Pheba, Mississippi

Pheba, Mississippi
Census-designated place
Pheba Show map of Mississippi Pheba Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 33°35′03″N 88°56′59″W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Clay
Area [1]
• Total	2.09 sq mi (5.41 km^2)
• Land	2.09 sq mi (5.41 km^2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km^2)
Elevation	266 ft (81 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	160
• Density	76.63/sq mi (29.58/km^2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	39755
Area code	662
GNIS feature ID	675673[2]

Pheba is a census-designated place and unincorporated community located in Clay County, Mississippi, United States. Pheba is located at the intersection of Mississippi Highway 50 and Mississippi Highway 389 and is approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of Cedarbluff.

Although an unincorporated community, Pheba has a post office and a zip code of 39755.

History

Pheba was named for Mrs. Pheba Robinson.[3] The community is located on the former Southern Railway and was incorporated in 1890.[4]

A post office first began operation under the name Pheba in 1890.[5]

In 2000, Pheba was the site of the first sporting event in which an all-black team participated in a contest sanctioned by the Mississippi Private School Association (MPSA), which was founded as an organization for segregation academies that originally existed to avoid integration of whites and blacks in public schools when Hebron Christian played against the all-black Christ Missionary and Industrial College High School (CM&I). CM&I had previously not played football for decades and fielded a team of only 14 players.[6]

It was first named as a CDP in the 2020 Census which listed a population of 160.[7]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2020	160		—
U.S. Decennial Census[8] 2020[9]

2020 census

Pheba CDP, Mississippi – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2020[9]	% 2020
White alone (NH)	98	61.25%
Black or African American alone (NH)	57	35.63%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	4	2.50%
Asian alone (NH)	0	0.00%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	0.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	0	0.00%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	1	0.63%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	0	0.00%
Total	160	100.00%

Notable person

• William "Billy" Jefferson, NFL football player was born in Pheba.[10]

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pheba, Mississippi
3. Rowland, Dunbar (1907). Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Vol. 2. Southern Historical Publishing Association. p. 420.
4. Howe, Tony. "Pheba, Mississippi". Mississippi Rails. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
5. "Clay County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
6. Wilson, Robert (August 19, 2000). "Hebron Christian Thumps CM&I 55-6 in Historic Game". Clarion Ledger. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
7. "Pheba CDP, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
8. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
9. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Pheba CDP, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau.
10. "Billy Jefferson". Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2014.