Crystal Springs is a city in

Copiah County Copiah County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 28,368. The county seat is Hazlehurst, Mississippi, Hazlehurst. With an eastern bo ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, United States. The population was 5,044 as of the 2010 census, down from 5,873 in 2000. It is part of the

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

U.S. Route 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south–north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Hi ...

runs through the northwest part of Crystal Springs, intersecting

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...

at the latter's Exit 72. I-55 leads north to

, the state capital, and south to Brookhaven. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.96%, is water.

Climate

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,862 people, 1,418 households, and 982 families residing in the city.

Education

Crystal Springs is served by the Copiah County School District. Copiah Academy is a local private school in the area. Copiah-Lincoln Community College is located in Wesson. The Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library operates a branch in Crystal Springs.

Controversies

On February 2, 1922, Will Thrasher was lynched, the first lynching in Copiah County in 20 years. Civil rights-era violence related to passage of civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965, led the armed

Deacons for Defense and Justice The Deacons for Defense and Justice was a Black American self-defense group founded in November 1964, during the civil rights era in the United States, in the mill town of Jonesboro, Louisiana. On February 21, 1965—the day of Malcolm X's assassi ...

to established centers in both Crystal Springs and nearby Hazlehurst, in 1966 and 1967. They acted to provide physical protection for African-American protesters who were working with the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

on a commercial boycott of white merchants to force integration of stores and employment, to gain jobs for African Americans at places where they were patrons.Ted Ownby, ''The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi''
Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2013, pp. 221-223 Eventually the protesters won the removal of discriminatory practices at stores and African Americans gained some jobs in these local businesses. In 2012, the First Baptist Church denied a black couple permission to be married there after objections from church members. The pastor performed the wedding at a different church.

Notable people

* Hulette F. Aby, former attorney in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

Dexter Allen Dexter Allen (born July 10, 1970) is an American blues musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. Formerly the lead guitarist for the Airtight Band and blues musician Bobby Rush,

, blues guitarist * Bruce M. Bailey,

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

humorist A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way. Henri Bergson writes that a humorist's work grows from viewing the morals of society ...

* Joseph W. Bailey,

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Texas *

Percy Bland Percy Bland is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party, who is currently the mayor of Meridian, Mississippi. He was re-elected in June 2025, having previously served as mayor from 2013 to 2021. Bland made history as Meridian’s ...

, mayor of

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

* Tom Funchess, former professional football

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

Larry Grantham James Larry Grantham (September 16, 1938 – June 17, 2017) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for the New York Titans/Jets of the American Football League (AFL) and later National Football League (NFL). He playe ...

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

and member of the *

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

(

Super Bowl III Super Bowl III was an American football championship game played on January 12, 1969, at the Miami Orange Bowl, Orange Bowl in Miami, Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the fi ...

champions) * White Graves, former professional football

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

Pat Harrison Byron Patton "Pat" Harrison (August 29, 1881June 22, 1941) was a Mississippi politician who served as a Democrat in the United States House of Representatives from 1911 to 1919 and in the United States Senate from 1919 until his death. Early l ...

, a Democratic member of the *

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

in the 1920s and 1930s * Anita C. Hill, Lutheran minister * Tommy Johnson,

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

musician * George Kinard, former professional football

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

* Phil Redding, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Hunter Renfroe Dustin Hunter Renfroe (born January 28, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewer ...

, professional baseball player * Alton D. Slay, four-star general in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

* Malcolm Taylor, former professional football

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Mississippi Cities in Copiah County, Mississippi Cities in Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi