Hazlehurst, Mississippi Explained

Official Name:	Hazlehurst, Mississippi
Settlement Type:	City
Mapsize:	250px
Pushpin Map:	USA
Pushpin Map Caption:	Location in the United States
Subdivision Type:	Country
Subdivision Name:	United States
Subdivision Type1:	State
Subdivision Name1:	Mississippi
Subdivision Type2:	County
Subdivision Name2:	Copiah
Unit Pref:	Imperial
Area Footnotes:	^[1]
Area Total Km2:	11.59
Area Land Km2:	11.47
Area Water Km2:	0.12
Area Total Sq Mi:	4.47
Area Land Sq Mi:	4.43
Area Water Sq Mi:	0.04
Population As Of:	2020
Population Total:	3619
Population Density Km2:	315.39
Population Density Sq Mi:	816.93
Timezone:	Central (CST)
Utc Offset:	-6
Timezone Dst:	CDT
Utc Offset Dst:	-5
Elevation M:	145
Elevation Ft:	476
Coordinates:	31.865°N -90.3914°W
Postal Code Type:	ZIP code
Postal Code:	39083
Area Code:	601
Blank Name:	FIPS code
Blank Info:	28-31220
Blank1 Name:	GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:	0671047

Hazlehurst is a city in and the county seat of Copiah County, Mississippi, United States,^[2] located about south of the state capital Jackson along Interstate 55. The population was 4,009 at the 2010 census.^[3] It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its economy is based on agriculture, particularly tomatoes and cabbage.

History

The first settlement here by European Americans became known as the town of Gallatin; two lawyers and brothers-in-law named Walters and Saunders came from Gallatin, Tennessee, in 1819 and named the village after their hometown. They built their homes on the banks of the Bayou Pierre, in the western part of Copiah County. Other settlers came with them, and in 1829 the state legislature incorporated the town. The first decades of agriculture The incorporation charter was repealed on January 18, 1862.

The construction of the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad began on November 3, 1865, stimulating development of Hazlehurst at the railway stop. It was named for Col. George H. Hazlehurst, an engineer for the new railroad.^[4] A city in Georgia is also named for him.^[4]

As Hazlehurst grew, Gallatin declined into a settlement at a crossroads. In April 1872, the legislature ordered the county board of supervisors to hold an election to decide whether the county seat should be moved from Gallatin to Hazlehurst. After a majority voted for the change, Gallatin's old brick courthouse was torn down and reassembled in Hazlehurst

This city had civil rights activity during the mid-1960s. Because of violence against black people in this area, Mississippi, the armed Deacons for Defense and Justice established centers here and in nearby Crystal Springs in 1966 and 1967. They provided physical protection for protesters working with the NAACP on a commercial boycott of white merchants to force integration of facilities and employment, and to gain jobs for African Americans following passage of civil rights legislation in 1964.^[5]

On January 23, 1969, an F4 tornado devastated the south side of Hazlehurst, killing 11 people in town and damaging or destroying 175 homes.^[6]

Geography

Hazlehurst is located slightly east of the center of Copiah County.^[7] U.S. Route 51 passes through the center of the city, leading north 9miles to Crystal Springs and south to Brookhaven. Interstate 55 runs west of and generally parallel to US 51, with access to Hazlehurst from exits 59 and 61. Mississippi Highway 28 crosses US 51 and I-55 in the northern part of town, leading east to Georgetown and west to Fayette.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Hazlehurst has a total area of 11.5km2, of which 11.3km2 is land and 0.1km2, or 1.02%, is water.^[3]

Demographics

Hazlehurst racial composition as of 2020^[8] !Race!Num.!Perc.

White (non-Hispanic)	461	12.74%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	2,744	75.82%
Native American	2	0.06%
Asian	30	0.83%
Pacific Islander	3	0.08%
Other/Mixed	106	2.93%
Hispanic or Latino	273	7.54%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,619 people, 1,108 households, and 743 families residing in the city.

Education

The city is served by the Hazlehurst City School District. The Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library main offices are in Hazlehurst, as well as the main office of Copiah County School District.^[9]

Infrastructure

Rail transportation

See also: Hazlehurst (Amtrak station). Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Hazlehurst. Amtrak Train 59, the southbound City of New Orleans, is scheduled to depart Hazlehurst at 11:55 am daily with service to Brookhaven, McComb, Hammond, and New Orleans. Amtrak Train 58, the northbound City of New Orleans, is scheduled to depart Hazlehurst at 4:17 pm daily with service to Jackson, Yazoo City, Greenwood, Memphis, Newbern-Dyersburg, Fulton, Carbondale, Centralia, Effingham, Mattoon, Champaign-Urbana, Kankakee, Homewood, and Chicago.

