Northern Mississippi

[lamsalfl]

I've only been through here once on a county collecting mission.  I didn't stop much, b/c I was trying to finish the area and make it to Memphis by dark.  Because of this, I'm not really versed about this region.  This is an area I hardly ever hear about compared to other parts of Mississippi.  Clearly, Tupelo is the anchor of this part of the state, but what can be said about other towns in the area?  I note from my 2010 Rand that there are over a dozen towns bolded in this area.  This probably means 10,000 population but that is pretty respectable from a transportation viewpoint. 

I guess I-22 will help "put them more on the map" as you'll have national thru-traffic coming through, but what kind of numbers do the new 4-lane US 45 pull in?  Is this area growing?  How different is it from the rest of the state?  What kind of industries?  I know it is home to Ole Miss and Miss St. so that has to be a big positive.

[Marc]

My great-grandparents are from New Albany, about 30 miles to the west of Tupelo, in Union County. I believe it's Toyota that is building a huge plant in unincorporated Union County that's expected to give a lot of new jobs to the area. I've heard the plant will be located in between New Albany and Tupelo, but slightly closer to New Albany than any other town. I can't speak for Tupelo, Pontotoc, or Oxford, not spending any significant amount of time in them, but New Albany still has a fairly vibrant population for a town of it's size. Many residents, like my great-grandmother, were born and raised there and have never lived far away from New Albany, so the aging senior population is quite large (she's almost 91 years old). Despite this, there is still a large amount of non-senior population. The town actually has a fairly decent town square, though as my grandmother and great-aunt have pointed out, it's not nearly as lively as it was when they grew up there. The two of them moved to Memphis to find jobs and eventually got married and had a life there, so I'm sure the same can be said for a lot of people of that generation that grew up in northeast Mississippi. Their brother, my great-uncle, was the only one who stayed in New Albany and he lived there his whole life.

You'll find a lot of good, honest, hard working people in this region. Probably the reason why Toyota and Nissan have both built manufacturing plants in Mississippi.

[golden eagle]

Tupelo has made a living off the furniture industry, though I hear that it's not as good as it used to be. It's also the birthplace of Elvis Presley, so it does get a few tourists there. I've only been to Oxford once, but it's a nice area. If I could separate the town from the University of Mississippi, I wouldn't mind living there.

I've spent very little time northeast Mississippi, so I can't really speak much of its population growth, though Tupelo has been growing. It's the 6th or 7th largest city in the state. Oxford is also booming, thanks to Ole Miss. Starkville is also growing with all the things going on with Mississippi State.

[seicer]

Regarding the SR 25 Amory bypass:

• Jog in pavement?
• Truck inspection station?

[froggie]

Jog in pavement?

Looks more like bulb-outs than a jog in pavement.  Could also be related to the plan for an eventual interchange at existing US 278.

Truck inspection station?

Future interchange with the proposed US 278 bypass.

[bwana39]

Tupelo has made a living off the furniture industry, though I hear that it's not as good as it used to be. It's also the birthplace of Elvis Presley, so it does get a few tourists there. I've only been to Oxford once, but it's a nice area. If I could separate the town from the University of Mississippi, I wouldn't mind living there.

I've spent very little time northeast Mississippi, so I can't really speak much of its population growth, though Tupelo has been growing. It's the 6th or 7th largest city in the state. Oxford is also booming, thanks to Ole Miss. Starkville is also growing with all the things going on with Mississippi State.

I am mostly just bumping this because it is so unused.

The furniture business in Tupelo has shut down.
The banking business moved to Houston (BancorpSouth ...now Cadence Bank) (Renasant is still there)

Tupelo has lost its luster.

[achilles765]

I actually grew up in Mississippi, technically. I lived on the state line with Louisiana, which is where I actually claim to be from (and am truthfully.). A small town/rural area called McComb, in pike county along interstate 55.

My parents still live there though I cannot for the life of me understand why. Or why anyone would choose to still live there. I don't even like to visit. Every part of the state I've ever visited or been to seems to be the same story: formerly a (insert industry or company) town, no city with a population over 100,000, high poverty, high crime, super evangelical Christian, deeply ingrained racism and tension, low educational attainment, super low cost of living (because no one else would want to live there).

