Laurel

Laurel is a city in and the second county seat of Jones County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 17,161. The city was named for thickets of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) which were native to the original town site. Major employers include Howard Industries, Sanderson Farms, Masonite International, Family Health Center, Howse Implement, Thermo-Kool, and South Central Regional Medical Center. Laurel is home to the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Mississippi's oldest art museum, established by the family of Lauren Eastman Rogers. The economic prosperity of Laurel's timber era (1893-1937) and "timber families" created the famed Laurel Central Historic District as a byproduct. The area is considered the largest, finest, and most intact collection of the early 20th century architecture in Mississippi and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 4, 1987. Many of the architectural styles featured in the district are featured on the current HGTV series Home Town Town. In 1942, Howard Wash, a 45-year-old African-American man who had been convicted of murder, was dragged from jail and lynched by a lynch mob. He was the first Laurel resident to die in a lynching in the U.S. since the civil rights era of the 1960s. The population of Laurel reached its peak in 1960, when the city's population reached 16,000.

History

The city of Laurel was incorporated in 1882, with timber as the impetus. Yellow pine forests in the region fueled the industry. By the end of World War I, Laurel's mills were producing and shipping more yellow pine lumber than those of any other location in the entire world. The city's population grew markedly during the early 20th century because rural people were attracted to manufacturing jobs and the economic takeoff of Masonite International. In 1942, Howard Wash, a 45-year-old African-American man who had been convicted of murder, was dragged from jail and lynched by a mob. Laurel reached its peak census population in 1960, and has declined about one third since then. Many of the homes and buildings of the Laurel Central Historic District are featured on the current HGTV series Home Town. The area is considered the largest, finest, and most intact collection of the early20th century architecture in Mississippi. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 4, 1987, for both its historical value and for its wide variety of architectural styles. It is located in the heart of the piney woods ecoregion of the southeastern U.S. The land site that would eventually become Laurel was densely covered with forests of virgin longleaf pine, making the area an attractive one to pioneering lumberjacks and sawmill operators in the late 19th century. In 1906, the Gilchrist-Fordney Company, whose founders hailed from Alpena, Michigan, began construction on their own lumber mill in Laurel. The Wausau-Southern Company followed in 1911, and the Marathon mill in 1914.

Geography

Laurel is in north-central Jones County, 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Ellisville, the first county seat. Interstate 59 and U.S. Route 11 pass through Laurel, leading southwest 30 miles (48 km) and northeast 57 miles (92 km) to Meridian. The city lies on a low ridge between Tallahala Creek to the east and Tallahoma creek to the west. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. The area is also prone to tornadoes. On December 28, 1954, an F3 tornado tore directly through the city, injuring 25 people. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Laurel has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. It is in the Pascagoula River watershed, part of the Mississippi River watershed. The town has a population of 1,000. It has a total area of 16.5 square miles, of which 15.8 square miles (40.8 km²) are land and 0.3 sq miles (0.8km²), or 1.81% are water. It was the site of the World War II Battle of the Bulge, which took place in World War I and II. It also hosted the Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought from 1871 to 1883. The Battle was one of the deadliest battles in American history, killing more than 3,000 people.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, Laurel had a population of 18,540. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 61.3% African-American, 29.8% non-Hispanic white, 7.7% Hispanic or Latino, and 1.0% reporting two or more races. As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 17,161 people, 6,825 households, and 4,278 families residing in the city. The average household size was 2.61, and the average family size was 3.21. The median income for a household in Laurel was $25,988, and $30,185 for a family. The per capita income for the city was $15,561. 28.9% of the city and 21.4% of families were below the poverty line. The city is located on the Mississippi River, which flows into the Little Cottonwood River. Laurel is located near the Arkansas Turnpike, which runs through the city's downtown area. The Mississippi River runs through Laurel, and runs into the Arkansas River at the Arkansas-Mississippi border. The Arkansas River flows through the town of Laurel, which is located at the intersection of the Arkansas and Little Cottonwoods Rivers, which run through the Arkansas turnpike and the Little cottonwood river. The town is home to the Laurel High School, which was founded in 1881. The Laurel River School District was established in 1883. It was the first high school in the state, and is now the second oldest high school.

Government

Laurel has a mayor-council form of city government. The mayor is elected at-large. Council members are elected from single-member districts. The Mississippi Department of Mental Health South Mississippi State Hospital Crisis Intervention Center is in Laurel. The United States Postal Service operates the Laurel Post Office and the Choctaw Post Office, both located in Laurel, Mississippi. The Laurel Police Department is based in Laurel and serves the city of Laurel and its surrounding areas. The city's mayor is Johnny Magee, who has been in office since 2008. The police department has been operating in Laurel since 1978. The U.S. Post Office is located in Laurel and serves Laurel and the surrounding areas, as well as the city's neighboring towns of Greenwood and Cottage Grove. The post office is run by the Postal Service, which has a Laurel post office and an office in the town of Choctawsaw. The town's mayor and seven city council members are all African-American, as is the mayor's wife, who was elected in 2008. She has been married to Magee since 2008 and has been a city council member since 2010. The couple has a son, Johnny, and a daughter, Sarah, who were married in 2010. They have a son and daughter-in-law who were also elected to the city council in 2010 and 2011. The councilwoman is Andrea Ellis, who served as mayor in 2012 and 2013. She was re-elected in 2014 and 2015.

