Star, Mississippi, is a small unincorporated community in Rankin County

Rankin County, Mississippi

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 115,327 people, 42,089 households, and 31,145 families residing in the county. The population density was 149 people per square mile . There were 45,070 housing units at an average density of 58 per square mile...

, southeast of Jackson

Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

. Its ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 is 39167, area code is 601 and local exchange is 845. The elevation is 423 feet. Star appears on the Star U.S. Geological Survey Map. The community is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area

Jackson metropolitan area

The Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in the central region of the U.S. state of Mississippi that covers five counties: Copiah, Hinds, Madison, Rankin, and Simpson. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 497,197...

.

History

Star was founded in July 1900 as a train stop when the Gulf and Ship Island RR (later becoming the Illinois Central and now the Canadian National RR) came through. It was prosperous village, having a bank, hotel, car dealership, numerous stores, and a school. Its prosperity suffered as people began to leave the rural areas to move to the city.

The school was scheduled to open for the 1921-22 school year but did not open until after Christmas that year. Up until that time the elementary students attend school at Wesleyanna Methodist Church and the high school age students went to Star Baptist Church. Star fielded several sports teams including basketball, baseball, and football. Although only having a football team for the 1937 through the 1941 seasons (a team was not fielded in the 1942 season due to the outbreak of World War II) Star did gain some measure of success having beat Mendenhall and Magee during that period. But the highest point would have to be beating rival Florence 4 out of the 5 times they played. The 1937 team did win the Middle Mississippi Class B Championship with a victory over Camden at Millsaps.

Incorporation

In 2005, residents of the Star community began a study in regards to becoming a city. This feasibility study was completed in 2009 and signatures for the petition to become a city are currently being collected by the Star Civic Improvement League. If the community incorporates, it will be the eighth municipality in Rankin County.

Famous people

Country music star Faith Hill

Faith Hill

Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...

 was born in Ridgeland, Mississippi

Ridgeland, Mississippi

Ridgeland is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 20,173 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

and was raised in Star.