text:
Woodland, Mississippi

Woodland is a village in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 125 at the 2010 census. The mayor of Woodland is Patti Watkins.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.6 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 159 people, 59 households, and 42 families residing in the village. The population density was 280.3 PD/sqmi. There were 60 housing units at an average density of 105.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 50.31% White, 44.65% African American, 4.40% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.43% of the population.

There were 59 households, out of which 44.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 20.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 33.3% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 13.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $21,000, and the median income for a family was $26,250. Males had a median income of $23,750 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,283. About 17.1% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under the age of eighteen and 15.8% of those 65 or over.

Education
The Village of Woodland is served by the Houston School District.

Notable person

 * Bobbie Gentry, singer-songwriter

title: Woodland, Mississippi


text:
Ackerman, Mississippi

Ackerman is a town in Choctaw County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,594 according to 2020 census, which shows an increase from 1,510 reported in the 2010 census It is the county seat of Choctaw County.

It is named for William K. Ackerman, President of the Illinois Central Railroad 1877-1883.

Geography
Ackerman is located in southeast of the present-day center of Choctaw County. Mississippi Highway 15 passes through the town, leading north 16 mi to Mathiston and south 15 mi to Louisville, Mississippi (pronounced Lewis-ville).

Mississippi Highway 12 passes through the northwest corner of the town, leading northeast 24 mi to Starkville, where Mississippi State University is located and southwest 31 mi to Kosciusko. Mississippi Highway 9 heads north from Highway 12 in the northwest corner of Ackerman, leading 17 mi to Eupora.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.87 km2, of which 5.82 km2 is land and 0.05 sqkm, or 0.85%, is water. The town is located near the headwaters of the Yockanookany River, a tributary of the Pearl River.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,594 people, 611 households, and 345 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,696 people, 711 households, and 430 families residing in the town. The population density was 752.7 PD/sqmi. There were 781 housing units at an average density of 346.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 62.97% White, 34.85% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.94% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.47% of the population.

There were 711 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $21,287, and the median income for a family was $30,511. Males had a median income of $30,588 versus $20,739 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,486. About 17.8% of families and 24.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.2% of those under age 18 and 20.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Ackerman is served by the Choctaw County School District.

Notable people

 * Ja'Marcus Bradley, professional football player
 * The Blackwood Brothers, gospel quartet
 * Texas Johnny Brown, blues guitarist, songwriter, and singer
 * Turner Catledge (1901—1983), managing editor of the New York Times
 * James P. Coleman, governor of Mississippi (1956–1960)
 * Josiah D. Coleman, Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi and grandson of James P. Coleman
 * Joey Hood, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
 * Ray Mabus, governor of Mississippi (1988–1992)
 * Coby Miller, Olympic sprinter
 * Cheryl Prewitt, Miss America, 1980

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Ackerman, Mississippi


text:
French Camp, Mississippi

French Camp is a town in Choctaw County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 174 at the 2010 census, down from 393 in 2000.

History
The town dates back to circa 1810, when a Frenchman, Louis Lefleur, established a stand or trading post and inn, on the Natchez Trace. The Choctaw natives and others in the area called it the Frenchman's Camp. Later it was shortened to French Camp.

Geography
French Camp is located in western Choctaw County at 33.29389°N, -89.40028°W (33.293936, -89.400248). It is bordered to the south by Attala County. The Natchez Trace Parkway passes through the town, crossing Mississippi Highway 413 just west of the center of town.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.6 km2, of which 0.02 sqkm, or 0.81%, is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 393 people, 68 households, and 42 families residing in the town. The population density was 398.1 PD/sqmi. There were 74 housing units at an average density of 75.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 92.37% White, 5.09% African American, 1.53% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.27% of the population.

There were 68 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 48.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 13.5% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 18 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $26,250, and the median income for a family was $27,188. Males had a median income of $13,750 versus $12,813 for females. The per capita income for the town was $5,047. (The lowest in Mississippi) About 17.1% of families and 64.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 70.5% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal Service operates the French Camp Post Office.

Education
The town of French Camp is served by the Choctaw County School District and the private French Camp Academy.

 * French Camp Elementary School
 * French Camp Elementary School, operated by the Choctaw County School District is in French Camp.

 * French Camp Academy
 * French Camp Academy, a Christian boarding school, is in the town.

Points of interest

 * Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium
 * French Camp Town Hall (also houses the French Camp Volunteer Fire Department)
 * French Camp Academy Campus
 * Natchez Trace Historic Village including
 * Council House Cafe

 * WFCA (FM)

title: French Camp, Mississippi


text:
Weir, Mississippi

Weir is a town in Choctaw County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 459 at the 2010 census, down from 553 at the 2000 census.

History
The town of Weir was settled by former Confederate Colonel John Weir and his brother James in 1868.

Weir experienced a tornado on April 24, 2010.

Geography
Weir is located in southwestern Choctaw County at 33.26333°N, -89.28944°W (33.263423, -89.289439), bordered on the north by the Yockanookany River. Mississippi Highway 12 passes north of the town, leading northeast to Ackerman, the county seat, and southwest to Kosciusko.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.8 km2, of which 0.04 km2, or 1.43%, is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 553 people, 208 households, and 149 families residing in the town. The population density was 526.5 PD/sqmi. There were 234 housing units at an average density of 222.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 45.21% White, 53.71% African American, 0.90% Native American, 0.18% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.18% of the population.

There were 208 households, out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 22.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.1% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $23,125, and the median income for a family was $28,472. Males had a median income of $31,875 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,697. About 19.7% of families and 25.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.1% of those under age 18 and 24.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Weir is home to Weir Elementary Center, a pre-kindergarten through 6th grade school. It is part of the Choctaw County School District. The school once was known statewide for its football program which competed in ten state championships between 1984 and 2004, winning six 1A state football titles.

The school received a new building in 2005 that was dedicated to Mr. Marion Kelly who served as teacher, coach, and principal for approximately 40 years.

Notable people

 * Dennis Johnson, former fullback and tight end in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants
 * Kenneth Johnson, NFL defensive back for the Green Bay Packers
 * Tony Kimbrough, former NFL wide receiver
 * Alvin McKinley, former National Football League defensive tackle
 * Roy Oswalt, former pitcher for the Houston Astros

title: Weir, Mississippi


text:
Port Gibson, Mississippi

Port Gibson is a city in Claiborne County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2010 census. Port Gibson is the county seat of Claiborne County, which is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River. It is the site of the Claiborne County Courthouse.

The first European settlers in Port Gibson were French colonists in 1729; it was part of their La Louisiane. After the United States acquired the territory from France in 1803 in the Louisiana Purchase, the town was chartered that same year. To develop cotton plantations in the area after Indian Removal of the 1830s, planters who moved to the state brought with them or imported thousands of enslaved African Americans from the Upper South, disrupting many families. Well before the Civil War, the majority of the county's population were enslaved.

Several notable people are natives of Port Gibson. The town saw action during the American Civil War. Port Gibson has several historical sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places (National Register of Historic Places listings in Claiborne County, Mississippi).

In the twentieth century, Port Gibson was home to The Rabbit's Foot Company. It had a substantial role in the development of blues in Mississippi, operating taverns and juke joints now included on the Mississippi Blues Trail.

With the decline in agricultural jobs since the late twentieth century, because of industrial agriculture, and a lack of other jobs, the city and surrounding rural county have suffered from reduced population and long-term poverty. The peak of population in the city was in 1950. The last major employer, the Port Gibson Oil Works, a cottonseed mill, closed in 2002.

