| Official Name: | Magee, 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: | Simpson |
| Government Type: | Mayor-Council |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Dale Berry[1] |
| Leader Title1: | Board of Aldermen |
| Leader Name1: | Mark Grubbs Lewana Thompson Sammie Tebo Patrick Brown Sue Honea |
| Established Title: | City |
| Established Date: | February 25, 1900 |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| 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 |
| Population Total: | 3988 |
| Population Density Km2: | 292.80 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 758.32 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | −6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −5 |
| Elevation M: | 132 |
| Elevation Ft: | 433 |
| Coordinates: | 31.8728°N -89.7336°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 39111 |
| Area Code: | 601 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 28-44600 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0673055 |
| Website: | www.cityofmagee.com |
Magee is a city in Simpson County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Jackson metropolitan area.
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.[3]
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.[4]
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.[5] The population of Magee in 1919 was 786. There were approximately 23 businesses in the area at the time.[5]
Magee is approximately 42 miles south of Jackson, 45 miles north of Hattiesburg,[5] and 12 miles south of Mendenhall, the county seat of Simpson County.[6]
Magee's first mayor was R.P. Vinson, who served from 1900 to 1907.[5]
In 2013, First Baptist Church in downtown Magee was seriously damaged by a fire but has been restored.[7]
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.[8] [9]
In 2017, the Magee Sportsplex was renamed the Jimmy Clyde Sportsplex in honor of former Magee mayor Jimmy Clyde.[10]
As of 2017, the mayor of Magee is Dale Berry.[11]
The city of Magee was featured in the Discovery Channel reality TV series Dirty Jobs.[12]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.9sqmi, all land. Magee is located between Jackson and 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, Louisiana, and approximately 142 miles north of Mobile, Alabama.[13] [14]
Magee has a humid subtropical climate, with an annual mean temperature 65.8 degrees and average annual rainfall of 56.9inches.
On March 26, 2009, around 1:30 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 Riders and other technicians from the Mississippi Rural Water Association worked with the city staff, local contractors and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to restore water service.[15] Using four MEMA generators, the rural water staff was able to restore service to Magee by 2:20 p.m. the next day.
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,772 | 44.43% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,906 | 47.79% | |
| Native American | 7 | 0.18% | |
| Asian | 37 | 0.93% | |
| Pacific Islander | 1 | 0.03% | |
| Other/Mixed | 134 | 3.36% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 131 | 3.28% |
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, 205acres industrial park located on four-lane Highway 49.
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.[17] [18]
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.
The City of Magee is served by the Simpson County School District.
A branch of Copiah-Lincoln Community College is located in Magee.
The Magee Courier and Simpson County News serve Magee.[19]
Mageenews.com serves the local area.[20]
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.