Roxie is a town in Franklin County,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, United States. The population was 497 at the 2010 census, down from 569 at the 2000 census. This rural town developed with the construction of railroads in the area.

History

Roxie was founded in 1886 on a plot of farmland donated by John Quincy Adams Graves, who was the County Supervisor and a former soldier in the Regimental Band of the 4th Volunteer Mississippi Regiment during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

. The town was named in honor of Graves' newborn daughter. Roxie was incorporated in 1890. The town was located at the crossroads of the

Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway The Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway was built between 1888 and 1890 and was admitted to the Illinois Central Railroad system in 1892. It ran between Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, through Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Baton ...

and the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad. Most of the early residents were employed by the railroads or worked in the logging industry and sawmills. Roxie's children attended the Roxie School, whose motto was ''Home of the Tigers''. In 1962, the high school portion of the school shut down, and all students from grades 9 to 12 were bussed to the new Franklin High School in Meadville. Roxie School continued for a few years after as an elementary school.

Geography

Roxie is located in western Franklin County. U.S. Routes 84 and 98 pass through the town, leading east to Meadville, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

, and west to Natchez. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, Roxie has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 469 people, 136 households, and 119 families residing in the town.

Recreation

Significant forests and recreation areas are found nearby, including: * Clear Springs Recreation Area, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Homochitto National Forest Homochitto National Forest is a U.S. National Forest in southwestern Mississippi comprising . In the mid-1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began reforestation of the area and developing a system of roadways and recreational areas. Ge ...

* Sandy Creek Wildlife Management Area

Education

Roxie is served by the Franklin County School District.

Notable people

Cat Iron Cat-Iron, real name William Carridine Cat-Iron' was not his actual nickname, but a mishearing of his surname by his "discoverer" (September 8, 1898 in Roxie, Mississippi United States – November 11, 1958 in Natchez, Mississippi) was an America ...

, blues singer and guitarist * James Ford Seale,

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...

member convicted of conspiracy and of the 1964 kidnappings of

Henry Hezekiah Dee ''Mississippi Cold Case'' is a 2007 feature documentary produced by David Ridgen of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about the Ku Klux Klan murders of two 19-year-old black men, Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, in Southwest Missi ...

and

Charles Eddie Moore ''Mississippi Cold Case'' is a 2007 feature documentary produced by David Ridgen of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about the Ku Klux Klan murders of two 19-year-old black men, Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, in Southwest Mississ ...

, two young African-American men who were drowned by him and fellow conspirators. * Richard Nathaniel Wright (1908 – 1960), African-American author of novels, short stories and non-fiction. Wright was the grandson of slaves, and much of his literature concerned racial themes, especially those involving the struggles of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid-20th centuries.

References

{{authority control Towns in Franklin County, Mississippi Towns in Mississippi 1886 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1886