Best Web Design in Meridian, MS (2026)

Web Design for Meridian, Mississippi

Meridian, the seat of Lauderdale County in east-central Mississippi, grew from a railroad junction founded in 1860 into the state's largest city during a 'Golden Age' that lasted into the 1930s. Burned by Sherman during the Civil War but rebuilt within weeks, it earned the nickname the 'Queen City' and became the birthplace of Jimmie Rodgers, the 'Father of Country Music.' Its restored opera house, an operating 1909 Dentzel carousel, and a naval air station keep the city's rail-era grandeur and modern economy alive.

AppWT works with Meridian, MS businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Meridian

Also known as. The Queen City.

History. Founded February 10, 1860 by Lewis A. Ragsdale, a lawyer from Alabama, and John T. Ball, a merchant, at the junction of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and the Southern Railway; Ball's proposed name 'Meridian' (meaning junction) won out over 'Sowashee.' During the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman destroyed much of the city in the Battle of Meridian in February 1864; residents rebuilt it within about 26 working days. A 'Golden Age' from roughly 1890 to 1930 made Meridian the largest city in Mississippi, a leading Southern manufacturing center with as many as 44 daily trains. The Meridian race riot of 1871 was a violent episode during Reconstruction; the murder of civil rights worker James Chaney in 1964 is memorialized annually. In a 1966-67 case, a jury delivered one of the first convictions of a white official for a civil rights killing.

Local economy. Naval Air Station Meridian is a major employer providing thousands of regional jobs. Ochsner Rush Health is the largest non-military employer, with roughly 2,400-2,600 employees. Peavey Electronics Corporation, the audio equipment company, was founded in Meridian and keeps its headquarters there. Healthcare, military, manufacturing, and retail are the leading industry sectors.

Culture and community. Jimmie Rodgers, the 'Father of Country Music,' was born in Meridian; the Jimmie Rodgers Music Festival is one of the nation's longest-running music festivals, marking its 73rd year in 2026. The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX), a state hall of fame and museum, opened downtown in April 2018. The Riley Center, a renovated 1889 Grand Opera House, draws more than 60,000 visitors a year, and Meridian Little Theatre bills itself as the South's oldest subscription theater. The Soule Live Steam Festival and Railfest each November celebrate the city's railroad and industrial heritage at the Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum. Peavey Electronics tied Meridian to the music industry as a maker of amplifiers and instruments.

What makes Meridian distinct. Brothers Fred and Al Key set a world flight-endurance record in 1935 by staying aloft over Meridian's Key Field for more than 27 days using an in-flight refueling system they helped pioneer; the airport is named for them. Meridian's 'Queen City' nickname is linked to Kelly Mitchell, 'Queen of the Gypsies,' whose Romani community made the city home and whose grave draws visitors. The city built two separate Carnegie libraries in 1913, one each for segregated white and Black communities. Rebuilt in about 26 working days after Sherman's troops burned it in 1864.

Meridian Landmarks and Local Life

• Highland Park Dentzel Carousel - a National Historic Landmark and the world's only two-row stationary Dentzel menagerie carousel, operating since 1909
• Threefoot Building - a 16-story 1929 Art Deco skyscraper, the tallest in the city
• Riley Center (former 1889 Grand Opera House)
• Meridian Museum of Art - housed in a former Carnegie library (opened 1970)
• Union Station multimodal transit center
• Key Field - tied to the Key brothers' 1935 endurance flight record