Education

Almost all of Laurel is within the Laurel School District. Small portions are in the Jones County School District, which is in Jones County. Private schools include St. John's Day School (affiliated with the Episcopal Church) and Laurel Christian High School. The town is located in Laurel County, Arkansas, near the Arkansas-Arkansas state line. It is located near the junction of the Arkansas Turnpike and the Arkansas River. It has a population of about 2,000. The school district is in the Laurel-Jones County school district, which includes the town of Jones County, which has about 1,000 residents. It was founded in 1883. The district is part of the Laurel and Jones County Joint School Districts, which was formed in 1881. The first school was opened in 1882. The current school district opened in 1888. It closed in 1894. It became the Laurel Christian School in 1891. The Laurel School School District was established in 1892. It opened its doors to the public in 1887. It remains in the district to this day. It also has its own private schools, including a private high school and a private day school, which were founded in 1903. The high school was closed in the 1950s. It reopened in the 1960s and is now a private Christian school. It's located on the Arkansas State Highway System, which runs through the town's downtown area. In the 1970s and 1980s, the school district added a private school, Laurel Christian College.

Infrastructure

Laurel Regional Airport is located in an unincorporated area in Jones County near Moselle, 21 miles (34 km) southwest of Laurel. Amtrak's Crescent train connects Laurel with the cities of New York City; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta; Birmingham, Alabama; and New Orleans. The Laurel Amtrak station is situated at 230 North Maple Street. Laurel is located near the junction of Interstate 59 and U.S. Route 11. The town has a population of about 2,000. It is located on the banks of the Mississippi River, near the town of Hattiesburg, Alabama. The city's population is about 1,500 people. It has an average annual rainfall of 1,700 mm (46.5 in) and an average yearly temperature of 2,500 m (63.7 in), making it one of the driest cities in the United States. It also has a high-speed rail line that connects Laurel to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Atlanta. The train station is located at 230North Maple Street in Laurel. The Amtrak Crescent train runs from New York to New Orleans every day. The Crescent train stops at the Laurel station on its way between New York and Philadelphia. The station is also on the way to Atlanta, Charlotte, Atlanta, and Birmingham. It connects to the New Orleans-New Orleans rail line via New Orleans and the New York-Philadelphia line.

In popular culture

In Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire, fictional Laurel native Blanche DuBois is known here as a "woman of loose morals" Laurel residents Erin and Ben Napier are featured in the HGTV series Home Town, which premiered on March 21, 2017. The show portrays renovations of local homes in and near Laurel. Steve Forbert had a hit with the song "Goin' Down to Laurel" (released on his 1978 album Alive on Arrival) which refers to visiting the town of Laurel. In an argument, Blanche tells Harold Mitchell she's brought many victims into her web, and calls the hotel the Tarantula Arms rather than the Hotel Flamingo. The town has a population of about 2,000 people. Laurel is located on the Ohio River, near the Ohio and Ohio Turnpike. It is located in the eastern part of the Ohio Valley and is known as one of the most scenic towns in the United States. The city's population is about 1,000. It was once the site of the Battle of Laurel, which took place in the early 1800s. The Battle was fought between the U.S. Army and the Native Americans in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Laurel was the birthplace of the American Civil War, which ended in the First World War. The Laurel River runs through the town and is a popular tourist destination. It has been named after the Laurel River, which runs through Laurel, Ohio, and was once known as the "River of Laurel".

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi = 85.1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 30. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 91. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Laurel = 5.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 17,161 individuals with a median age of 33.9 age the population dropped by -1.19% in Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,056.97 residents per square mile of area (408.10/km²). There are average 2.55 people per household in the 6,972 households with an average household income of $29,561 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.90% of the available work force and has dropped -6.01% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 20.08%. The number of physicians in Laurel per 100,000 population = 147.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Laurel = 57.5 inches and the annual snowfall = 0.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 108. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 221. 92 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 35.7 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 27, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi which are owned by the occupant = 55.16%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 48 years with median home cost = $60,190 and home appreciation of -0.08%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $5.98 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,761 per student. There are 15.2 students for each teacher in the school, 478 students for each Librarian and 457 students for each Counselor. 4.16% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 11.33% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 6.24% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).