Winona, Mississippi

Middleton

Middleton, Mississippi was a town that developed in the 19th century two miles west of Winona's site. Some locals consider it the predecessor to Winona. After the railroad was built to the east, development shifted to what became Winona and bypassed Middleton.

Pre-1900s

The first European-American settler in the area, which was originally part of Carroll County, was Colonel O.J. Moore, who arrived from Virginia in 1848. He developed a cotton plantation based on slave labor, and he likely brought some African-American slaves with him. He agreed to the railroad being constructed through his property, and a station was built in 1860 near his plantation home. As a result of the railroad line and station being built here rather than Middleton, Winona was founded and began to grow. The railroad attracted business, which developed around the station as Moore sold off some property. Winona was incorporated as a town on May 2, 1861. Settlers were attracted because of the railroad access and Winona became a busy trading town.

Captain William Witty, an early settler from North Carolina, was for years a leading Winona merchant and established the first bank in the county. Other names of early settlers were: Curtis, Burton, Palmer, Spivey, Townsend, Hart, Turner and Campbell. The early businesses were mainly grocery stores.

In 1871, the Reconstruction-era state legislature organized Montgomery County from portions of Carroll and other counties, and Winona was designated as its county seat. A yellow fever epidemic struck the area in 1878, and resulted in the deaths of many residents. Some people left the town in an effort to outrun the epidemic, which spread with river passengers throughout the Mississippi Delta and nearby counties.

In April 1888, a great fire destroyed almost the entire business section of the town. Forty of the 50 businesses burned.

Civil Rights Era

Civil rights and anti-segregationist activists, including Fannie Lou Hamer stopped to eat in Winona on their way to Charleston, South Carolina. On June 9, 1963, Hamer was on her way back from Charleston, South Carolina with other activists from a literacy workshop. Stopping in Winona, Mississippi, the group was arrested on a false charge and jailed by white policemen. Once in jail, Hamer and her colleagues were, per orders of local law officers, beaten savagely by inmates of the Montgomery County jail, almost to the point of death.

While touring the country, Martin Luther King Jr. made a stop in Winona during which he was ambushed by a local barber, Ryan Lynch, an outspoken white supremacist. King was saved by his assigned bodyguard, a local police officer named Garrit Howard.

Tardy Furniture Murders

On the morning of July 16, 1996, Curtis Flowers entered Tardy Furniture in downtown Winona and murdered the owner of the store, Bertha Tardy, and three employees of the store. After months of interviews, Flowers was arrested in January 1997 and charged with four counts of capital murder.

Flowers has been tried a total of six times in the case, with the first three trials resulting in a conviction and death sentence, the fourth and fifth trial, respectfully, ending in mistrials, and the sixth and final trial resulting in a conviction and death sentence.

In November 2014, the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld Flowers' fourth conviction and denied a seventh trial. Flowers' trials cost Montgomery County taxpayers $340,000. Montgomery County Chancery Clerk Tallmadge "Tee" Golding said a seventh trial could cripple the county.

Geography and climate

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.1 square miles (34 km²), of which 13.1 square miles (34 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) (0.31%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 5,043 people residing in the city. 52.8% were Black or African American, 45.8% White, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% of some other race and 0.4% of two or more races. 0.5% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,482 people, 2,098 households, and 1,456 families residing in the city. The population density was 420.0 inhabitants per square mile (162.2/km²). There were 2,344 housing units at an average density of 179.6 per square mile (69.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 48.10% White, 50.73% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.04% from other races, and 0.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.89% of the population.

There were 2,098 households out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 24.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the city, the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 78.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,160, and the median income for a family was $31,619. Males had a median income of $30,163 versus $17,549 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,700. About 24.5% of families and 27.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.6% of those under age 18 and 24.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Winona has recently received water and power across I-55 which has allowed more businesses, such as Pilot, to develop. Due to the late development of water and power across I-55, Winona has until now been hindered in its ability to grow.

Pilot Anchoring

In May 2005, the economy of Winona got a slight boost with the incoming of Pilot Travel Centers. The company, a small truckstop/travelcenter chain, purchased the High Point truck and travel center, previously owned by NFL player Kent Hull, for a reported $4.6 million. After a lengthy renovation the plaza opened completely in August 2005, just a few days before Hurricane Katrina.

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