That may sound judge mental or whatever but I spent the first 19 years of my life there–I've also lived in Louisiana, traveled and spent time all up and down the east coast, and have made Texas my permanent home. The only place I've ever been that's worse than Mississippi is West virginia. 

[capt.ron]

I actually grew up in Mississippi, technically. I lived on the state line with Louisiana, which is where I actually claim to be from (and am truthfully.). A small town/rural area called McComb, in pike county along interstate 55.

My parents still live there though I cannot for the life of me understand why. Or why anyone would choose to still live there. I don't even like to visit. Every part of the state I've ever visited or been to seems to be the same story: formerly a (insert industry or company) town, no city with a population over 100,000, high poverty, high crime, super evangelical Christian, deeply ingrained racism and tension, low educational attainment, super low cost of living (because no one else would want to live there).

That may sound judge mental or whatever but I spent the first 19 years of my life there–I've also lived in Louisiana, traveled and spent time all up and down the east coast, and have made Texas my permanent home. The only place I've ever been that's worse than Mississippi is West virginia. 

A very accurate assessment, IMO. It's the same in the Arkansas Delta region as well. Most towns are VERY run down and crime ridden (looking at Pine err Crime Bluff, Helena, and others like them).

[froggie]

I actually grew up in Mississippi, technically. I lived on the state line with Louisiana, which is where I actually claim to be from (and am truthfully.). A small town/rural area called McComb, in pike county along interstate 55.

My parents still live there though I cannot for the life of me understand why. Or why anyone would choose to still live there. I don't even like to visit. Every part of the state I've ever visited or been to seems to be the same story: formerly a (insert industry or company) town, no city with a population over 100,000, high poverty, high crime, super evangelical Christian, deeply ingrained racism and tension, low educational attainment, super low cost of living (because no one else would want to live there).

That may sound judge mental or whatever but I spent the first 19 years of my life there–I've also lived in Louisiana, traveled and spent time all up and down the east coast, and have made Texas my permanent home. The only place I've ever been that's worse than Mississippi is West virginia. 

Jackson has 152K as of the 2020 Census.  That said, the rest of your post accurately describes Jackson as well as much of the state.  But I don't think it's ALL like that.  DeSoto County is effectively a Memphis suburb.  The Gulf Coast is still the Gulf Coast (even if gambling isn't as prominent as it was 20 years ago).  And Picayune serves as a bedroom community for both New Orleans and Stennis Space Center (Pearl River County absorbed *A LOT* of evacuees from Hurricane Katrina).

Still, I could never get over the overt evangelicalism, the racial tension, or the humidity 8 months out of the year.  For those who didn't know, I was stationed there twice...1997-2001 and 2005-2008.

[edwaleni]

Just for the record, northern Mississippi is getting slammed with snow and freezing rain today from Memphis all the way down to Starkville.

I-22, I-55, I-69 and US-72 south and east of the Mempphis metro are all down in speeds and backups are very long in places.

https://dailymemphian.com/section/metro/article/41227/city-official-urges-memphis-to-stay-off-roadways

https://www.actionnews5.com/2024/01/18/traffic-slowed-i-55-near-church-rd/

https://wreg.com/weather/weather-weather/freezing-rain-falls-turning-roads-to-ice-thursday/

[edwaleni]

I-22 west is now closed from Bypass Road to Holly Springs due to snow and ice.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Ground has been broken on the widening and bypass of MS-15 in Ripley.

https://mdot.ms.gov/portal/news_release_view/2013#:~:text=The%20Hwy%2015%20project%2C%20dubbed,State%20Route%204%20in%20Ripley.

"The Hwy 15 project, dubbed the "Ripley Bypass", was awarded to W.G. Yates Construction of Jackson, MS in April for $194.9 million. The first phase of the project will construct a new alignment and 4 lane State Route 15 in Tippah County from Union County to 1 mile north of State Route 4 in Ripley. Work will consist of grading, drainage, and bridge construction. Construction is scheduled to begin in August 2024 and expected to be completed in summer of 2028."

[codyg1985]

I like how Mississippi does four-lane highways. They build them right from the get-go and, for the most part, maintain the expressway quality after the road opens. That nearly $200M figure for relocated MS 15 is an impressive number. I wonder if the next phase of the Ripley Bypass would eventually reach US 72.