Decatur, Mississippi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Decatur is a town in Newton County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,426 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Newton County^GR6. This town is named after war hero Stephen Decatur, Jr.

[edit] Geography

Decatur is located at 32°26′22″N, 89°6′43″W (32.439557, -89.112047)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.7 km² (1.0 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,426 people, 407 households, and 269 families residing in the town. The population density was 534.5/km² (1,379.9/mi²). There were 463 housing units at an average density of 173.6/km² (448.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 66.41% White, 32.54% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.14% Asian, and 0.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.05% of the population.

There were 407 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the town the population was spread out with 16.5% under the age of 18, 41.8% from 18 to 24, 16.4% from 25 to 44, 14.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,333, and the median income for a family was $37,115. Males had a median income of $28,875 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,839. About 14.8% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Decatur has an annual festival known as The Fest of the Three Deers, which is rooted in an ancient Apache festival involving the use of peyote and other psychoactive drugs to celebrate the birth of the Three Deers, spawn of the Goat of Three Horns. The modern adaptation of the festival is celebrated by people of all races and cultures, not just Native Americans. However, the festival has lost all of its spiritual meaning and now is mainly known for the debauchery of its participants under the influence of strong psychoactive drugs. In 2003, Kaleb Page of Red Bay, Alabama caused the festival to be shut down for 2 years after he burned down the homes of two prominent Decatur citizens. He was cleared of all charges with the help of prominent Forest, MS lawyer Coleman Howard and now is the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance at the University of Mississippi.^{[citation needed]}