been completed. There are 16 full-time police personnel, including the Chief of Police and 12 auxiliary officers.

Magee has 36 trained volunteer firemen and one full-time Fire Marshall, four class A pumpers, 1 class A pumper/tanker, 1 ladder truck, one rescue unit and two utility trucks. Emergency medical services are provided by ASAP EMS, CORP.

In the Magee, Mississippi National Guard Unit, there are 149 members with five full-time personnel.

==Notable people==
* [[Roland Dale]], professional football player
* [[Woody Evans]], librarian and writer
* [[Micah Xavier Johnson]], perpetrator of the [[2016 shooting of Dallas police officers|2016 Dallas ambush]]
* [[John Mangum (defensive back)|John Mangum]], professional football player
* [[Kris Mangum]], professional football player
* [[David Myers (Mississippi politician)|David Myers]], politician{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}
* [[Dan Monroe Russell Jr.]], United States federal judge
* [[Terrill Shaw]], professional football player
* [[Harold Shaw (American football)|Harold Shaw]], professional football player
* [[Prentiss Walker]], farmer, businessman and politician
* [[Joshua Hayes]], professional baseball player

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Simpson County, Mississippi}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Cities in Simpson County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Cities in Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi]]