Sanford, Mississippi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sanford, Mississippi
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A scenic stretch of Highway 598 in Sanford
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 Sanford, Mississippi
Location in Mississippi
Sanford, Mississippi
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Covington |
| Elevation | 207 ft (63 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Area code(s) | 601 & 769 |
| GNIS feature ID | 677399 |
Sanford is a small place in Covington County, Mississippi, United States. It is called an unincorporated community. This means it's a group of homes and businesses that isn't officially a town or city.
Contents
Sanford's Story: Past and Present
How Sanford Began
Long ago, around the early 1800s, very few people lived in the Sanford area. The first families to settle here arrived in the 1810s and 1820s. These families included the Bullochs, Sanfords, Morrises, Bryants, and Lowrys. They were mostly farmers. Many of these families married each other, creating strong community ties. Other early families were the Folkes, Ingrams, and Mooneys.
Later in the 1800s, the area became busy with a "timber boom." This means many trees were cut down for wood. One of the biggest sawmills belonged to John D. Sanford. His father, Rev. John Sanford, was one of the first people to settle here in 1818. The area started to be called "Sanford" because John D. Sanford's sawmill was a major employer.
After the timber boom ended, people started planting lots of strawberries. They grew them in the fields where the trees used to be. Sanford was also located on the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad. It even had two general stores where people could buy everything they needed. A post office served the community from 1894 until 1977.
Sanford Today
Sanford has grown a lot in recent years. This is probably because it's close to Hattiesburg, a larger city. Hattiesburg has nearly 50,000 people. Sanford is only about a 15-minute drive away. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of people living in Sanford grew by almost 15%. This is much faster than the growth in Covington County or even the whole state of Mississippi. Most of this growth has been new homes.
Community Life
Places of Worship
Sanford is part of an area known as the "Bible Belt." This means many people in the community are very religious. Most follow the Protestant faith. Some of the churches in Sanford include First Baptist Sanford, Sanford Missionary Baptist, Union Baptist, Bethel Missionary Baptist, and the Independent Full Gospel Church.
Who Lives in Sanford?
Community Members in 2010
In 2010, a count of people (called a census) showed that 1,828 people lived in the Sanford voting area. Most of the people, about 96.3%, were White. About 3.7% of the people were African American.
Learning in Sanford
The Covington County School District serves the students in Sanford. Children from Sanford go to schools in Seminary. There is an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. All three schools are located together on Main Street.
Seminary High School is a "size 3A" school. This is a classification used by the Mississippi High School Activities Association. In 2011, more than 1,300 students attended these schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school colors have traditionally been red and white. Recently, blue has also been added to the school's sports jerseys. The mascot for Seminary High School is Champ the Bulldog.
