Kilmichael is a town in Montgomery County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 699 at the 2010 census.
Kilmichael, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
 Sign for Kilmichael, Mississippi | |
 Location of Kilmichael, Mississippi | |
  Kilmichael, Mississippi Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 33°26′32″N 89°34′11″W / 33.44222°N 89.56972°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Montgomery |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.79 sq mi (7.23 km2) |
| • Land | 2.79 sq mi (7.22 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.01 km2) |
| Elevation | 361 ft (110 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 699 |
| • Estimate (2018)[2] | 569 |
| • Density | 210.26/sq mi (81.19/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 39747 |
| Area code | 662 |
| FIPS code | 28-37560 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0672122 |
| Website | kilmichaelms |
Geography
Kilmichael is located at 33°26′32″N 89°34′11″W / 33.44222°N 89.56972°W (33.442175, -89.569761).[3]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2), of which 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2) is land and 0.36% is water.
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 227 | — | |
| 1910 | 380 | 67.4% | |
| 1920 | 395 | 3.9% | |
| 1930 | 577 | 46.1% | |
| 1940 | 556 | −3.6% | |
| 1950 | 511 | −8.1% | |
| 1960 | 532 | 4.1% | |
| 1970 | 543 | 2.1% | |
| 1980 | 906 | 66.9% | |
| 1990 | 826 | −8.8% | |
| 2000 | 830 | 0.5% | |
| 2010 | 699 | −15.8% | |
| 2018 (est.) | 569 | [2] | −18.6% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[4] | |||
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 830 people, 314 households, and 233 families residing in the town. The population density was 298.7 people per square mile (115.3/km²). There were 367 housing units at an average density of 132.1 per square mile (51.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 53.37% African American, 46.27% White, 0.24% Native American, and 0.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.
There were 314 households out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 23.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the town, the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $24,712, and the median income for a family was $30,909. Males had a median income of $25,192 versus $18,281 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,457. About 24.8% of families and 25.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.7% of those under age 18 and 28.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Kilmichael is served by the Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District. All students in Montgomery County (Winona, Kilmichael, Duck Hill, Alva, Stewart, Lodi, Poplar Creek) attend public schools in Winona, MS.
Prior to 2018, Kilmichael students attended schools in the town of Kilmichael.
History of schools in Kilmichael:
Prior to state desegregation in 1970, Kilmichael had two segregated high schools called Montgomery County AHS and Big Black High School. In 1970, Montgomery County AHS became Kilmichael Elementary School and Big Black High School became Kilmichael High School. In 1989, Kilmichael High School and Duck Hill High School consolidated into one high school in Kilmichael. In 2004, Kilmichael Elementary and Duck Hill Elementary consolidated to form Montgomery County Elementary School located in Kilmichael. Montgomery County Elementary School(formerly Kilmichael Elementary School) and Montgomery County High School(formerly Kilmichael High School) were both active schools located in Kilmichael prior to 2018. At one time Kilmichael Elementary had 1,000 students. For some of the years during the 1980's and 1990's, Kilmichael High School and Montgomery County High School earned classification as a Class 2A high school by the Mississippi High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) which was based on student enrollment. The high school was named Montgomery County High School from 1990-2018 and Kilmichael High School from 1970-1990.
[6][citation needed] Circa 2001 Kilmichael Elementary had 366 students.[6] [citation needed] Effective July 1, 2018 the Montgomery County and Winona Separate School District consolidated into the Winona-Montgomery School District.[7] Since the summer of 2018, all students in Montgomery County including Kilmichael students attend Winona Elementary and Winona High School which is a part of the Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District.
Meteorite
There is evidence that a meteorite struck the Kilmichael area thousands of years ago. Between the 1940's and early 1990's, this was a popular discussion within the national, state and the local community. Citations: https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1220/report.pdf , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_possible_impact_structures_on_Earth http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/pdfz/abstracts/pdf/2006/gcags/images/ndx_abstract.king.and.petruny.pdf.html
National Recognition
Kilmichael native and 1988 Kilmichael High School graduate, Dr. Katrina Poe, was recognized nationally as "Country Doctor of the Year" by Staff Care, etc.. Patients and hospital staff nominated her for the award. Dr. Poe's story was highlighted on NBC Nightly News, the Today Show, USA Today and other forms of national, state, and local media. The national stories aired in January, 2006. Dr. Poe was a family physician in Kilmichael from 2001-2018. In 2019, she became a physician for the infirmary at Mississippi State University. Citation: https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2018/08/msu-alumna-joins-longest-student-health-center-newest-staff-physician [citation needed]
Kilmichael native Phyllis Land-Usher, a 1962 graduate of Big Black High School in Kilmichael, served in the Indiana State Department of Education from the 1980's until her final years served as the Assistant Superintendent of Education prior to 2007. Land-Usher has been honored and recognized for her school improvement efforts in Indiana. As Assistant Superintendent, Land-Usher led the Indiana Center for School Improvement and Performance.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}.
Hollywood
Blues guitarist legend and superstar B.B. King (1925-2015) was reared in Kilmichael (1929-1943) by his maternal grandmother, as his own mother was too poor to take care of him after his father abandoned the family when B.B. was only four years of age. He purchased his first guitar at the age of 12 (1937) while living in Kilmichael. A celebration in King's honor for earning a Mississippi Blues Trail Marker was held in the town of Kilmichael on August 21, 2012 three years before he died. King attended the event and the blues marker was placed in the Kilmichael Town Square.
Grace Hightower, a philanthropist, actress, singer and native of Kilmichael, married movie superstar Robert DeNiro in 1997. She met DeNiro in 1987 while living in London, England (UK). Deniro and Hightower divorced in 2018. The couple had two children. Hightower attended Kilmichael High School in the early 70's and was involved in extra-curricula activities including the girls basketball team. Hightower's most recent movies included Precious (2009) and PaperBoy (2012). She also played a part-time role on NYPD Blue in 1994. She was the lead singer of a song called "Somethin's Comin' My Way", written by Dan Manjovi for the 2009 Precious movie soundtrack. Citation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hightower
Controversy
In 2001, the all-white board of aldermen cancelled town elections after citing a need for more time to implement election changes. Allegedly, the elections were delayed in order to avoid electing black politicians. The Justice Department intervened under the Voting Rights Act and forced a special election, in which Kilmichael elected its first black mayor and three black aldermen.[8]
Track & Field Record
In 1985, Robert Gee, a student athlete at Kilmichael High School broke and set a new MHSAA Class 2A boys high jump record in track and field by jumping a height of 6'9" (six feet, nine inches). Citation: https://ms.milesplit.com/meets/48189/results/84346/raw#.Xqu095NKhQJ
References
- ^ "2017 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jan 6, 2019.
- ^ a b "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ a b "Duck Hill officials study closing school". Grenada Star. 2002-01-29. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
- ^ "School District Consolidation in Mississippi Archived 2017-07-02 at the Wayback Machine." Mississippi Professional Educators. December 2016. Retrieved on July 2, 2017. Page 2 (PDF p. 3/6).
- ^ "Kilmichael, MS, Dec. 11, 2001". December 11, 2001. Archived from the original on February 23, 2002.