Leaf is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Greene County, Mississippi, United States.
Leaf is located east of Leaf River Wildlife Management Area, within the eastern boundary of De Soto National Forest.
The town is named for the Leaf River, which flows a few miles east.
Per the 2020 Census, the population was 62.
History Leaf was settled in 1838, and originally called "Salem". Most of the early settlers in the region were Irish, Scottish or English, and Salem's first families were the Thomsons, Cowarts, McKays, and McLeods.
Salem Academy was founded by W.W. Thompson, and operated between 1845 and 1862. Thompson later served as a Superintendent of Education of Greene County.
Leaf was a stop on the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Railroad, which later became the Illinois Central Railroad.
In 1902, three partners bought two sawmills in Leaf, as well as carts, oxen and wagons, and opened the Thomson Brothers Lumber Company. The mills had a total cutting capacity of per day, and produced longleaf yellow pine timber and lumber, dressed and rough. In 1903, the company sold the sawmills and nearly of timber, to William F. Green of Bay Minette, Alabama. Green operated the mill under the named W.F. Green Lumber Company. The sawmill was destroyed by fire in 1906, at a loss of $20,000. The mill was rebuilt, but its operations ceased in 1909 when W.F. Green moved to Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
A post office operated under the name Leaf from 1874 to 1986.
Demographics
Leaf was first listed as a census designated place in the 2020 U.S. census.
2020 census +Leaf CDP, Mississippi – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2020% 2020White alone (NH)6096.77%Black or African American alone (NH)00.00%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)00.00%Asian alone (NH)00.00%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)00.00%Other race alone (NH)00.00%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)00.00%Hispanic or Latino (any race)23.23%Total62100.00%
Notable people Lloyd Green, steel guitarist.
References