Greenwood, Mississippi

Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States,<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverport of Memphis, Tennessee. It was a center of cotton planter culture in the 19th century.

The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Greenwood Micropolitan Statistical Area. Greenwood developed at the confluence of the Tallahatchie and the Yalobusha rivers, which form the Yazoo River.

History

File:Howard.street.greenwood.ms.postcard.jpg

Howard Street

File:Front Street buildings along the Yazoo River.jpg

Front Street buildings along the Yazoo River

European settlement

The first Euro-American settlement on the banks of the Yazoo River was a trading post founded in 1834 by Colonel Dr. John J. Dilliard<ref name=greenwood>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp and known as Dilliard's Landing. The settlement had competition from Greenwood Leflore's rival landing called Point Leflore, located three miles up the Yazoo River. The rivalry ended when Captain James Dilliard donated parcels in exchange for a commitment from the townsmen to maintain an all-weather turnpike to the hill section to the east, along with a stagecoach road to the more established settlements to the northwest.<ref>Smith, Frank E. (1954). The Yazoo River. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. pp. 57-58. Template:ISBN</ref>

The settlement was incorporated as "Greenwood" in 1844, named after Chief Greenwood LeFlore. The success of the city, founded during a strong international demand for cotton, was based on its strategic location in the heart of the Delta: on the easternmost point of the alluvial plain, and astride the Tallahatchie and Yazoo rivers. The city served as a shipping point for cotton to major markets in New Orleans, Vicksburg, Mississippi, Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The construction of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad and the Georgia Pacific Railway through the city in the 1880s revitalized the local economy<ref name=greenwood/>Template:Rp and shortened transportation time to markets. Downtown's Front Street, bordering the Yazoo, was dominated by cotton factors and related businesses, earning that section the name "Cotton Row".

20th century

The city continued to prosper well into the 1940s. Cotton production suffered in Mississippi during the infestation of the boll weevil in the early 20th century; however, for many years the bridge over the Yazoo displayed the sign "World's Largest Inland Long Staple Cotton Market".

Cotton cultivation and processing became largely mechanized in the first half of the 20th century, displacing thousands of sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Since the late 20th century, some Mississippi farmers have begun to replace cotton with corn and soybeans as commodity crops; with the textile manufacturing industry having shifted overseas, farmers can gain stronger prices for the newer crops, used mostly as animal feed.<ref>Krauss, Clifford. "Mississippi Farmers Trade Cotton Plantings for Corn", The New York Times, May 5, 2009</ref>

Greenwood's Grand Boulevard was once named one of America's 10 most beautiful streets by the U.S. Chambers of Commerce and the Garden Clubs of America. Sally Humphreys Gwin, a charter member of the Greenwood Garden Club, planted the 1,000 oak trees that line Grand Boulevard. In 1950, Gwin received a citation from the National Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution in recognition of her work in the conservation of trees.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Kirkpatrick, Mario Carter. Mississippi Off the Beaten PathTemplate:Dead link, GPP Travel, 2007.</ref>

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert is water. Template:Citation needed

Demographics

2020 census

Greenwood Racial Composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	3,646	25.16%
Black or African American	10,198	70.38%
Native American	7	0.05%
Asian	154	1.06%
Other/Mixed	276	1.9%
Hispanic or Latino	209	1.44%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,490 people, 4,924 households, and 2,793 families residing in the city.

2010 census

At the 2010 census,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> there were 15,205 people and 6,022 households in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 6,759 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 30.4% White, 67.0% Black, 0.1% Native American, 0.9% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, <0.1% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.1% of the population.

Among the 6,022 households, 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.8% were married couples living together, 29.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.6% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals living alone and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.16.

Arts and culture

Mississippi Blues Trail markers

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WGRM Radio Studio Blues Trail marker

Radio station WGRM on Howard Street was the location of B.B. King's first live broadcast in 1940. On Sunday nights, King performed live gospel music as part of a quartet.<ref> Template:Cite web</ref> In memory of this event, the Mississippi Blues Trail has placed its third historic marker in this town at the site of the former radio station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another Mississippi Blues Trail marker is placed near the grave of the blues singer Robert Johnson.<ref> Template:Cite web </ref> A third Blues Trail marker notes the Elks Lodge in the city, which was an important black organization.<ref> Template:Cite web </ref> A fourth Blues Trail marker was dedicated to Hubert Sumlin that is located along the Yazoo River on River Road. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Government

Local government

Greenwood is governed under a city council form of government, composed of council members elected from seven single-member wards and headed by a mayor, who is elected at-large.

