Amory, Mississippi

Coordinates: 33°59′14″N 88°29′10″W / 33.98722°N 88.48611°W / 33.98722; -88.48611
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Amory, Mississippi
City
Frisco Park in 2005
Frisco Park in 2005
FIPS code
28-01260
GNIS ID2403095[1]
Websitecityofamoryms.com

Amory /ˈeɪ.mər.i/ is a city in Monroe County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 6,666 at the 2020 census, down from 7,316 in 2010. Located in the northeastern part of the state near the Alabama border, it was founded in 1887 as a railroad town by the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad. As a result, Cotton Gin Port, along the Tombigbee River to the east, was abandoned as businesses and people moved for railroad access.

History

Amory was founded as a planned railroad town. The Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad was expanding in the South and needed a midpoint between Memphis, Tennessee, and Birmingham, Alabama, to service their locomotives. They laid out the new town of Amory, near the Alabama border, in 1887.

Believing railroad access to be critical, people from nearby Cotton Gin Port, about 1.5 miles away and located along the Tombigbee River, abandoned their town and moved to Amory. All that remains of the former Cotton Gin Port are the ruins of buildings and an old cemetery.

Two field recordings were made at Monroe County Training School in Amory.[6]

2023 tornado

See also: Tornado outbreak of March 24–27, 2023

On the evening of Friday, March 24, 2023, Amory was

struck by a fast-moving EF3 tornado, resulting in significant residential damage, as well as multiple injuries and two fatalities.[7] At Amory High School, cameras caught the tornado damaging the building, ripping the roof off the building and flying debris impacted the schools' athletic facility.[8] The same tornado also impacted Egypt prior, and Wren thereafter.[9]

Geography

Amory is in northern Monroe County, on the east side of the valley of the Tombigbee River. The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway forms the northwestern border of the city.

U.S. Route 278 passes through the south side of the city as Sixth Avenue, leading west 8 miles (13 km) the US 45 freeway and southeast 22 miles (35 km) to Sulligent, Alabama. Okolona, Mississippi, is 15 miles (24 km) to the west via US 278 and Mississippi Highway 41. State Highway 25 passes through Amory as Main Street, leading north 26 miles (42 km) to Fulton and south 16 miles (26 km) to Aberdeen, the Monroe county seat. State Highway 6 leads northwest from Amory 11 miles (18 km) to Nettleton and 26 miles (42 km) to Tupelo.

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau, Amory has a total area of 13.1 square miles (34 km2), of which 12.5 square miles (32 km2) are land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2), or 4.63%, are water.[4] Amory Lock
on the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway and part of its upstream pool are along the northern edge of the city.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1890739—
19001,21163.9%
19102,12275.2%
19202,86134.8%
19303,21412.3%
19403,72716.0%
19504,99033.9%
19606,47429.7%
19707,23611.8%
19807,3071.0%
19907,093−2.9%
20006,956−1.9%
20107,3165.2%
20206,666−8.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]

2020 census

Amory Racial Composition[11]
Race Num. Perc.
White
 4,524 67.87%
Black or African American
 1,764 26.46%
Native American
 16 0.24%
Asian
 19 0.29%
Pacific Islander
 1 0.02%
Other/Mixed
 190 2.85%
Latino
 152 2.28%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,666 people, 2,900 households, and 1,666 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the

Latino
of any race.

2000 census

As of the

Latino
of any race were 0.79% of the population.

There were 2,876 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 19.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,789, and the median income for a family was $37,891. Males had a median income of $30,913 versus $21,356 for females. The

poverty line
, including 31.6% of those under age 18 and 17.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Business sectors in the city include sports equipment manufacturing, wood pulp processing, and the furniture and textile industries.[citation needed] The city is served by North Mississippi Medical Center Gilmore–Amory.

Arts and culture

Frisco Park in 2005

In honor of its cultural and historical heritage, the city of Amory holds the annual "Railroad Festival" in April in Frisco Park in downtown. Among other attractions, the Festival includes southern foods—such as fried catfish,

Blues Brothers
, and classic oldies show. While spring rains are possible during the 3-day festival, turnout is generally quite large, with as many as 40,000 visiting the festival over the period of a weekend. The festival was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned in 2022, however it was cancelled again in 2023, as Amory was still recovering from the deadly tornado that hit the city on March 24. The city was able to have the Railroad Festival in 2024 though.

In addition to the annual Railroad Festival, Amory held "Entertainment for Education", also known as "Stars Over Mississippi", an event in which a number of celebrities and entertainers hosted a

Brooks and Dunn, Ray Romano, Tony Danza, Patricia Heaton, Doris Roberts, Whoopi Goldberg, Brad Garrett, and Prince Edward
.

Education

Most of Amory is served by the Amory School District, while a small portion is served by the Monroe County School District.[13]

Amory Christian Academy is a small private Fundamentalist Baptist school in Amory.

Infrastructure

Amory Lock
BNSF Railway bridge over Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Amory, Mississippi

Transportation

Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
.

Notable people

Main category: People from Amory, Mississippi

See also

  • St. Louis-San Francisco Railway

References

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Amory, Mississippi
  2. ^ Dusen, Ray Van (June 8, 2021). "Glenn elected as Amory's mayor". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  3. ^ "Official Recapitulation" (PDF). Mississippi Secretary of State. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "2023 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Mississippi". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  5. ^ "P1. Race – Amory city, Mississippi: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  6. ^ "Various - Field Recordings - Volume 8: Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi (1934-1947)". Discogs.
  7. ^ Barnes, Joey (March 25, 2023). "Amory, Monroe County areas hit hard by severe storms". WCBI-TV. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  8. ^ Brinkmann, Heather (March 26, 2023). "Video inside Amory school shows moments Mississippi tornado hit". FOX Weather. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  9. ^ "ArcGIS Web Application". apps.dat.noaa.gov. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  10. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  11. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  12. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  13. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  14. ISBN 978-0-8379-0835-9
    .
  15. ^ Cleveland, Rick (January 26, 2023). "Joe Burrow has deep roots (and quite the gene pool) in Amory, Mississippi". MIssissippi Today. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  16. AL.com
    . Alabama Media Group. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  17. ^ "David Hadley Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  18. ^ "Obituaries". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. February 20, 2002. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  19. ^ "Tevin Jones". gotigersgo.com. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  20. ^ "Johnathan Ray Lancaster". billstatus.ls.state.ms.us. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  21. ^ Riggs, Drake. "Morning Report: Matt Schnell passionately defends UFC fighter pay". MMAfighting.com. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  22. ^ "About Amory". visitamory.com. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  23. ^ "Shaquille Vance". United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  24. ^ "Marcus West". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  25. ^ "Grateful Dead Family Discography: Blue Suede Shoes". Deaddisc.com. January 1, 1956. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amory, Mississippi.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amory,_Mississippi&oldid=1279248033"