Maben, MS

Maben is a town split between Oktibbeha and Webster counties, where the 2020 census counted 771 residents. Its most unusual local story belongs to aviation: in May 1923, a young Charles Lindbergh landed nearby after damaging the propeller of his Jenny airplane. He waited in Maben for a replacement and spent several days taking residents up on paid rides. The episode gave the town a place in the early career of the aviator who would later cross the Atlantic.

County lines still show up in Maben's school map. Most residents are served by the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, while the small Webster County portion belongs to Webster County schools; Oktibbeha students continue to Armstrong Middle School and Starkville High School in Starkville. East Mississippi Community College adds a regional postsecondary connection. Maben's character comes from those overlapping geographies: a small town with one foot in each county, roads leading toward Starkville, and an aviation story that began with a damaged propeller and a few days of local flights.