Crystal Springs, Mississippi

City in Mississippi, United States

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Location of Crystal Springs, Mississippi

31°59′17″N 90°21′24″W / 31.98806°N 90.35667°W / 31.98806; -90.35667CountryUnited StatesStateMississippiCountyCopiahArea

^[1]

• Total5.48 sq mi (14.20 km²) • Land5.43 sq mi (14.06 km²) • Water0.05 sq mi (0.14 km²)Elevation

469 ft (143 m)Population

(2020)

• Total4,862 • Density895.56/sq mi (345.76/km²)Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)ZIP code

39059

Area code601FIPS code28-17060GNIS feature ID0669000Websitecityofcrystalsprings.com

Crystal Springs is a city in Copiah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,044 as of the 2010 census,^[2] down from 5,873 in 2000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

U.S. Route 51 runs through the northwest part of Crystal Springs, intersecting Interstate 55 at the latter's Exit 72. I-55 leads north 24 miles (39 km) to Jackson, the state capital, and 29 miles (47 km) south to Brookhaven.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14.2 km²), of which 5.4 square miles (14.1 km²) is land and 0.039 square miles (0.1 km²), or 0.96%, is water.^[2]

Climate

Climate data for Crystal Springs Experiment Station, Mississippi (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1892–1954, 1985–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	89 (32)	86 (30)	94 (34)	93 (34)	101 (38)	104 (40)	107 (42)	108 (42)	107 (42)	100 (38)	91 (33)	87 (31)	108 (42)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	58.1 (14.5)	62.6 (17.0)	69.5 (20.8)	76.4 (24.7)	83.7 (28.7)	89.9 (32.2)	92.2 (33.4)	92.3 (33.5)	87.8 (31.0)	79.3 (26.3)	68.3 (20.2)	60.8 (16.0)	76.7 (24.8)
Daily mean °F (°C)	47.4 (8.6)	51.3 (10.7)	57.9 (14.4)	64.9 (18.3)	72.7 (22.6)	79.3 (26.3)	81.7 (27.6)	81.5 (27.5)	76.8 (24.9)	66.7 (19.3)	56.4 (13.6)	49.9 (9.9)	65.5 (18.6)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	36.7 (2.6)	40.1 (4.5)	46.3 (7.9)	53.4 (11.9)	61.7 (16.5)	68.7 (20.4)	71.3 (21.8)	70.7 (21.5)	65.7 (18.7)	54.1 (12.3)	44.4 (6.9)	39.1 (3.9)	54.4 (12.4)
Record low °F (°C)	3 (−16)	−7 (−22)	16 (−9)	27 (−3)	35 (2)	50 (10)	55 (13)	54 (12)	40 (4)	26 (−3)	17 (−8)	2 (−17)	−7 (−22)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	6.12 (155)	5.87 (149)	5.79 (147)	5.73 (146)	4.42 (112)	5.57 (141)	5.39 (137)	5.76 (146)	3.93 (100)	3.35 (85)	4.65 (118)	5.93 (151)	62.51 (1,588)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	0.1 (0.25)	0.2 (0.51)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.4 (1.0)	0.7 (1.8)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	8.9	9.0	8.6	7.2	7.2	9.4	9.2	8.6	5.9	5.4	6.9	7.8	94.1
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.3
Source: NOAA^[3]^[4]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1870	864	—
1880	915	5.9%
1890	997	9.0%
1900	1,093	9.6%
1910	1,343	22.9%
1920	1,395	3.9%
1930	2,257	61.8%
1940	2,855	26.5%
1950	3,676	28.8%
1960	4,496	22.3%
1970	4,195	−6.7%
1980	4,902	16.9%
1990	5,643	15.1%
2000	5,873	4.1%
2010	5,044	−14.1%
2020	4,862	−3.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5]

Crystal Springs racial composition as of 2020^[6]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	1,464	30.11%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	3,007	61.85%
Native American	1	0.02%
Asian	16	0.33%
Pacific Islander	4	0.08%
Other/Mixed	108	2.22%
Hispanic or Latino	262	5.39%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,862 people, 1,418 households, and 982 families residing in the city.

Education

Crystal Springs is served by the Copiah County School District. Copiah Academy is a local private school in the area. Copiah-Lincoln Community College is located in Wesson. Crystal Springs was the first school in Mississippi to allow black students to attend.

The Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library operates a branch in Crystal Springs.^[7]

Controversies

On February 2, 1922, Will Thrasher was Lynched, the first lynching in Copiah county in twenty years.^[8]

Civil rights-era violence related to passage of civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965 led the armed Deacons for Defense and Justice to established centers in both Crystal Springs and nearby Hazlehurst in 1966 and 1967. They acted to provide physical protection for African-American protesters who were working with the NAACP on a commercial boycott of white merchants to force integration of stores and employment, to gain jobs for African Americans at places where they were patrons.^[9] Eventually the protesters won the removal of discriminatory practices at stores and African Americans gained some jobs in these local businesses.

In 2012, the First Baptist Church denied a black couple permission to be married there after objections from church members. The pastor performed the wedding at a different church.^[10]

Notable people

Hulette F. Aby, former attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma^[11]
Dexter Allen, blues guitarist
Greg Osgood, multi-genre keyboardist, singer and songwriter
Bruce M. Bailey, author and humorist
Joseph W. Bailey, U.S. senator from Texas
Percy Bland, mayor of Meridian, Mississippi^[12]
Tom Funchess, former professional football offensive tackle^[13]
Larry Grantham, American Football League linebacker and member of the *New York Jets (Super Bowl III champions)
White Graves, former professional football defensive back^[14]
Pat Harrison, a Democratic member of the *U.S. Congress in the 1920s and 1930s
Anita C. Hill, Lutheran minister^[15]
Tommy Johnson, Delta blues musician^[16]
George Kinard, former professional football guard^[17]
Phil Redding, former Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals^[18]
Hunter Renfroe, professional baseball player
Alton D. Slay, four-star general in the United States Air Force
Malcolm Taylor, former professional football defensive end^[19]

References

^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Crystal Springs city, Mississippi". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
^ "NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
^ "Summary of Monthly Normals 1991-2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
^ "Homepage". Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
^ The Semi-Weekly Leader, February 4, 1922, p. 1.
^ Ted Ownby, The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2013, pp. 221-223
^ Harish, Alon (July 28, 2012). "Mississippi Church Refuses to Marry Black Couple". ABC News.
^ The American Bar. J.C. Fifield Company. 1919. p. 759.
^ "Mayor's Office". City of Meridian. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
^ "Tom Funchess". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
^ "White Graves Stats". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
^ "ANITA C. HILL: An Inventory of Her Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
^ Koda, Cub. "Tommy Johnson Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
^ "George Kinard Stats". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
^ "Phil Redding". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
^ Pete Palmer; Ken Pullis; Sean Lahman (2007). The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia. Sterling Publishing Company. p. 679. ISBN 978-1-4027-5250-6.

"Paid the penalty at hands of mob". The Semi-Weekly Leader. Brookhaven, Lincoln, Mississippi: B.T. Hobbs. February 4, 1922. pp. 1–4. ISSN 2688-7835. OCLC 14867376. Retrieved January 23, 2022.