Southaven

History

Southaven began as a village when Memphis homebuilder Kemmons Wilson (founder of Holiday Inn) wished to develop a few residential subdivisions featuring small starter homes just across the Mississippi border from what was then Whitehaven, Tennessee, an unincorporated area just a few miles south of the Memphis city limits. Memphis eventually annexed Whitehaven in the 1970s. Officially incorporated in 1980, Southaven is one of the fastest-growing cities in the southeastern United States. In just 20 years, Southaven doubled its land area, while its population tripled. The construction of Interstate 55 through Southaven in the 1970s helped to promote growth and make for easier access to the city from Memphis, Jackson, St. Louis, and Chicago. Interstate 69, which will eventually run from Canada to Mexico, was cosigned with I-55 in Southaven in 2007. In 1988, Baptist Hospital-DeSoto opened in Southaven as a two-story hospital. In 2001, Baptist DeSoto started an expansion project, nearly doubling the size of the hospital. In 2002, Baptist Hospital-DeSoto added an Outpatient Diagnostic Center and a Women's Center. In November 2006, Baptist DeSoto opened an eleven-story hospital tower that added 140 beds to the facility, allowing it to offer all private rooms. In addition, the new hospital tower added a new and expanded Emergency Department, more operating suites and space for future additions. It is the first high-rise building constructed in DeSoto County. The exponential growth of Memphis International Airport (2 miles north of the city limits) in the 1980s led to increased air traffic over Southaven. The city continues to see large amounts of air traffic from Memphis International Airport, as flight paths to both north–south runways lead directly over the city. October…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.49%) is water. Southaven experiences a humid subtropical climate, with average annual precipitation of nearly , which is well distributed throughout the year. April is the wettest month of the year, and August the driest. The average high temperature is in January and in July.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• DESOTO CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
  High · Southaven · 1,995 students · 19:1 ratio
• SOUTHAVEN HIGH SCHOOL
  High · SOUTHAVEN · 1,850 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• DESOTO CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · SOUTHAVEN · 1,468 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• SOUTHAVEN MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · SOUTHAVEN · 1,456 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• HERNANDO HIGH SCHOOL
  High · HERNANDO · 1,419 students · 18.7:1 ratio
• HORN LAKE HIGH
  High · HORN LAKE · 1,361 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• LEWISBURG HIGH SCHOOL
  High · OLIVE BRANCH · 1,275 students · 17.2:1 ratio
• HERNANDO MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · HERNANDO · 1,150 students · 18.3:1 ratio