History

Port Gibson is the third-oldest European-American settlement in Mississippi. Its development began in 1729 by French colonists and was then within French-claimed territory known as La Louisiane. The British acquired this area after the French ceded their colonies east of the Mississippi River in 1763, following their defeat in the Seven Years' War.

Following the U.S. acquisition of former French territory through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, more Americans entered the area. Port Gibson was chartered as a town that year on March 12, 1803. The federal government carried out Indian Removal in the 1830s, pushing the Five Civilized Tribes, including the Choctaw and Chickasaw peoples, west of the Mississippi River to Indian Territory. It took over their lands in the Southeast for sale and development by European Americans.

Planters developed cotton plantations in the fertile river lowlands of the Mississippi Delta and other riverfront areas, dependent on the labor of enslaved Africans, initially brought from the Upper South. The African Americans comprised a majority in the county before the Civil War, and this continued.

With international demand high for cotton, such planters prospered. As the planter population increased, they founded the Port Gibson Female College in 1843 to educate their daughters. The college later closed and one of its buildings now serves as the city hall. Similarly, they founded Chamberlain-Hunt Academy in 1879, a military preparatory boarding school which became co-ed in 1971. CHA was the legacy of Oakland College founded in 1830 in nearby Lorman. Oakland was closed during the Civil War and the Oakland campus was sold to the State of Mississippi to create Alcorn A&M College, the first land-grant college for African Americans. Chamberlain-Hunt closed its doors in 2014. In 1990, the first African American students graduated from Chamberlain-Hunt.

Port Gibson was the site of several clashes during the American Civil War and figured in Union General Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg Campaign. He was attempting to gain control over the Mississippi River. The Battle of Port Gibson occurred on May 1, 1863, and resulted in the deaths of more than 200 Union and Confederate soldiers. The Confederate defeat resulted in their losing the ability to hold Mississippi and defend against an amphibious attack.

Later nineteenth century to present
Reportedly, many of the historic buildings in the town survived the Civil War because Grant proclaimed the city to be "too beautiful to burn". These words appear on the sign marking the city limits.

Despite postwar economic upheaval, the city continued as a center of trade and economy associated with cotton. In 1882, the Port Gibson Oil Works started operating, established as one of the first cottonseed oil plants in the United States. This historic industrial building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The mill finally closed in 2002.

Gemiluth Chessed synagogue, built in 1892, had an active congregation when the town was thriving as the county seat and a trading center. It had attracted nineteenth-century Jewish immigrants from the German states and Alsace-Lorraine. After starting as peddlers, the later generations of men became cotton brokers and merchants. This is the oldest synagogue and the only Moorish Revival building in the state. It is topped by a Russian-style dome. As the economy changed, the Jewish population gradually moved to larger cities and areas offering more opportunity, and none remain in Port Gibson.

The Rabbit's Foot Company was established in 1900 by Pat Chappelle, an African-American theatre owner in Tampa, Florida. This was the leading traveling vaudeville show in the southern states, with an all-black cast of singers, musicians, comedians, and entertainers.

After Chappelle's death in 1911, the company was taken over by Fred Swift Wolcott, a white planter. After 1918, he based the touring company at his plantation near Port Gibson, with offices in town. He continued to manage it until 1950, when he sold it. The Rabbit's Foot Company remained popular, but as some white performers joined and used blackface, it was no longer considered "authentic".

In 2002 the New York Times characterized Port Gibson as 80 percent black and poor, with 20 percent of families living on incomes of less than $10,000 a year, according to the 2000 Census. It also had an "entrenched population of whites, many of whom are related and have some historical connection to cotton".

Legacy
A Mississippi Blues Trail marker was placed in Port Gibson to commemorate the contribution the Rabbit's Foot Company made to the development of the blues in Mississippi, in its decades of operation after the founder's death.

In 2006, an exhibition, The Blues in Claiborne County: From Rabbit Foot Minstrels to Blues and Cruise, was shown in Port Gibson, exploring the history of the show, with artifacts and memorabilia.

Other National Register of Historic Places buildings and sites

 * Van Dorn House, completed c. 1830, built by Peter Aaron Van Dorn, a lawyer, planter, and judge
 * McGregor, house designed in Greek Revival style by Van Dorn (above) for one of his daughters, completed 1835
 * Windsor Ruins, 23 columns of a plantation house that burned c. 1890, located about ten miles southwest of the city that have been featured in two motion pictures
 * Wintergreen Cemetery, historic cemetery with burials of notable residents

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.8 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,269 people, 554 households, and 290 families residing in the city.

Education
Port Gibson is served by the Claiborne County School District. Port Gibson High School is the comprehensive high school of the district.

The Chamberlain-Hunt Academy, a private military boarding school, opened in Port Gibson in 1879. It was promoted as a Christian school in the late twentieth century. Nonetheless, it suffered declining enrollment and closed in 2014.

Notable people

 * Samuel Reading Bertron, banker
 * Cleo W. Blackburn, educator
 * Pete Brown, golfer, first African American to win on the PGA Tour
 * Jay Disharoon, lawyer and Mississippi legislator
 * Henry Hughes, lawyer, sociologist, state senator, and Confederate colonel
 * Yolanda Moore, former professional basketball player and girls basketball coach
 * Betty Berry Morgan, writer
 * Irwin Russell, poet
 * Bob Shannon, high school football coach, known for his work in East St. Louis, Illinois
 * V. C. Shannon, born in Port Gibson in 1910, one-term member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Shreveport, serving from 1972 to 1974
 * J. D. Short, Delta blues guitarist, singer, and harmonicist
 * James G. Spencer, U.S. Representative from 1895 to 1897
 * Clement Sulivane, Confederate officer, politician, and member of the Maryland Senate from 1878 to 1880
 * Earl Van Dorn, Confederate Civil War general
 * Peter Aaron Van Dorn, lawyer, judge, plantation owner, and one of the founders of Jackson, Mississippi
 * F. S. Wolcott, minstrel show proprietor

title: Port Gibson, Mississippi


text:
Enterprise, Clarke County, Mississippi

Enterprise is a town in Clarke County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 526 at the 2010 census.

History
Enterprise was so named "to denote the policy of their inhabitants". The town was founded in 1834, by John J. McRae, who later served as Governor of Mississippi.

In the early days of the American Civil War, a military training camp was set up at Enterprise for newly-created Confederate units. After the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson in July, 1863, thousands of paroled Confederate troops were sent to a camp at Enterprise to await exchange.

Units from Enterprise that served in the Civil War include the "Enterprise Guards", Company B of the 14th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, the "Enterprise Tigers", Company D of the 37th Mississippi Infantry, the "East Mississippi Guards", Company F of the 2nd Mississippi Cavalry Regiment. , and the "McLain Rifles", Company B of the 37th Mississippi Infantry.

After the state capital of Jackson fell to Union forces in May, 1863, the state government was briefly moved to Enterprise. The capital was moved to Columbus a few months later.

The town formerly was located on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad.

Geography
Enterprise is located in northwestern Clarke County at 32.17361°N, -88.82194°W (32.173620, -88.821935). The Chickasawhay River is formed at Enterprise by the confluence of the Chunky River and Okatibbee Creek.

U.S. Route 11 passes through the west side of the town, leading north 17 mi to Meridian and south 39 mi to Laurel. Exit 134 on Interstate 59 is 2 mi west of town.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.3 km2, of which 0.02 km2, or 0.27%, is water.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 496 people, 202 households, and 137 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 474 people, 202 households, and 138 families residing in the town. The population density was 209.0 PD/sqmi. There were 241 housing units at an average density of 106.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 75.74% White, 23.84% African American, 0.21% Asian, and 0.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.21% of the population.

