Flora, Mississippi
| Flora, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
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 Location of Flora, Mississippi |
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 Flora, Mississippi
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| Coordinates: 32°32′35″N 90°18′43″W / 32.54306°N 90.31194°WCoordinates: 32°32′35″N 90°18′43″W / 32.54306°N 90.31194°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Madison |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Les Childress |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.4 sq mi (8.8 km2) |
| • Land | 3.4 sq mi (8.8 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 240 ft (73 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 1,546 |
| • Density | 454.2/sq mi (175.4/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 39071 |
| Area code(s) | 601 |
| FIPS code | 28-24940 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0670043 |
Flora is a town in Madison County, Mississippi. The population was 1,546 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The town is named for Flora Mann Jones, an early resident.
Graves in Flora's cemetery date to 1821. A post office was established in 1883. That same year, Flora became a stop on the newly constructed Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad. The railroad depot is now a museum, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Flora was incorporated in 1886.
In 1941, the Mississippi Ordnance Plant was constructed north of Flora to produce propellant and igniter charges for large-caliber guns. The site also had firing ranges for sub-machine guns, rifles, anti-aircraft guns, live grenades, and demolition explosives. A notable employee was science fiction writer Cyril M. Kornbluth.
The plant was operated by General Tire, and supported a policy that African-American men were to be employed only as janitors, yard workers, freight loaders, truck drivers and maintenance workers, and could only work in production jobs if white men were not available. African-American women could only be employed as maids and cafeteria helpers. In 1942, a local group of African-American citizens met to protest the company's policy.
The site was declared surplus in 1945, and the army certified it "completely decontaminated".
In 1947, the Mississippi Department of Education planned to turn part of the plant into a vocational school for African-Americans, until white residents protested the governor, stating that property values would be ruined.
One of the reinforced bunkers eventually became the "Southern Vital Records" storage facility, and in 1977, a local high school student found an abandoned M-2A2 tank in a wooded area.
In 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that the Flora Industrial Park was one of six locations in the United States being considered for the construction of a new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. Flora's Mayor, Scott Greaves, responded to opposition to the facility by stating in 2007: "Education is the whole key to it.. You have to find the people who are concerned and educate them. In the end, you're still going to have a few idiots". Manhattan, Kansas was selected as the site for the new facility.
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