West Point, Mississippi
Encyclopedia : W : WE : WES : West Point, Mississippi
| The [Neutral point of view>neutrality] of this article is [NPOV disputedisputed]. Please see the discussion on the [Clay County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,145 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clay County[Geographic references#6GR6]. GeographyWest Point is located at (33.606155, -88.652369)[Geographic references#1GR1].According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 54.6 km² (21.1 mi²). 53.9 km² (20.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.28%) is water. DemographicsAs of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 12,145 people, 4,567 households, and 3,219 families residing in the city. The population density was 225.3/km² (583.5/mi²). There were 4,897 housing units at an average density of 90.9/km² (235.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 39.91% White, 64% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.99% of the population.There were 4,567 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 25.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city the population was spread out with 28.9% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 82.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $26,404, and the median income for a family was $32,943. Males had a median income of $30,902 versus $20,255 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,063. About 21.5% of families and 25.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.9% of those under age 18 and 21.8% of those age 65 or over. West Point is the home of the 2005 4A football State Champions. The Wave, who were coached by Dennis Allen, won the championship by beating widely favored Wayne County, 17-15, in Jackon Memorial Stadium. Large businesses in West Point include Babcock and Wilcox, Mossy Oak Camouflage Company, and most notably, Bryan Foods, a subsidiary of Sara Lee Corporation. Old Waverly, located outside of West Point and recognized as one of Mississippi's top golf courses, hosted the 1999 U.S. Women's Open, which was won by Juli Inkster. Each Labor Day weekend the town of West Point hosts the Prairie Arts Festival, which showcases area artwork as well as a day-long event of flea market shopping. West Point is the home of three high schools: West Point High School, the town's lone public school, offers a diverse classroom environment and is by far the largest of the three. Oak Hill Academy, located in West Point, and Hebron Christian School, located 15 minutes outside of the city limits, each offer a private education. Notable former residents of West Point include John Bryan, Jr., who was chairman of Sara Lee Corp., David Halberstam, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist whose first post-collegiate job was for West Point's Daily Times Leader, and Scott Hughes, a notable scholar who currently attends Columbia University in New York City. External links
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