Education

Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District (GLCSD) operates public schools. Previously the majority of the city was in Greenwood Public School District while small portions were in the Leflore County School District.<ref name=LefloreCoSDmap2010>Template:Cite web</ref> These two districts consolidated into GLCSD on July 1, 2019.<ref>"School District Consolidation in Mississippi Template:Webarchive." Mississippi Professional Educators. December 2016. Retrieved on July 2, 2017. Page 2 (PDF p. 3/6).</ref> Greenwood High School is the only public high school in Greenwood. As of 2014, the student body is 99% black. Amanda Elzy High School, outside of the Greenwood city limits, was formerly of the Leflore County district. It was recently taken over by the State of Mississippi for poor performance as a result of deficient leadership.

Pillow Academy, a private school, is located in unincorporated Leflore County, near Greenwood.

Delta Streets Academy, a newly founded private school located in downtown Greenwood, has an enrollment of nearly 50 students. It has continued to increase enrollment.

St. Francis Catholic School, run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson, provides classes from kindergarten through sixth grade.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In addition, North New Summit School provides educational services for special-needs and at-risk children from kindergarten through high school.

Media

Newspapers, magazines and journals

• The Greenwood Commonwealth

Television

• WABG-TV – ABC/Fox affiliate
• WMEL-TV - MeTV affiliate
• WMAO-TV – PBS affiliate

AM/FM radio

• WABG, 960 AM (blues)
• WGNG, 106.3 FM (hip-hop/urban contemporary)
• WGNL, 104.3 FM (urban adult contemporary/blues)
• WGRM, 1240 AM (gospel)
• WGRM-FM, 93.9 FM (gospel)
• WMAO-FM, 90.9 FM (NPR broadcasting)
• WKXG, 92.7 FM (Country music) KIX-92.7
• WYMX, 99.1 FM (classic rock)

Filming location

Nightmare in Badham County (1976), Ode to Billy Joe (1976), and The Help (2011) were filmed in Greenwood.<ref>Barth, Jack (1991). Roadside Hollywood: The Movie Lover's State-By-State Guide to Film Locations, Celebrity Hangouts, Celluloid Tourist Attractions, and More. Contemporary Books, p. 169. Template:ISBN.</ref> The 1991 movie Mississippi Masala was also set and filmed in Greenwood.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Infrastructure

Transportation

Railroads

Greenwood is served by two major rail lines. Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Greenwood, connecting New Orleans to Chicago from Greenwood station.

Air transportation

Greenwood is served by Greenwood–Leflore Airport (GWO) to the east, and is located midway between Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee. It is about halfway between Dallas, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia.

Highways

• U.S. Route 82 runs through Greenwood on its way from Georgia's Atlantic coast (Brunswick, Georgia) to the White Sands of New Mexico (east of Las Cruces).
• U.S. Route 49 passes through Greenwood as it stretches between Piggott, Arkansas, south to Gulfport.
• Other Greenwood highways include Mississippi Highway 7.

Notable people

• Valerie Brisco-Hooks, Olympic athlete<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• C. C. Brown, professional football player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Nora Jean Bruso, blues singer and songwriter<ref name="AMG">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Louis Coleman, Major League Baseball pitcher<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Byron De La Beckwith, white supremacist, assassin of civil rights leader Medgar Evers<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• Carlos Emmons, professional football player<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Betty Everett, R&B vocalist and pianist<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• James L. Flanagan, electrical engineer and speech scientist
• Alphonso Ford, professional basketball player<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Webb Franklin, United States congressman<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Morgan Freeman, actor<ref name=carl>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Jim Gallagher, Jr., professional golfer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Bobbie Gentry, singer/songwriter<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Sherrod Gideon, professional football player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Gerald Glass, professional basketball player
• Guitar Slim, blues musician<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Lusia Harris, basketball player<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Endesha Ida Mae Holland, American scholar, playwright, and civil rights activist
• Dave Hoskins, professional baseball player
• Kent Hull, professional football player<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Tom Hunley, ex-slave and the inspiration for the character "Hambone" in J. P. Alley's syndicated cartoon feature, Hambone's Meditations<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Robert Johnson, blues musician<ref name=carl/>
• Jermaine Jones, soccer player for the New England Revolution and United States national team<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Cleo Lemon, Toronto Argonauts quarterback<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Walter "Furry" Lewis, blues musician<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Bernie Machen, president of the University of Florida<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Della Campbell MacLeod (ca. 1884 – ?), author and journalist
• Paul Maholm, baseball pitcher<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Matt Miller, baseball pitcher<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Mulgrew Miller, jazz pianist<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Juanita Moore, actress<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Carrie Nye, actress<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• W. Allen Pepper Jr., US federal judge<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Fenton Robinson, blues singer/guitarist<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Laverne Smith, NFL player
• Tonya Stewart, actress<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Hubert Sumlin, blues guitarist<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Donna Tartt, novelist<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• James K. Vardaman, Mississippi governor, senator, and white supremacist
• Charlie Wells, mystery writer, author of Let the Night Fall (1953) and The Last Kill (1955)
• Willye B. White, Olympic athlete<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

External links

• City of Greenwood