The first postmaster of Petal was Irving A. Polk. The post office was established in 1903 and was named after the daughter of a first settler. It is the only city in the U.S. with this name. Petal separated from the city of Hattiesburg on April 4, 1974. Petal was a community filled with farmers. This is slowly changing with new businesses coming into the city. The International Checker Hall of Fame was located in Petal until September 29, 2007, when of the building caught fire. Petal was extensively damaged by an EF3tornado on January 21, 2017.
Protests against Mayor Hal Marx
On May 26, 2020, Petal mayor Hal Marx shared several posts relating to the death of George Floyd. The posts were later deleted but garnered criticism and, eventually, national attention. On May 28, a special public meeting of aldermen officially censured Mayor Marx and called for his resignation, which Marx declined. Protests began on May 29 at Petal city hall calling for the mayor’s resignation.
Geography
As of the 2010 census, the city had a total area of, of which was land and, or 1.62%, was water. The city's area had increased by nearly 75% since 2000, following an annexation effort approved in 2002. Major sub-communities as of the annex are Macedonia, Barrontown, Sunrise, and Leeville. The Harvey community hosts city departments.
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 10,454 people, 3,918 households, and 2,867 families residing in the city. The population density was 619.8 people per square mile. There were 4,261 housing units at an average density of 331.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 86.1% White, 9.9% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 1.3% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.5% of the population. There were 3,918 households, out of which 23.5% had own children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couplesliving together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals under 18 and 26.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.13. The median income for a household in the city was $29,637, and the median income for a family was $35,343. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $20,741 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,996. About 11.9% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
