Meridian has a rich past and deep roots in railroading history. Established in 1860 at the intersection of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and Southern Railway of Mississippi, the city relied heavily on the rails and goods transported on them. The city's historic Amtrak station now provides several other modes of transportation including the Meridian Transit System, Greyhound Buses, and Trailways, averaging 242,360 passengers per year.
During the American Civil War much of the city was burned to the ground by General William Tecumseh Sherman in the Battle of Meridian. After the war, the city was rebuilt and entered a "Golden Age." Between 1890 and 1930, Meridian was the largest city in Mississippi and a leading center for manufacturing in the South. During this time, many of the sites and buildings in the city's nine registered historic districts were built, and most still survive today.
Since the 1950s, the city's population has been declining, but the decline has slowed somewhat after an annexation in 2006 and the influx of displaced coastal residents after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The reason for the population decline lies in the city's struggle to create a modern economy based on newer industries after the decline of the railroad industry. In 2003, Mainstreet Meridian intensified the economic revitalization by launching its "Vision 2003" program, attempting to restore downtown to its original prosperity.
As of the census of 2000, the city's population was 39,968 people. Since then, the population has continued to slowly decline, as was the trend in the preceding years. Of the 17,890 housing units inside city limits, 15,966 were occupied, 10,026 of them by families. The population density was 885.9 inhabitants per square mile (342.0 /km²). Out of the 15,966 occupied households, 31.1% had children under the age of 18, 36.2% were married couples living together, 23.3% consisted of a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.06.
The racial makeup of the city was 54.37% African American, 43.99% White, 0.60% Asian, 0.17% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.08% of the population. The city's African American majority places it on a small list of such places.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,085, and the median income for a family was $31,062. Males had a median income of $29,404 versus $19,702 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,255. About 24.6% of families and 28.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.8% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over.
Amtrak's Crescent line connects Meridian with the cities of New York City, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama; and New Orleans, Louisiana. The Amtrak Station (also called Meridian Multi-Modal Transportation Center and locally Union Station) is located at 1901 Front Street, part of the Meridian Downtown Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Originally built in 1906 but later demolished in 1966 and rebuilt in 1997, the station includes several modes of passenger transportation including the Meridian Transit System, AMTRAK, Norfolk Southern rail corridor, Greyhound Buses, Trailways and other providers of transit services.
The number of passengers on Amtrak trains, Greyhound buses, and Meridian Transit System buses averages 242,360 per year.
The town is served by Meridian Regional Airport, located at Key Field, 2811 Airport Boulevard South, 3 mi (4.8 km) southwest of the city. The airport opened in 1930, just before the Great Depression. During the Depression, residents of the city contemplated abandoning the airport because of the cost of maintenance, but in 1935 Brothers Fred and Al Key, managers of the airport, thought of a way to keep the airport operating. From June 4 until July 1, 1935, the brothers flew over the city in their plane, the "Ole Miss." The record they established in their 27 days aloft, totaling 653 hours and 34 minutes, attracted enough publicity and funds to the city to keep the airport running. Key Field is therefore named after the brothers, whose flight endurance record remains unbroken in conventional flight.
The airport offers 4 non-stop daily flights to Atlanta via Delta Connection, operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines in Atlanta, Georgia.