There were 202 households, out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $33,125, and the median income for a family was $37,375. Males had a median income of $29,583 versus $21,719 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,995. About 9.2% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 23.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education
The town of Enterprise is served by the Enterprise School District. Enterprise High School is one of two high schools in Clarke County.

Notable people

 * Chester Harding, governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1917 to 1921
 * Billy Mitts, member of the Mississippi State Senate from 1960 to 1964
 * Joe Williams, former head college basketball coach for Jacksonville University, Furman University, and Florida State University

title: Enterprise, Clarke County, Mississippi


text:
Pachuta, Mississippi

Pachuta is a town in Clarke County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 261 at the 2010 census.

History
Pachuta was founded in the 1880s, and named after Pachuta Creek.

Geography
Pachuta is located in western Clarke County at 32.04111°N, -88.88361°W (32.041081, -88.883636). U.S. Route 11 passes through the center of town, leading north 27 mi to Meridian and south 29 mi to Laurel. Mississippi Highway 18 crosses US 11 at the town center, leading east 13 mi to Quitman, the county seat (taking Highway 512 cuts the distance to 10 mi), and west 31 mi to Bay Springs. Exit 126 of Interstate 59 is 2 mi northwest of town on Highway 18.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.3 km2, all land.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 207 people, 78 households, and 43 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 245 people, 106 households, and 71 families residing in the town. The population density was 107.0 PD/sqmi. There were 126 housing units at an average density of 55.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 66.12% White, 33.06% African American, 0.82% from other races.

There were 106 households, out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 71.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 67.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $30,938, and the median income for a family was $35,313. Males had a median income of $26,750 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,181. About 20.0% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.5% of those under the age of eighteen and 5.0% of those 65 or over.

Education
The town of Pachuta is served by the Quitman School District.

Notable person

 * Bob Hicks, activist during the Civil Rights Movement

title: Pachuta, Mississippi


text:
Quitman, Mississippi

Quitman is a city in Clarke County, Mississippi, United States, along the Chickasawhay River. The population was 2,323 at the 2010 census. Quitman is the county seat of Clarke County.

History
Quitman was established in 1839 and named as the county seat.

During the Civil War, a hospital built with funds raised in Galveston and Houston, among other places, was built there for the care of Confederate soldiers from Texas. Originally staffed by Louis Bryan with supplies purchased in Mexico, he was joined, and later supplanted, by Enos Bonney, a surgeon from Enterprise, Mississippi, who stayed until the hospital was burned down. Though it cared for troops from any state, the hospital was colloquially known as "The Texas Hospital." Wounded soldiers from the Second Battle of Corinth, Battle of Iuka, Battle of Jackson, Tennessee, and more local engagements, as well as those suffering from wartime diseases, were treated at the hospital. A cemetery was established adjacent to the hospital for those who succumbed to disease or wounds.

During General Sherman's Meridian Campaign, Brigadier General Walter Q. Gresham, Commander of the Third Brigade, Fourth Division, 17th Army Corps, was detached and sent to Quitman to destroy bridges crossing the Chickasawhay river and through Alligator Swamp, as well as any other infrastructure that could be of any use to the Confederacy. The force arrived at Quitman and proceeded to burn the town jail, courthouse, various stores, the railroad depot, and the Methodist Church, which was being used as a hospital. Troops then burned down the entire Texas Hospital complex, which included two main buildings as well as twelve to fifteen barracks. The hospital was never rebuilt.

Quitman was officially recognized by the Mississippi Legislature on February 13, 1839, and was named for the second Chancellor of the State, Gen. John A. Quitman, a strongly pro-slavery politician, leading Fire Eater, veteran of the Mexican–American War.

Geography
Quitman is located near the center of Clarke County. Mississippi Highway 18 passes through the center of the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.3 km2, of which 13.4 km2 is land and 1.9 km2, or 12.28%, is water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,061 people, 897 households, and 619 families residing in the city.

Education
The city is served by the Quitman School District.

Notable people

 * Andy Blakeney, jazz trumpeter
 * Wyatt Emory Cooper, writer
 * Oscar W. Gillespie, U.S. Representative for the state of Texas
 * Dustin J. Lee, Corporal in the United States Marine Corps who was killed in Fallujah, Iraq
 * Sam C. Massingale, American politician and a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma
 * Kelly McCarty, former NBA player
 * Antonio McDyess, former NBA power forward
 * Tarvarius Moore, NFL defensive back
 * Homer Smith, Jr, journalist
 * Samuel H. Terral, Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court from 1897 to 1903
 * James Yates (activist), labor organizer, political activist, and veteran of the Spanish Civil War

title: Quitman, Mississippi


text:
Shubuta, Mississippi

Shubuta is a town in Clarke County, Mississippi, United States, which is located on the eastern border of the state. The population was 441 as of the 2010 census, down from 651 at the 2000 census. Developed around an early 19th-century trading post on the Chickasawhay River, it was built near a Choctaw town. Shubuta is a Choctaw word meaning "smokey water".

East of the town is a bridge over the river; it is known as the "Hanging Bridge". It was the site of the 20th-century lynch murders of four young blacks in 1918, two of whom were pregnant women, and two male youths in 1942. National newspapers covered the lynchings, and the NAACP conducted investigations in both cases. No one was prosecuted for the murders. In addition to recognition of historic houses in town, the Shubuta Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance in state and national history. A total of 10 blacks were lynched in Clarke County from 1877 to 1950.

History
Located along the Chickasawhay River, the small town of Shubuta was incorporated in 1865. It had started in the 1830s as a trading post community, located near the Choctaw village of Yowani. During the period of Indian Removal, under the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the Choctaw people ceded most of their lands to the United States. Under the Indian Removal Act, they were given land in exchange in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), and most of the people were forced to relocate west of the Mississippi River. Their traditional homelands in the Southeast were sold or made available by lotteries to European Americans for settlement.

The first record of the word "Shubuta" appears on Bernard Roman's "Map of 1772", a copy of which appears in Riley's History of Mississippi. The name was spelled as "Chobuta", which means "smoky water" in the Choctaw language. It became a market town for an area developed for cotton plantations, which depended on the labor of enslaved African Americans. Cotton was shipped downriver from Shubata to Mobile, Alabama, and then to other major ports. The town started growing more rapidly in the 1850s after being connected to other communities by the railroad. At one time the largest town between Meridian, Mississippi, and Mobile, Shubuta attracted people from 40 mi around to shop at its many mercantile businesses.

The first newspaper in the area was the Mississippi Messenger, established in 1879 by Judge Charles A. Stovall. Six houses within Shubuta are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These are listed in National Register of Historic Places listings in Clarke County, Mississippi, which provides a map link locating them all.

20th-century lynchings
The county had 10 documented lynchings in the period from 1877 to 1950; most took place in the 20th century.

1918 lynchings
In late December 1918, five weeks after the armistice was signed in the Great War, four black farmworkers were lynched and hanged from a railroad bridge in Shubuta. They were brothers, Major (age 20) and Andrew (age 16) Clark, along with two black sisters, Alma (age 16) and Maggie House (age 20) (their surname was sometimes spelled as "Howze"), allegedly for the murder of Dr. H. L. Johnston, a married white dentist who was living at his father's farm, where the four younger people all worked. Both sisters were pregnant: Maggie was six months pregnant and Alma was due in two weeks. When the NAACP asked for a state investigation, their representative was told by Mississippi Governor Theodore Bilbo to "go to hell".

