Meridian is a city in and the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. Along major highways, the city is 93 mi east of Jackson, Mississippi; 154 mi west of Birmingham, Alabama; 202 mi northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana; and 231 mi southeast of Memphis, Tennessee. Established in 1860 at the intersection of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and Southern Railway of Mississippi, Meridian relied heavily on the rails and goods transported on them. Union Station is now also home to 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. Rebuilt after the war, the city entered a "Golden Age", becoming the largest city in Mississippi between 1890 and 1930 and a leading center for manufacturing in the South. It had 44 trains coming in and out daily. Although its 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 radius and 526,500 in a 65-mile radius, of which 104,600 and 234,200 people respectively are in the labor force, feed the economy of the city. Wikipedia [ - ]

Meridian is a city in and the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States. It... [ + ]