Senatobia, Mississippi

On April 13, 1834, early settler James Peters purchased two sections of land from the Chickasaw Nation for the sum of $1.25 per acre. This land was later developed as the town of Senatobia. The community took its name from Senatobia Creek.^[3]

The Downtown Senatobia Historic District, the core of Senatobia's central business district developed in 1856 after the opening of the Tennessee and Mississippi Railroad.^[4] Two nearby settlements, Tatumsville and Tatesville were both abandoned, with those populations moving to Senatobia in favor of easier transportation.^[4]

Senatobia received its charter as a municipality in 1860. During the Civil War, the town's business section was burned twice by Federal troops. Tate County was organized in 1873, during the Reconstruction era, with Senatobia becoming the county seat in 1873 for the newly formed county.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.8 square miles (28 km²), of which 10.8 square miles (28 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) (0.28%) is water.

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 8,354 people, 2,470 households, and 1,639 families residing in the city.

As of the census^[7] of 2010, there were 8,165 people, 2,554 households, and 1,826 families residing in the city, up from 6,682 people, 2,137 households, and 1,498 families recorded in the census of 2000. The population density was 621.7 inhabitants per square mile (240.0/km²). There were 2,239 housing units at an average density of 208.3 per square mile (80.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.1% non-Hispanic White, 35.0% non-Hispanic African American, 2.4% Hispanic or Latino of any race, and 1.6% in other racial/ethnic categories. In the 2000 census, the distribution had been 68.03% White, 30.51% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races, while Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.85% of the population.

There were 2,137 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 19.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 20.1% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,698, and the median income for a family was $43,088. Males had a median income of $34,022 versus $22,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,434. About 13.0% of families and 17.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 18.5% of those age 65 or over.

Senatobia is served by the Senatobia Municipal School District and Magnolia Heights School.

The Client (1994) and The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) were partially filmed in Senatobia.^{[citation needed]}

• JoJo Billingsley (1952–2010), rock and roll vocalist
• Aron Burton (1938–2016), blues bass guitarist^[8]
• William J. East (1854–1933), Mississippi state legislator^[9]
• James "Kamala" Harris (1950–2020), wrestler^[10]
• Robert Earl Jones (1910–2006), an American actor, with conflicted stories about his hometown^[11]
• O. B. McClinton (1940–1987), country and R&B singer/songwriter
• Dan A. Sullivan, Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Jonesboro, Arkansas; former Senatobia resident.
• Elise Varner Winter (1926–2021), First Lady of Mississippi^[12]
• Sid Hemphill (1876-1963), bandleader^[13]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Senatobia, Mississippi.

• Official website