The NAACP contracted with Robert Church, a white detective from Memphis, Tennessee, to investigate the four lynchings. He learned that Johnston was fatally shot while milking on December 10, 1918. Major Clark had found him and carried him into the house. Johnston was said to have sexually assaulted and impregnated each of the House sisters. After the Clark brothers started working on the farm, Major Clark and Maggie House developed a romantic relationship. Johnston the son had jealously threatened Clark, saying he would kill the young black man unless he ended his relationship with House. Johnston apparently had affairs with white women, too, and his father believed he had been shot by a white man, as did others in town.

The lynching was documented as premeditated and coordinated, as many such events were. It was a year of white on black violence: in 1918 there had been 62 lynchings in the United States since January 1, seven of them in Mississippi. Deputy County Sheriff Crane colluded with the mob to provide access to the victims at the jail, claiming that he had been overpowered by the mob. In addition, men cut off power to the town from the main station, perhaps to support witnesses' later claims of being unable to identify members of the mob.

The four young people were brutally treated. Maggie was smashed in the face with a wrench. All four were thrown from the bridge, but Maggie caught on to the bridge and survived the initial attempt on her life. When she was thrown from the bridge a second time, she again grabbed a railing. The mob hauled her up a third time, and were finally successful in throwing her over and hanging her. When the victims were buried the next day, witnesses reported seeing Alma House's unborn baby moving in the womb.

1942 lynchings
In 1942 during World War II, Ernest Green, a fourteen-year-old black boy, along with Charlie Lang, aged fifteen, were seen speaking to Dorothy Martin, a thirteen-year-old white girl whom they knew from the area. Accounts vary as to what took place. One or more whites who saw the three youths together while driving by reported the incident to Martin's father. Another account said that the incident was "attempted rape" after Dorothy told her parents about it. The boys were arrested by Clarke County Sheriff Lloyd McNeal, and appeared before justice of the peace W.E. Eddins, perhaps in a hearing at his residence, where they allegedly confessed to attempted rape. By October 10 the boys were held in the jail at the county seat of Quitman. On October 12, Quitman Town Marshall G.F. Dabbs handed the boys over to several white men, who took the boys away.

The men took the boys to the Shubuta railroad bridge, where they mutilated them by cutting off their genitals, and hanged the youths from the bridge. The sheriff told the Pittsburgh Courier that the local people respected law and order, but that "Them niggers is gettin’ uppity, you know.” Walter Atkins, a black journalist, asserted in 1942 that the “rickety old span is a symbol of the South as much as magnolia blossoms or mint julep colonels.” Sherriff McNeal was said to have expressed remorse on his deathbed for the murders of Green and Lang. Governor Paul Johnson declared that the lynchings were murders, there was nothing he could do about it, and criticized first lady Eleanor Roosevelt for discussing the matter in the national media.

Because of its own history and connection to the white lynchings of thousands of blacks in the South, the bridge was added to the National List of Historic Places in 1988. As of 2016, the abandoned bridge still stands at the end of East Street but is blocked off from access by a barricade.

Voter suppression and Great Migration
At the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Mississippi disenfranchised most black voters through passing a new constitution that raised barriers to voter registration. In Shubuta whites had also suppressed black voting by destroying ballots, imposing poll tests such as correctly guessing the number of jellybeans in a jar, and intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan. Following the 1918 lynchings, many black workers left Clarke County, leaving cotton to rot in the fields. The town's population dropped by 21% (See table below) and the county population dropped 17% from 1910 to 1920. (See Demographics, Clarke County, Mississippi)

The first wave of the Great Migration from the rural South continued to the Second World War. In the 1930s, a number of African-American residents from the Shubata area followed Reverend Louis W. Parson to Albany, New York to escape the violence and in a search for industrial jobs and better opportunities. They created a community to the west of the city, building houses along Rapp Road within what was one land parcel purchased by Parson. Now known as the Rapp Road Community Historic District, the area is listed on the NRHP.

Geography
Shubuta is located near the southern border of Clarke County at 31.86083°N, -88.70056°W (31.860939, -88.700690), on the west side of the Chickasawhay River. U.S. Route 45 bypasses the town on the west, leading north 13 mi to Quitman, the county seat, and south 14 mi to Waynesboro. Mississippi Highway 145, which leads through the center of Shubuta, follows the old alignment of US 45.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.2 km2, all land.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 406 people, 144 households, and 101 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 651 people, 244 households, and 165 families residing in the town. The population density was 271.0 PD/sqmi. There were 270 housing units at an average density of 112.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 25.50% White, 73.89% African American, 0.15% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.38% of the population.

There were 244 households, out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.2% were married couples living together, 23.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.3% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $18,438, and the median income for a family was $21,719. Males had a median income of $24,688 versus $17,813 for females. The per capita income for the town was $9,094. About 38.5% of families and 44.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 59.4% of those under age 18 and 35.9% of those age 65 or over.

Industry
Shubuta was the second home of Hanson Scale Company, a bathroom scale manufacturer. It was later owned by the Sunbeam Corporation. Shubuta is the home of Mississippi Laminators. Producing laminated beams, the company has been in business here since the early 1970s.

Education
Shubuta is served by the Quitman School District.

Notable people

 * Annibel Jenkins, Georgia Tech professor
 * Tarvarius Moore, NFL Strong Safety
 * Robert Staten, former NFL running back
 * Gayle Graham Yates, women's studies and American studies academic

title: Shubuta, Mississippi


text:
West Point, Mississippi

West Point is a city in Clay County, Mississippi, United States, in the Golden Triangle region of the state. The population was 11,307 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Clay County and the principal city of the West Point Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Columbus-West Point Combined Statistical Area.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.1 sqmi, of which 20.8 sqmi is land and 0.3 sqmi (1.28%) is water.

Demographics
West Point is located in the northeast section of Mississippi just across the Alabama state line. The city has a rich heritage, with generations of family lineage calling it home. Historically the area has a blend of African American, White and Native American lineage. The city has many social activities sponsored by church and civic organizations.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 10,105 people, 4,211 households, and 2,523 families residing in the city.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 11,307 people 4,444 households, and 3,043 families residing in the city. The population density was 535.13 PD/sqmi. There were 4,856 housing units at an average density of 235.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 37.57% White, 61.40% African American, 0.01% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race was 0.88% of the population.

There were 3,043 households, out of which 22.2% had own children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.1% were married couples living together, 28.4% had a female householder with no husband present, male household no wife present 4.9% and 31.5% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 28.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 20 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.4 years. The population was 53.7% female and 46.3% male.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,440, and the median income for a family was $39,295. The per capita income for the city was $17,675. About 23.4% of families and 24.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.8% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those people age 65 or over.

Economy

Large businesses in West Point include Southern Ionics, Babcock & Wilcox, and Mossy Oak. Bryan Foods was founded in West Point in 1936 by John H. Bryan, Sr and W.B. Bryan. Bryan Foods was acquired by Sara Lee Corporation in 1968 and continued operations in West Point until March 2007. West Point has an ever-increasing economic sector with the opening of the new Prairie Belt Power Site. The site allows advantage to West Point with its easy access to major highways, waterways and railways; ample electric power and natural gas resources; and access to three airports.

