Ridgeland is a city in Madison County , Mississippi , United States . The population was 20,173 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area .
History In 1805, the Choctaw Indian Agency, headed by Silas Dinsmore, was located in what is now known as Ridgeland. The structure was then called Turner Brashear's Stand until about 1850. It was adapted for use as a hotel named the King's Inn. King's Inn was used as a headquarters by General Stephen Lee during the American Civil War . Afterward, it was operated again as a hotel until 1896, when it was destroyed by fire. In 1853, James B. Yellowley founded the community of Yellowley's Crossing . Edward Treakle and Gordon Nichols, two real estate developers from Chicago , purchased the land from Yellowley and established Highland Colony. They created plans for a town to be named Ridgeland and launched an advertising campaign to entice people from the northern United States to move south. Agriculture was the community's dominant revenue source, with pears and strawberries as the leading crops grown for sale.