Notable people

• Joe Bailey (1863-1929), an attorney and US Senator from Texas, lived and worked in Hazlehurst before moving.^[10]
• Houston Boines, blues singer and harmonica player^[11]
• Alvin Chester Cockrell Jr.; awarded a Navy Cross in World War II
• Max Dale Cooper, immunologist and Professor of Pathology at Emory University known for identifying T cells and B cells^[12]
• Clifford Davis, U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1940 to 1965^[13]
• Mablean Ephriam, adjudicator of the courtroom series Divorce Court for seven seasons from the 1999–2006 season^[14]
• John Epperson, actor and singer best known for his performance as Lypsinka; born in Hazlehurst
• Robert Evans, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives^[15]
• Ron Franklin, sportscaster^[16]
• Ben Garry, NFL player
• Beth Henley, playwright, was born in Jackson but spent much of her childhood here, as it was where her father grew up. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Crimes of the Heart, is set in Hazlehurst.
• William Hester, tennis player and official. Former president of the United States Tennis Association.^[17]
• Roy Hilton, former professional football defensive end^[18]
• Gregory Holloway Sr., member of the Mississippi House of Representatives^[19]
• Ruth Atkinson Holmes, painter and philanthropist^[20]
• Robert Johnson, the Delta blues musician, was born in Hazlehurst. A monument to him was installed between the Copiah County courthouse and the Trustmark Bank. Johnson's birth home is located near the courthouse; the City of Hazlehurst is in litigation to determine its future.
• Rory Lee, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Hazlehurst from 1976 to 1994; president of two Southern Baptist colleges^[21]
• Print Matthews, former sheriff of Copiah County^[22]
• Benjamin Morgan Palmer, 19th-century Presbyterian minister, made Hazlehurst his family's home in the summer of 1862 as he served as chaplain with the Washington Artillery of New Orleans.
• Lawrence Pillers, former professional football defensive end^[23]
• Mary Tillman Smith, outsider artist^[24]
• Truett Smith, former professional football blocking back^[25]
• Lewis Tillman, professional football player
• Walter Washington, former president of Alcorn State University and Alpha Phi Alpha^[26]
• H. Lynn Womack, publisher^[27]

External links

• City of Hazelhurst Government Portal
• Map of Mississippi from 1836 showing the location of Gallatin in Copiah County

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. July 24, 2022.
2. Web site: Find a County. 2011-06-07. National Association of Counties.
3. Web site: Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Hazlehurst city, Mississippi. https://archive.today/20200212191203/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US2831220. dead. February 12, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. October 7, 2014.
4. Book: The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States . Govt. Print. Off. . Gannett, Henry . 1905 . 153.
5. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZPUaBwAAQBAJ&dq=Copiah+Co%2C+MS+during+the+civil+rights+movement&pg=PA223 Ted Ownby, The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi
6. Book: Grazulis . Thomas P. . Significant tornadoes, 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events . 1993 . Environmental Films . St. Johnsbury, Vermont . 1-879362-03-1 . 1103.
7. Web site: US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990. United States Census Bureau. 2011-04-23. 2011-02-12.
8. Web site: Explore Census Data. 2021-12-17. data.census.gov.
9. Web site: Homepage. Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library. July 12, 2014.
10. Acheson, Sam Hanna. Joe Bailey, the Last Democrat. New York: Macmillan, 1932
11. Book: Jim O'Neal. Amy van Singel. The Voice of the Blues: Classic Interviews from Living Blues Magazine. 5 September 2013. Taylor & Francis. 978-1-136-70748-3. 124.
12. Book: 2/Ed 95-96. International Who's Who In Medicine 1995-96. 1 November 1995. Taylor & Francis. 94. 9780948875915 .
13. Book: Frank Embrick Bass. Who's who in Tennessee: A Reference Edition Recording the Biographies of Contemporary Leaders in Tennessee with Special Emphasis on Their Achievements in Making the Volunteer State One of America's Greatest. 1961. Historical Record Association. 181.
14. Web site: Judge Mablean Ephraim . Great Black Speakers . 4 July 2020.
15. Web site: Bob Evans' Biography . Project Vote Smart . 4 July 2020.
16. Web site: Ron Franklin To Host 2004 Conerly Telecast . Ole Miss Sports . 4 July 2020.
17. Web site: Slew Harris . International Tennis Hall of Fame . 4 July 2020.
18. Book: George Alexander Sewell. Margaret L. Dwight. Mississippi Black History Makers. 1984. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 978-1-61703-428-2. 380.
19. Web site: Greg Holloway Sr.'s Biography . Project Vote Smart . 4 July 2020.
20. Book: Patti Carr Black. Mississippi Museum of Art. The Mississippi Story. 2007. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 978-1-887422-14-7. 37.
21. Web site: Pastors Serving Antioch Church. barlowgenealogy.com. July 30, 2013.
22. Book: Stephen Cresswell. Multiparty Politics in Mississippi, 1877-1902. 1995. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 978-1-61703-436-7. 85.
23. Book: Greg Prato. Sack Exchange: The Definitive Oral History of the 1980s New York Jets. September 2011. ECW Press. 978-1-77090-061-5. 29.
24. Book: Grey Gundaker. Professor Grey Gundaker. Judith McWillie. No Space Hidden: The Spirit of African American Yard Work. 2005. Univ. of Tennessee Press. 978-1-57233-356-7. 13.
25. Web site: Truett Smith Stats . Pro Football Reference . 4 July 2020.
26. Book: George A. Sewell. Margaret L. Dwight. Mississippi Black History Makers. November 1984. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 978-1-60473-390-7. 196.
27. Book: George Haggerty. Bonnie Zimmerman. Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures. 2 September 2003. Garland Science. 978-1-135-57871-8. 1473.