The story
History
The word "picayune" was the name of a Spanish coin, worth half a real or 1/16 of a Spanish dollar (6.25 cents). Its name derives from the French "picaillon", which is itself from the Provençal "picaioun", the name of an unrelated small copper coin from Savoy. By extension, picayune can mean "trivial" or "of little value".
Picayune was incorporated in 1904, and was named by Eliza Jane Poitevent Nicholson in late 1883 or early 1884. She was the owner and publisher of The Daily Picayune, a newspaper named for the coin.
The local post office contained a mural, subsequently covered over, Lumber Region of Mississippi, painted by Donald H. Robertson in 1940. Federally commissioned murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department.
Hurricane Katrina
While Picayune received extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina, it was not as severe as in other nearby cities. This caused Picayune to become the temporary home for many who relocated from the New Orleans area and from the Mississippi Gulf Coast who were seeking a safer home site with easy commuting to those areas.
The bulk of the Katrina damage in Picayune was caused by high winds, as the eye wall passed over the city. This resulted in widespread roof, window, and fence damage. The wind also caused hundreds, if not thousands, of downed trees and power outages of up to a few weeks.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 11,885 people residing in the city. There were 4,791 households and 2,951 families. The median age was 39.9 years. 24.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 85.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 81.4 males age 18 and over.
89.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 10.6% lived in rural areas.
Of all households, 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. 35.3% were married-couple households, 18.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 38.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
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There were 5,356 housing units, of which 10.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.3%.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,535 people, 4,100 households, and 2,865 families residing in the city. The population density was 895.6 inhabitants per square mile (345.8/km2). There were 4,568 housing units at an average density of 388.3 per square mile (149.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 62.02% White, 35.92% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population.
There were 4,100 households, out of which 31.8% had a children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 20.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $26,958, and the median income for a family was $33,260. Males had a median income of $31,438 versus $20,035 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,798. About 18.9% of families and 20.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.2% of those under age 18 and 17.6% of those age 65 or over.
From Wikipedia’s article on Picayune, Mississippi, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4