Poplarville

History

Poplarville was named for Poplar Jim Smith, the original owner of the town site. Pearl County was officially formed in 1872. The county courthouse was located in the Masonic building but it burned not long after the county was formed. The records went in the fire. Due to the fire, substandard tax rolls and the poor numbers of residents the county was abolished in 1878. In the year 1890 the new Pearl RIVER county was formed by an act of the Legislature that appropriated lands from both Hancock county to the south and Marion county to the north. Just prior to the establishment of the new county a railroad was built through the area, the New Orleans and Northeastern which greatly helped grow the areas population. Poplarville was designated the county's seat of the new government, the city named after "Poplar" Jim Smith who owned much of the land in the area. The city was incorporated several years before the new county was established, March 4th, 1886. Poplarville had only 236 residents as of the 1890 census, but by 1900 the population soared over 325% to 990 residents! The first Pearl River Courthouse was built in Poplarville in 1892 costing $8,298. It later housed the Pearl River County Hospital. The city's first school opened the same year which saved parents from having to bring their children to Lumberton, almost 25 miles north of Poplarville. In 1907, a young lawyer, minister, and farmer from Pearl River County, Theodore Bilbo, was elected to the Mississippi Senate, beginning a long political career that took him twice to the governor's mansion, ending in a 12-year tenure in the U. S. Senate.  In 1909, two years prior to Bilbo's election to the post of Lieutenant Governor, Pearl River County Agricultural High School was established at Poplarville. In 1923, the…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (0.52%) is water. Poplarville has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with short spring times followed by hot summers and short, mild winters. Snowfall is a rarity, usually once every 10 years.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  132
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  126
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  108
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  86
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  78
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  76
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  74
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  59

Largest nearby schools

• POPLARVILLE JR SR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · POPLARVILLE · 556 students · 15:1 ratio
• POPLARVILLE LOWER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · POPLARVILLE · 476 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• MIDDLE SCHOOL OF POPLARVILLE
  Middle · Poplarville · 448 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• POPLARVILLE UPPER ELEMENTARY SCH
  Elementary · POPLARVILLE · 429 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• POPLARVILLE CAREER DEVELOPMENT CTR
  High · POPLARVILLE