Arts and culture
Old Waverly Golf Club, located outside of West Point and recognized as one of Mississippi's top golf courses, hosted the 1999 U.S. Women's Open, which was won by Juli Inkster. West Point Country Club is three minutes from downtown West Point and offers 18 rounds of golf, swimming, tennis and a club house.

Payne Field was an advanced aviation school operated from May 1918 to March 1920. About 1,500 pilots were trained there. It is recognized as the first airfield in the state of Mississippi.

Despite averaging less than 1" of snow a year, West Point was the home of the original Blazon-Flexible Flyer, Inc. proclaimed to make the best snow sled in the United States, which became an American tradition.

Waverly Plantation Mansion, eight miles east of West Point, is a National Historic Landmark. Its four-story cantilevered stair hall and cupola are considered unique in the United States. The mansion is open daily for tours from 9 am to 5 pm. An admission fee is charged.

West Point is the home of the Howlin' Wolf Blues Museum. Each Labor Day weekend the town of West Point hosts the Prairie Arts Festival. The weekend kicks off with the Howlin’ Wolf Blues Festival on Friday night followed by the Prairie Arts Festival during the day on Saturday. The festival showcases the areas arts and crafts with shopping, music, rides for children, a 5K race and a car show.

Education
Public education in the city of West Point is provided by the West Point Consolidated School District.

The West Point Green Wave football team has won the state championship for their classification 12 times, in 1982, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018,2019 and 2023.

West Point is the home of three high schools. West Point High School, the town's lone public high school, offers a diverse classroom environment and is the largest of the three. Oak Hill Academy and Hebron Christian School are tuition based private schools.

Oak Hill Academy is a private PK-12 school that was founded in 1966 as a segregation academy for white students.

Notable people

 * Jesse Anderson, professional football player
 * Tyrone Bell, professional football player
 * Orlando Bobo, professional football player
 * Wirt Bowman, capitalist, entrepreneur, and one of the founders of the Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel
 * George W. Bryan, local businessman, former CEO of Sara Lee Foods
 * John H. Bryan, local businessman and former chairman of Sara Lee Corporation
 * Silas Chandler (1838-1919), co-founder of Mount Hermon Baptist Church
 * Cleveland Crosby, professional football player
 * John Davidson, former member of the Illinois Senate
 * Vontarrius Dora, football outside linebacker
 * Kevin Dotson, football offensive guard
 * Jesse Dukeminier (1925–2003), professor of law
 * David Gibbs, legislator, businessman
 * Karl Gibbs, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
 * Tom Goode, professional football player
 * Johnny Green, football player
 * Toxey Haas, founder and CEO of Haas Outdoors, Inc.
 * Floyd Heard, retired track and field sprinter
 * Carey Henley, football player
 * Paul V. Hester, Commander, Pacific Air Forces; Air Component Commander for the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, 2004–2007
 * Don Hopkins, pinch runner for the Oakland Athletics
 * Dewayne Jefferson, former professional basketball player
 * Lyndon Johnson, football defensive end
 * Reuben D. Jones, retired United States Army major general
 * Bubba Phillips, baseball player
 * Lenore L. Prather, Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court
 * Dolph Pulliam, former basketball player
 * Earl T. Ricks, U.S. Air Force major general, Chief of the National Guard Bureau and mayor of Hot Springs, Arkansas
 * Larry Semon, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter during the silent film era
 * Brad Smith (born 1968), guitarist for the band Blind Melon
 * Rogers Stevens (born 1970), guitarist for the band Blind Melon
 * Barrett Strong, Motown singer who had Motown's first hit with "Money"
 * William Townsend (1914–2005), Arkansas state legislator and optometrist
 * Bennie Turner, legislator, lawyer
 * Angela Turner-Ford, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
 * Michael Williams, film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and Film editor
 * Howlin' Wolf (real name Chester Arthur Burnett), blues musician, born in West Point
 * Zora Young, blues singer

title: West Point, Mississippi


text:
Clarksdale, Mississippi

Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19th century when he established a timber mill and business. Clarksdale is in the Mississippi Delta region and is an agricultural and trading center. Many African-American musicians developed the blues here, and took this original American music with them to Chicago and other northern cities during the Great Migration.

The Clarksdale Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Coahoma County. It is located in the Mississippi Delta region of Mississippi. In 2023, the Clarksdale, Mississippi Micropolitan area was added to form the new Memphis-Clarksdale-Forrest City Combined Statistical Area. The Memphis-Clarksdale-Forrest City Combined Statistical Area has around 1.4 million people. The western boundary of the county is formed by the Mississippi River.

Early history
European Americans developed Clarksdale at the intersection of two former Indian routes: the Lower Creek Trade Path, which extended westward from present-day Augusta, Georgia, to New Mexico; and the Chakchiuma Trade Trail, which ran northeastward to the former village at present-day Pontotoc, Mississippi. They later improved these trails for roadways wide enough for wagons.

Cotton plantations
Following the removal of the Indians, European-American settlers migrated to the Delta region, where the fertile lowlands soil proved to be excellent for growing cotton after the land was cleared. They brought or purchased thousands of enslaved African Americans to work the several extensive cotton plantations developed in the county. The first ones were always developed with riverfront access, as the waterways were the chief forms of transportation.

John Clark founded the town of Clarksdale in 1848, when he bought land in the area and started a timber business. It became a trading center. Clark married the sister of James Lusk Alcorn, a major planter who owned a nearby plantation. Alcorn became a politician, and was elected by the state legislature as US Senator. Later he was elected by voters as governor of the state. Thriving from the cotton trade and associated business, Clarksdale soon earned the title "The Golden Buckle on the Cotton Belt".

African-American slaves cultivated and processed cotton, worked as artisans, and cultivated and processed produce and livestock on the plantations. They built the wealth of "King Cotton" in the state. U.S. Census data shows Coahoma County, Mississippi's 1860 population was 1,521 whites and 5,085 slaves. James Alcorn was a major planter, owning 77 slaves according to the 1860 Slave Schedule.

Cedar Mound Plantation, located 5 miles south of Clarksdale, was purchased and named in 1834 by Alex Kerr Boyce. He died childless and it was inherited by his niece Mrs. Catherine (Kate) (née Henderson) Adams of South Carolina. She divided it among her unmarried children: Jennie, Will, and Lucia Adams. The sisters' correspondence (1845-1944) is held in a collection in their name at the University of Mississippi.

Post-Civil War and Reconstruction
After slavery was abolished, many black families labored as sharecroppers or tenant farmers. They gained some independence, no longer working in gangs of laborers, but were often at a disadvantage in negotiations with white planters, as they were generally illiterate. Planters advanced them supplies and seed at the beginning of the season, allowed them to buy other goods on credit, and settled with them at the end of harvest for a major portion of the crop. Historian Nicholas Lemann writes "segregation strengthened the grip of the sharecropper system by ensuring that most blacks would have no arena of opportunity in life except for the cotton fields" (p. 6).

During the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War, Mississippi's blacks and poor whites both benefited from the State's new constitution of 1868, which adopted universal suffrage; repealed property qualifications for suffrage or for office; provided for the state's first public school system; forbade race distinctions in the possession and inheritance of property; and prohibited limiting civil rights in travel.

Those gains were short-lived, as insurgent white paramilitary groups such as the Red Shirts worked to suppress black voting from 1868 on. By 1875 conservative white Democrats regained control of the state legislature in Mississippi. They later passed Jim Crow laws, including legal segregation of public facilities.

