Communty

Originally known as Thompkinsville, Pennington was named after John Wesley Pennington. He was the first surveyor for Choctaw County and also the state legislator who donated land for a church and a school in the community. The first post office in town was opened in 1889 after the name was changed to Pennington. The Meridian & Bigbee Railroad built a line through Pennington, likely in the early 1900s, that would eventually connect Montgomery, Montgomery County, to Meridian, Mississippi. With the onset of the Great Depression, however, the town turned to cotton as its main business. Resources including timber, fish, and wild game were crucial components of Pennington’s economy as well.

The Allison Lumber Company sparked economic growth in the 1950s, paving the way for the Marathon Southern Corporation paper mill. It was renamed the American Can Company and then the James River Corporation. In August 1997, it merged with Fort Howard Paper Company and is now called the Fort James Corporation, with branches across the county. Georgia-Pacific also operates its Naheola paper mill in Pennington.

Pennington built a railroad bridge in 1934, the Meridian & Bigbee River Railroad Bridge, which is also called the Naheola Bridge. In 1956, the bridge was modified to allow both trains and automobiles to use it simultaneously, one of only a handful of bridges in the United States to do both. The bridge was used until 1999, when a new one was built beside it and named after Sen. Richard Shelby. Pennington is the only area in Choctaw County with rail, highway, and water transportation facilities. The town incorporated in 1964 and the first mayor elected was Philip McIlwain.

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Pennington is located in northeastern Choctaw County at 32°12’13.208″ North, 88°3’8.982″ West (32.203669, -88.052495).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.1 km2), all land.