| Official Name: | Gloster |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | Mississippi#USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Mississippi |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Mississippi |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Amite |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Wayne Jerry Norwood |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 4.72 |
| Area Land Km2: | 4.72 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.00 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 1.82 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 1.82 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.00 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 897 |
| Population Density Km2: | 189.88 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 491.78 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Elevation M: | 129 |
| Elevation Ft: | 423 |
| Coordinates: | 31.1969°N -91.0192°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 39638 |
| Area Code: | 601 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 28-27820 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0693304 |
Gloster is a town in central Amite County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 897 at the 2020 census.[2]
Gloster was incorporated on March 11, 1884.[3]
It was largely founded as a railroad town. Gloster was named after the engineer who put the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley R.R. through in the 1880s.[4]
Drax Biomass operates a 450000metric ton per year wood pellet production facility in Gloster. The facility was expected to create 45 jobs, and is called Amite BioEnergy.[5]
Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi came down to Gloster to announce Claw Forestry Services will build a $200 million sawmill on about 50 acres comprising the former Georgia-Pacific mill site and the adjoining former elementary school property. The elementary school has been closed for many years. Mayor Jerry Norwood said the announcement is "one of the proudest moments in my life, and my proudest moment as mayor."[6]
William VanDevender, chief executive officer of Claw, said once the plant is up and running, it should produce about 250 million board-feet of lumber a year, using about 1 million tons of logs annually, and make sales of more than $100 million a year. VanDevender and other Claw officials "recognize the quality of the workforce and the quality of the timber basket in Southwest Mississippi," Reeves said after the presentation. "This will benefit not just the 130 families that have workers at the plant, but boost timber owners across a four to five-county region."
Governor Reeves said he "expects Southwest Mississippi Community College will play a large role in providing training for employees at the plant.[6]
Gloster Forestry announced: "In connection with the new sawmill facility, efforts are underway to resume operation of the Gloster Southern Railroad to further revitalize industry and jobs in the underserved community."[7]
According to the 2020 census, there were 897 people in Gloster. As of the census[8] of 2010, there were 960 people, 223 households, and 114 families residing in the town.
| White (non-Hispanic) | 230 | 25.64% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 633 | 70.57% | |
| Native American | 3 | 0.33% | |
| Asian | 1 | 0.11% | |
| Other/Mixed | 14 | 1.56% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 16 | 1.78% |
Gloster is in the Amite County School District.[10]