A freedman named Bill Peace, who had served in the Union Army and returned to Clarksdale after the war, persuaded his former owner to allow him to form a security force to prevent theft from the plantation. On October 9, 1875, whites in Clarksdale began hearing rumors that "General Peace" was preparing his troops to plunder the town; rumors spread that he was planning to murder the whites. A white militia was formed, and they suppressed Peace's "revolt". Across Mississippi, white militias frequently formed in response to similar fears of armed black revolt.

Twentieth-century historian Nicholas Lemann writes: "Like the establishment of sharecropping, the restoration to power of the all-white Democratic Party in the South was a development of such magnitude to whites that it became encrusted in legend; many towns have their own mythic stories of the redemption of the white South. In Clarksdale, it is the story of the 'race riot' of October 9, 1875."

After the Reconstruction era and construction in 1879 of the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway through the town, Clarksdale was incorporated in 1882. In 1886, the town's streets were laid out; it was not until 1913 that any were paved.

20th century
African Americans composed most of the farm labor in the county into the 1940s, when increasing mechanization reduced the need for field workers. Thousands of blacks left Mississippi in the Great Migration to Chicago, St. Louis, and later, West Coast cities to work in the defense industry. They developed a rich musical tradition drawing from many strands of music, and influencing jazz and the blues in Chicago.

In the early 20th century, Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe began to settle in Mississippi, often working as merchants. From the 1930s to the 1970s, Clarksdale had one of the largest Jewish populations in Mississippi. In the 1930s, they founded Beth Israel Synagogue. However, most left as the city declined in population, with rural areas losing residents.

The Great Migration
The movement of large numbers of people both to and from Clarksdale is prominent in the city's history. Prior to 1920, Delta plantations were in constant need of laborers, and many black families moved to the area to work as sharecroppers. After World War I, plantation owners even encouraged blacks to move from the other parts of Mississippi to the Delta region for work. By this time, Clarksdale had also become home to a multi-cultural mixture of Lebanese, Italian, Chinese and Jewish immigrant merchants.

By 1920, the price of cotton had fallen, and many blacks living in the Delta began to leave. The Illinois Central Railroad operated a large depot in Clarksdale and provided a Chicago-bound route for those seeking greater economic opportunities in the north; it soon became the primary departure point for many.

During the 1940s, three events occurred which increased the exodus of African-Americans from Clarksdale. First, it became possible to commercially produce a cotton crop entirely by machine, which lessened the need for a large, low-paid workforce. (Coincidentally, it was on 28 acres of the nearby Hopson Plantation where the International Harvester Company perfected the single-row mechanical cotton picking machine in 1946; soil was prepared, seeded, picked and bailed entirely by machines, while weeds were eradicated by flame.)

Second, many African-American GIs (soldiers) returned from World War II to find slim opportunities for employment in the Delta region. Finally, there appeared an accelerated climate of racial hatred, as evidenced by the violence against such figures as NAACP representative Aaron Henry.

"The Great Migration" north became the largest movement of Americans in U.S. history, and was recounted with Clarksdale triangulated with Chicago and Washington D.C. in Nicholas Lemann's award-winning book The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How it Changed America. The History Channel later produced a documentary based on the book, narrated by actor Morgan Freeman, who is also a co-owner of Ground Zero Blues Club.

Civil rights in Clarksdale
On September 10, 1919, Black veteran L. B. Reed was lynched as part of the Red Summer of 1919.

Clarksdale played a very important role in the civil rights movement in Mississippi. The starting point for a civil rights movement in Clarksdale was the rape at gunpoint of two African-American women, Leola Tates and Erline Mills, in August 1951. The two white teenagers they said assaulted them, who admitted the event but said it was consensual, were arrested, but "despite the overwhelming evidence against them, the justice of peace court judge freed the accused perpetrators". On May 29, 1958, Martin Luther King Jr. visited Clarksdale for the first major meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1960, Aaron Henry, a local pharmacist, was named state president of the NAACP, and went on to organize a two-year-long boycott of Clarksdale businesses. In 1962, King again visited Clarksdale on the first stop on a region-wide tour, where he urged a crowd of 1,000 to "stand in, sit in, and walk by the thousands".

21st century
National headlines in February 2013 covered the discovery of the body of mayoral candidate Marco McMillian, who was found murdered near the town of Sherard, to the west of his home town of Clarksdale. Because McMillian was openly gay and was badly beaten before his death, there was speculation that his murder qualified to be classified as a hate crime. Lawrence Reed, an acquaintance of McMillian, was charged, tried, and found guilty of the murder in April 2015.

Music history
Clarksdale has been historically significant in the history of the blues. The Mississippi Blues Trail places interpretative markers for historic sites such as Clarksdale's Riverside Hotel, where Bessie Smith died following an auto accident on Highway 61. The Riverside Hotel is just one of many historical blues sites in Clarksdale. Early supporters of the effort to preserve Clarksdale's musical legacy included the award-winning photographer and journalist Panny Mayfield, Living Blues magazine founder Jim O'Neal, and attorney Walter Thompson, father of sports journalist Wright Thompson. In 1995, Mount Zion Memorial Fund founder Skip Henderson, a vintage guitar dealer from New Brunswick, New Jersey and friend of Delta Blues Museum founder Sid Graves, purchased the Illinois Central Railroad passenger depot to save it from planned demolition. With the help of local businessman Jon Levingston, as well as the Delta Council, Henderson received a US$1.279 million grant from the federal government to restore the passenger depot. These redevelopment funds were then transferred on the advice of Clarksdale's City attorney, Hunter Twiford, to Coahoma County, in order to establish a tourism locale termed "Blues Alley", after a phrase coined by then Mayor, Henry Espy. The popularity of the Delta Blues Museum and the growth of the Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival and Juke Joint Festivals have provided an economic boost to the city.

Geography
Clarksdale is located on the banks of the Sunflower River in the Mississippi Delta.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.9 sqmi, of which 13.8 sqmi is land and 0.07% is water.

U.S. Routes 49, 61, and 278 pass through Clarksdale.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,645 people, 7,233 households, and 5,070 families living in the city. The population density was 1,491.8 PD/sqmi. There were 7,757 housing units at an average density of 560.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 68.52% African American, 29.95% White, 0.58% Asian, 0.11% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.

There were 7,233 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.7% were married couples living together, 30.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 32.9% under the age of 18, 14.6% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was US$20,188, and the median income for a family was US$22,592. Males had a median income of US$23,881 versus US$18,918 for females. The per capita income for the city was US$11,611. About 32.7% of families and 39.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.1% of those under age 18 and 31.4% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 17,962 people living in the city. 79.0% were African American, 19.5% White, 0.6% Asian, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% of some other race, and 0.5% from two or more races. 0.9% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 14,903 people, 5,847 households, and 3,808 families residing in the city.

Delta Blues Museum
In late 1979, Carnegie Public Library Director Sid Graves began a nascent display series which later became the nucleus of the Delta Blues Museum. Graves single-handedly nurtured the beginnings of the museum in the face of an indifferent community and an often recalcitrant Library Board, at times resorting to storing displays in the trunk of his car when denied space in the library. When the fledgling museum was accidentally discovered by Billy Gibbons of the rock band ZZ Top through contact with Howard Stovall Jr., the Delta Blues Museum became the subject of national attention as a pet project of the band, and the Museum began to enjoy national recognition.

