Ridgeland, Mississippi

In 1805, the Choctaw Indian Agency, headed by Silas Dinsmoor, was located in what is now known as Ridgeland. There is also a neighborhood called Dinsmor in 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 King's Inn a headquarters. Afterward, it operated as a hotel again 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. In 1961, Ridgeland was predicted to grow a lot more, which turned out to be correct.

Northpark Mall opened in 1984 and brought more growth into the area. Business in Ridgeland improved more in the 1990s when Highland Colony Parkway brought new businesses to the area.[2]

Ridgeland is located between Madison to the north and Jackson to the south. This suburban city is adjacent to the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.7 square miles (46 km²), of which 15.9 square miles (41 km²) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) (10.16%) is water, mostly due to the location of the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

Bomgar, a tech company,[6] 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 Ridgeland. Another shopping center, The Renaissance at Colony Park, is also located in Ridgeland.

Ridgeland is served by the Madison County School District, and has two private schools: Saint Andrew's Episcopal School and Christ Covenant School. The Veritas School was a private school which closed in 2015.[7]

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. Since 2004, the executive director has been Rory Lee, a former college president.[8]

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”.[9]

• The Band Perry
• Wesley T. Bishop, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 99 in Orleans Parish; alumnus and criminal justice faculty and administrator at Southern University at New Orleans, former resident of Ridgeland[10]
• Faith Hill, born and raised in Ridgeland until moving to nearby Star when she was in the 8th grade.
• George Jackson, songwriter and singer, died at his home in Ridgeland.
• Bianca Knight, track and field athlete.
• David McRae, Mississippi State Treasurer[11]
• J. Walter Michel, member of the Mississippi State Senate[12]
• David H. Nutt, lawyer and philanthropist, the richest person in Mississippi as of 2014.[13]
• Jim Pace, racing driver[14]
• Rubel Phillips, Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1963 and 1967 spent his last years in retirement in Ridgeland.[15][16]