Ridgeland, Mississippi
Ridgeland is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,340 at the 2020 census.[2] It is part of the Jackson metropolitan area.
Not to be confused with Richland, Mississippi.
Ridgeland, Mississippi
United States
Gene F. McGee
28.06 sq mi (72.7 km2)
26.26 sq mi (68.0 km2)
1.80 sq mi (4.7 km2)
358 ft (109 m)
24,340
926.9/sq mi (357.9/km2)
39110 (Madison)
28-62520
0676656
History[edit]
In 1805, the Choctaw Indian Agency, headed by Silas Dinsmoor, was located in what is now Ridgeland. The structure was then called "Turner Brashear's Stand" until about 1850. It was adapted for use as a hotel named the King's Inn. During the American Civil War, General Stephen Lee used the inn as a headquarters. The hotel continued to operate until 1896, when it was destroyed by fire.
In 1853, James B. Yellowley founded the community of Yellowley's Crossing (later named "Jessamine" after his wife). In 1896, Edward Treakle and Gordon Nichols, two real estate developers from Chicago, purchased the land from Yellowley and established the Highland Colony Company. They created plans for a town to be named "Ridgeland" and launched an advertising campaign to entice people from the northern United States to move south. Agriculture was the community's dominant revenue source, with pears and strawberries as the leading crops grown for sale.
In the early 20th century, Ridgeland was home to a hotel, sawmill, and a canning company. The main business section of Ridgeland was along Jackson Street, due to the Illinois Central Railroad located on the street. In 1910 a two-room school was created, and the schools combined with those of Madison by 1925. Rapid growth in the city's population began in the 1960s.
Northpark Mall opened in 1984 and brought more growth to the area. Highland Colony Parkway was built in the 1990s.[3]
Geography[edit]
Ridgeland is a suburban city in southern Madison County, between Madison to the north and Jackson, the state capital, to the south. The Ross Barnett Reservoir borders the city to the east.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ridgeland has a total area of 28.1 square miles (73 km2), of which 26.3 square miles (68 km2) are land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2), or 6.41%, are water, mostly from Ross Barnett Reservoir, an impoundment on the Pearl River. Most of the city drains southward to the Pearl River in Jackson, while the northwest corner of the city is part of the Big Black River watershed flowing west to the Mississippi.
Economy[edit]
Bomgar, a tech company,[7] C Spire Wireless, the sixth largest wireless provider in the United States, and Cal-Maine Foods, the largest shell egg producer in the United States, are all headquartered in Ridgeland.
The largest mall in the Jackson metro area, Northpark Mall, is located on County Line Road in southern Ridgeland. Another shopping center, Renaissance at Colony Park, is in central Ridgeland.
Education[edit]
Ridgeland is served by the Madison County School District, as well as by two private schools: Saint Andrew's Episcopal School and Christ Covenant School. The Veritas School was a private school which closed in 2015.[8]
Ridgeland has a campus of Holmes Community College.
Ridgeland is home of the Baptist Children's Village, which provides short-term and long-term care for abandoned, neglected, or abused children and counseling to broken families.[9]
Ridgeland made national headlines in 2022 when mayor Gene F. McGee refused to send $110,000 in approved city funding to the Madison County Library System because the library system contained books that "went against his Christian beliefs".[10]