In 1995, the museum, at that time Clarksdale's only attraction, grew to include a large section of the newly renovated library building, but remained under the tight control of the Carnegie Library Board, who subsequently fired Sid Graves, at the time seriously ill. Graves died in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in January 2005. In an interim move from the renovated Library building, the Museum spent most of 1996 in a converted retail storefront on Delta Avenue under the direction of a politically connected Wisconsin native, the late Ron Gorsegner. In 1997–1998, Coahoma County finally provided funds to form a separate Museum Board of Directors composed mainly of socially prominent, local white blues fans; and to renovate the adjoining Illinois Central Railroad freight depot, providing a permanent home for the Delta Blues Museum.

Mississippi Blues Trail markers
Several Mississippi Blues Trail markers are located in Clarksdale. One is located on Stovall Road at a cabin believed to have been lived in by McKinley Morganfield, also known as Muddy Waters. Morganfield supposedly lived there from 1915 until 1943, while he worked on the large Stovall cotton plantation, before moving to Chicago after mistreatment at the hands of a Stovall overseer.

Another Blues Trail marker is located at the Riverside Hotel, which provided lodging to blues entertainers passing through the delta. In 2009, a marker devoted to Clarksdale native Sam Cooke was unveiled in front of the New Roxy Theater.

Clarksdale Walk of Fame
Established in 2008, the Clarksdale Walk of Fame are plaques located in downtown which honor notable people from Clarksdale. Honorees include John Lee Hooker, Ike Turner, Muddy Waters, and Sam Cooke.

Community colleges
Coahoma Community College, a historically black college, is located in unincorporated Coahoma County, north of Clarksdale.

Public schools
The city of Clarksdale is served by the Clarksdale Municipal School District. The district has nine schools, including Clarksdale High School, with a total enrollment of 3,600 students. During the 1960s, the Clarksdale gained notoriety for being the first school district in the state of Mississippi to achieve SACS accreditation for both black and white schools, beginning the desegregation process in its schools.

Coahoma Early College High School, a non-district public high school in unincorporated Coahoma County, is located on the campus of Coahoma Community College, approximately 4.5 mi north of Clarksdale.

Coahoma County Junior-Senior High School of the Coahoma County School District is in the city limits of Clarksdale, but does not serve the city.

Private schools
The city is home to three private schools
 * Lee Academy
 * Presbyterian Day School
 * St. Elizabeth's Elementary School

Charter school

 * Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School opened in the fall of 2018 serving kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students. It plans to serve grades K–8. According to its web site, 3rd grade is being added in 2019, and it will begin serving 7th graders in 2023.

Newspapers

 * Clarksdale Press Register

Radio stations

 * WAID (FM)
 * WROX (AM)
 * WCQC FM
 * WXXO – XRDS.fm

Born in Clarksdale

 * Robert E. Bacharach – Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals.
 * Johney Brooks – educator, Peace Corps official
 * Lerone Bennett Jr. – scholar, author and social historian.
 * Marco McMillian – slain mayoral candidate.
 * Charles L. Sullivan – politician, attorney and military pilot.
 * Larry A. Thompson – Hollywood film producer, talent manager, lawyer, and author.
 * Wright Thompson – senior writer for ESPN.
 * W. Harry Vaughan – founded Georgia Tech Research Institute.
 * Baseball players: Matt Duff, Cleo James, Fred Valentine.
 * Football players: Ed Beatty, James Carson, Charlie Conerly, Eddie Cole, Harper Davis, Art Davis, Billy Howard, Terrence Metcalf, John Outlaw, Bobby Franklin, Mario Haggan, Darryl Harris, LaMarcus Hicks, Willie Richardson, Destry Wright, Trumaine McBride, Charles Mitchell, Roy Curry, Elgton Jenkins, J. T. Gray.
 * Basketball players: Earl Barron, Earnie Killum.
 * Boxers: Eddie Perkins, Alfonso Ratliff.
 * Musicians: Eddie Boyd, Jackie Brenston, Eddie "Bongo" Brown, Willie Brown, Eddie Calhoun, Sam Cooke, Nate Dogg, Marshall Drew, Blac Elvis, Earl Hooker, John Lee Hooker, Son House, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Johnny B. Moore, Junior Parker, Mack Rice, Rick Ross, Brother John Sellers, Ike Turner, Robert "Bilbo" Walker Jr.
 * Earl D. Shaw – American physicist and professor, known for his work in laser science and developing laser technology

Lived or worked in Clarksdale

 * Robert Brien - professional tennis player.
 * Marshall Bouldin III – portrait artist.
 * Earl L. Brewer – 38th Governor of Mississippi; buried at Oakridge Cemetery in Clarksdale.
 * Gus Cannon – musician.
 * Jack Cristil – radio announcer.
 * William Stamps Farish II – president of Standard Oil, practiced law in Clarksdale.
 * Morgan Freeman – Academy Award-winning actor, lived and owned a business in Clarksdale.
 * Larry M. Goodpaster – United Methodist Church Bishop; former Clarksdale pastor.
 * W. C. Handy – musician; lived in Clarksdale for six years.
 * Aaron Henry – pharmacist, civil rights leader, and politician; born just outside Clarksdale.
 * Robert Johnson – influential Delta musician; resident during the 1930s. Posthumous member of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1986)
 * Trumaine McBride – football player.
 * Charles Mitchell – football player.
 * Anthony Steen – football player; graduated from Lee Academy
 * Willie Morganfield - gospel musician.
 * Jack Robinson – photographer, lived in Clarksdale as a child.
 * Frank Stokes – musician.
 * Wade Walton – musician and barber.
 * Muddy Waters – musician, moved to Clarksdale as a child.
 * Tennessee Williams – playwright, moved to Clarksdale as a child.
 * Seelig Wise – first Republican to serve in the Mississippi State Senate since Reconstruction; cotton and soybean farmer in Coahoma County
 * Early Wright – radio personality on WROX (AM) 1945–1998.

In popular culture
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant named their 1998 album Walking Into Clarksdale as a tribute to the significance that Clarksdale made in the history of the Delta Blues.

title: Clarksdale, Mississippi


text:
Coahoma, Mississippi

Coahoma is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 229.

History
Coahoma was founded in the 1880s, and named for its location within Coahoma County.

Coahoma was a stop on the Mississippi Delta Railroad, completed in 1884.

Geography
Coahoma is north of Friar Point Road, 2 mi west of U.S. Route 61 and 6 mi east of the town of Friars Point on the Mississippi River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Coahoma has a total area of 0.5 km2, all land.

2010 Census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 377 people living in the town. 99.2% were African American and 0.8% White.

As of the census of 2000, there were 325 people, 110 households, and 74 families living in the town. The population density was 3,663.5 PD/sqmi. There were 123 housing units at an average density of 1,386.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 98.2% African American, 1.5% White and 0.3% from two or more races.

There were 110 households, out of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 14.5% were married couples living together, 45.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.65.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 41.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 10.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $11,882, and the median income for a family was $12,327. Males had a median income of $17,625 versus $13,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $4,840. About 55.6% of families and 55.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 63.9% of those under age 18 and 73.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education
The town is served by the Coahoma County School District. Residents are served by Coahoma County Junior-Senior High School.

Notable people

 * Charles Hardy Carr, U.S. federal judge
 * James Carr, musician
 * Charles C. Cordill, Louisiana state senator from Tensas Parish from 1884 to 1916
 * Frank Montgomery Hull (1901-1982), Entomologist
 * Herb McMath, professional football player

title: Coahoma, Mississippi


text:
Friars Point, Mississippi

Friars Point is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 896. Situated on the Mississippi River, Friars Point was once a busy port town, and remains the only place in Coahoma County with public access to the river's shore.

History

Friars Point is one of two hypothesized locations where Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto may have crossed the Mississippi River (the other is Commerce, Mississippi).

