Durant, Mississippi

Durant, Mississippi
City
Location of Durant, Mississippi Location of Durant, Mississippi
Durant, Mississippi Location in the United States
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Holmes
Government
• Mayor	Tasha Boyette-Davis
Area
• Total	2.3 sq mi (5.8 km2)
• Land	2.2 sq mi (5.8 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	259 ft (79 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	2,673
• Density	1,162.1/sq mi (508.3/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	39063
Area code(s)	662
FIPS code	28-20500
GNIS feature ID	0669521

Durant is a city in Holmes County, Mississippi. It was founded in 1858 as a station on the Mississippi Central Railroad, later part of the Illinois Central. Durant was named for Louis Durant, a Choctaw chief, who had lived on a bluff just across the nearby Big Black River. The population was 2,932 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Durant is located at (33.076313, -89.856405).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), of which 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) (0.89%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	375		—
1880	724		93.1%
1890	1,259		73.9%
1900	1,766		40.3%
1910	1,881		6.5%
1920	1,870		−0.6%
1930	2,480		32.6%
1940	2,510		1.2%
1950	2,311		−7.9%
1960	2,617		13.2%
1970	2,752		5.2%
1980	2,889		5.0%
1990	2,838		−1.8%
2000	2,932		3.3%
2010	2,673		−8.8%
Est. 2014	2,510		−6.1%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,673 people, 1,171 households, and 978 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,316.4 people per square mile (507.6/km²). There were 1,209 housing units at an average density of 542.8 per square mile (209.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 13.80% White, 85.29% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.26% of the population.

There were 1,171 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.9% were married couples living together, 30.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 20 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 49, 15.7% from 50 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. There were 1,230 males and 1,443 females.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,659, and the median income for a family was $25,065. Males had a median income of $26,500 versus $20,200 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,210. About 27.9% of families and 35.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.1% of those under age 18 and 26.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The city of Durant is served by two school districts - Durant and Holmes County. Their schools are William Sullivan Elementary, Jr. High, and High Schools and Durant Elementary, Jr. High, and High Schools.

Notable people

• Absolom M. West (planter, politician, Civil War general, labor organizer and Vice Presidential candidate, 1818–1894) owned a plantation near Durant prior to the American Civil War.
• Minerva Hamilton Hoyt - in 1866 born on a plantation nearby; an early California desert activist.
• Tommy McClennan - American Delta blues singer and guitarist.
• Jimmy W. Jamison - 1951 birthplace of American Recording artist and lead singer in the musical group Survivor. Vocalist in numerous movies, top 10 songs.
• Atlanta activist John Howell, son of Mayor William Edgar Howell