Meridian

"Meridian es una ciudad, capital del condado de Lauderdale, Misisipi, Estados Unidos. Es la principal ciudad del condado y la quinta ciudad más grande del Estado de Misisipi, y la ciudad principal de la zona metropolitana de Meridian, Misisipi. La población fue 39.968 en el census del año 2000 de los Estados Unidos. La población de la ciudad ha ido disminuyendo lentamente desde el año 1950, pero el descenso se ha ralentizado un poco después de un anexión en el año 2006 y la llegada de numerosos desplazados después de Huracán Katrina (muchos de los cuales han hecho Meridian su residencia permanente).[cita requerida] Meridian es una ciudad con un rico pasado y raíces profundas en la historia del ferrocarril a fines del siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX. La ciudad fue el sitio de la Batalla de Meridian durante la Guerra Civil Estadounidense, en la que gran parte fue quemada por el General William Tecumseh Sherman. Después de la guerra, la ciudad fue reconstruida y entró en una "Edad de Oro"; entre los años 1890 y 1930, Meridian era entonces la ciudad más grande en Misisipi y un importante centro fabrl en el Sur de Estados Unidos. Durante ese tiempo, se construyeron muchos de los sitios y edificios en los nueve distritos históricos registrados de la ciudad y más aún sobreviven hoy en día. Después del descenso de la industria del ferrocarril en la década de 1950, la población de Meridian comenzó en declinar y no ha cesado desde entonces. En el año 2003, Mainstreet Meridian, una organización en Meridian lanzó su programa que se llama "Vision 2003" para restaurar el centro de Meridian a su estado original de la prosperidad a principios del siglo XX."

"Meridian is the sixth largest city in the state of Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. Along major highways, the city is 93 mi (150 km) east of Jackson, Mississippi; 154 mi (248 km) west of Birmingham, Alabama; 202 mi (325 km) northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana; and 231 mi (372 km) southeast of Memphis, Tennessee. Established in 1860, at the intersection of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and Southern Railway of Mississippi, Meridian's economy was built on the railways and goods transported on them, and it became a strategic trading center. During the American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman burned much of the city to the ground in the Battle of Meridian (February, 1864). Rebuilt after the war, the city entered a "Golden Age", as it become the largest city in Mississippi between 1890 and 1930, and a leading center for manufacturing in the South, with 44 trains arriving and departing daily. Union Station, built in 1906, is now a multi-modal center, giving access to the Meridian Transit System, Greyhound Buses, and Trailways, averaging 242,360 passengers per year. Although the economy slowed with the decline of the railroad industry, the city has diversified, with healthcare, military, and manufacturing employing the most people in 2010. The population within the city limits, according to 2008 census estimates, is 38,232, but a population of 232,900 in a 45-mile (72 km) radius and 526,500 in a 65-mile (105 km) radius, of which 104,600 and 234,200 people respectively are in the labor force, feed the economy of the city. The area is served by two military facilities, Naval Air Station Meridian and Key Field, which provide over 4,000 jobs. NAS Meridian is home to the Regional Counter-Drug Training Academy (RCTA) and the first local Department of Homeland Security in the state. Key Field is named after brothers Fred and Al Key, who set a world endurance flight record in 1935. The field is now home to the 186th Air Refueling Wing of the Air National Guard and a support facility for the 185th Aviation Brigade of the Army National Guard. Rush Foundation Hospital is the largest non-military employer in the region, employing 2,610 people. Among the city's many arts organizations and historic buildings are the Riley Center, the Meridian Museum of Art, Meridian Little Theatre, and the Meridian Symphony Orchestra. Meridian was home to two Carnegie libraries, one for whites and one for African Americans. The Carnegie Branch Library, now demolished, was one of a number of Carnegie libraries built for blacks in the Southern United States during the segregation era. The city has been selected as the future location of the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center (MAEC). Jimmie Rodgers, the "Father of Country Music", was born in Meridian. Highland Park houses a museum which displays memorabilia of his life and career, as well as railroad equipment from the steam-engine era. The park is also home to the Highland Park Dentzel Carousel, a National Historic Landmark. It is the world's only two-row stationary Dentzel menagerie in existence. Other notable natives include Miss America 1986 Susan Akin, James Chaney an activist who was killed in the Mississippi civil rights workers murders in 1964, and Hartley Peavey, founder of Peavey Electronics headquartered in Meridian. The federal courthouse was the site of the 1966-1967 trial of suspects in the murder of Chaney and two other activists; it was the first time a white jury convicted a white official of a civil rights killing."