The town was founded in 1836 and originally called "Farrar's Point". When the town incorporated in 1852, its name was changed to "Friar's Point" to honor Robert Friar, an early settler, legislator, and businessman who sold fuel to passing steamboats. In 1850, the county seat was moved from the nearby town of Delta to Friars Point.

Strategically situated at a bend in the Mississippi River, Friars Point flourished before the Civil War as the largest shipping center for cotton south of Memphis.

During the Civil War, Union troops occupied and burned portions of the town. The Robinson-Slack-Marinelli House (now the Minie Ball House), which still stands and bears the mark of shelling from gunboats, was used as a headquarters by Union General Napoleon Bonaparte Buford. General William Tecumseh Sherman and Admiral David Dixon Porter used Friars Point as a rendezvous for 45 transport ships in December 1862, prior to attacking Vicksburg. Friars Point was also home to Confederate Brigadier General James L. Alcorn, whose grave and former plantation, Eagles Nest, are located a short distance east of the town. Alcorn turned from Whig to Republican after the war, and went on to become governor with the support of the large number of “carpetbaggers” who had settled in Friars Point.

In 1875 towards the end of Reconstruction, violence from the Democrats (Mississippi Plan) included James L. Alcorn leading a whites against black Republicans at Friar's Point. The battle led to a number of people being killed, and served to suppress the black vote, allowing conservative Democrats to regain political power.

The famous gunman and train robber Jesse James came to Friars Point one evening during the 1880s. He visited with the Methodist minister, then played poker and had some drinks at the local saloon. The next morning he was gone.

The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad was completed to Friars Point in 1887.

In 1888, the county jail at Friars Point was completely destroyed by fire, killing five prisoners.

Charles Lindbergh ran out of gas while flying his plane over Friars Point in 1924, and landed at a place he later called "The Haunted House".

As nearby Clarksdale grew in population and influence, it challenged Friars Point's hold on the county government. In 1892, Coahoma County was divided into two jurisdictions, one going to Friars Point and the other to Clarksdale. In 1930, the county seat was given exclusively to Clarksdale. Historian Lawrence J. Nelson wrote that by that point, "Friars Point had receded into a sleepy river community."

In the 1930s there was ferry service between Friars Point and Helena, Arkansas. The cost was one dollar for a car and driver and 25 cents per passenger.

On April 26, 2011, a tornado—part of the 2011 Super Outbreak—hit Friars Point. The tornado was rated EF0, with estimated wind speeds of 75 mph.

Time magazine wrote in 2013: "Once a thriving port town and the county seat, economic decline has left Friars Point with a lone elementary school, a few churches, a city hall, a post office, a small general store, a museum that opens only sporadically, a nightclub called Show T Boat where a man was shot to death in 2011, and a bank. The town no longer has a doctor or health clinic, a drug store, a sit-down restaurant, a recreational center, a library, or any businesses to speak of. Kids travel 15 miles to Clarksdale for junior and senior high school."

Delta blues
Muddy Waters said the only time he saw Robert Johnson play was on the front porch of Hirsberg's Drugstore in Friars Point. A crowd had gathered around Johnson, who was playing ferociously. "I stopped and peeked over," he said, "and then I left because he was a dangerous man." In a 1937 recording, Johnson sang, "Just come on back to Friars Point, mama, and barrelhouse all night long." In Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues" he sang, "I got womens in Vicksburg, clean on into Tennessee, but my Friar's Point rider, now, hops all over me."

The Mississippi Blues Commission placed a Blues Trail marker in Friars Point in recognition of musician Robert Nighthawk, who at various times called Friars Point home. In 1940, Nighthawk recorded "Friars Point Blues", singing of "going back to Friars Point, down in sweet old Dixie Land." When dedicating the marker, Governor Haley Barbour proclaimed:"This talented Mississippian made a huge contribution to development of that unique genre of music, the Mississippi blues. I am pleased Nighthawk's imprint on the blues scene, which is still heard through the tunes of modern-day blues artists, will be recognized with his inclusion on the Mississippi Blues Trail."

"Friar's Point" is a song on blues musician Susan Tedeschi's 1998 album Just Won't Burn.

Geography
Friars Point is located in northern Coahoma County, close to the Mississippi River, though the river's channel has moved north over time, away from the town. The town is 9 mi west of highways 49 and 61, and 13 mi north of Clarksdale, the county seat. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.9 km2, of which 0.06 km2, or 2.10%, is water.

2000 Census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,480 people, 476 households, and 348 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,324.0 PD/sqmi. There were 508 housing units at an average density of 454.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 93.85% African American, 5.95% White, 0.07% Pacific Islander, and 0.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.28% of the population.

There were 476 households, out of which 42.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.3% were married couples living together, 39.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 3.68.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 38.7% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 15.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $17,750, and the median income for a family was $19,500. Males had a median income of $22,386 versus $16,898 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,769. About 38.1% of families and 44.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 53.4% of those under age 18 and 27.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education
The town of Friars Point is served by the Coahoma County School District. Residents are served by Friars Point Elementary School and Coahoma County Junior-Senior High School.

In popular culture
Friars Point has been written about by both William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams. At various times, both writers vacationed at Uncle Henry's Inn on nearby Moon Lake.

Notable people

 * Lewis E. Sawyer, practiced law in Friars Point and became mayor; he was also a congressman from Arkansas.
 * Conway Twitty, country music singer who once held the record for having the most number-one-hit singles

title: Friars Point, Mississippi


text:
Beauregard, Mississippi

Beauregard is a village in Copiah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 326 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. Beauregard is named for P. G. T. Beauregard.

Geography
Beauregard is located in southern Copiah County at 31.72167°N, -90.38806°W (31.721549, -90.388096). It is bordered to the south by the town of Wesson. U.S. Route 51 passes along the western edge of the village, leading north 10 mi to Hazlehurst, the county seat, and south 10 mi to Brookhaven. Exit 51 on Interstate 55 is 4 mi west of the village center on Sylvarena Road.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.4 km2, of which 0.02 km2, or 0.82%, is water.

2020 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 265 people, 91 households, and 68 families residing in the village. The population density was 290.5 PD/sqmi. There were 94 housing units at an average density of 103.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 46.42% White and 53.58% African American.

There were 91 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 17.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.2% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.46.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 31.3% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $25,750, and the median income for a family was $34,063. Males had a median income of $32,344 versus $14,063 for females. The per capita income for the village was $11,671. About 15.5% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under the age of eighteen and 7.4% of those 65 or over.

Education
Beauregard is served by the Copiah County School District.

Notable person

 * Ike Zimmerman, blues guitarist, who is now known to have been musician Robert Johnson's main guitar teacher

title: Beauregard, Mississippi


text:
Crystal Springs, Mississippi

Crystal Springs is a city in Copiah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,044 as of the 2010 census, down from 5,873 in 2000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
U.S. Route 51 runs through the northwest part of Crystal Springs, intersecting Interstate 55 at the latter's Exit 72. I-55 leads north 24 mi to Jackson, the state capital, and 29 mi south to Brookhaven.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.2 km2, of which 14.1 km2 is land and 0.1 km2, or 0.96%, is water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,862 people, 1,418 households, and 982 families residing in the city.

Education
Crystal Springs is served by the Copiah County School District. Copiah Academy is a local private school in the area. Copiah-Lincoln Community College is located in Wesson. Crystal Springs was the first school in Mississippi to allow black students to attend.

The Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library operates a branch in Crystal Springs.

Controversies
On February 2, 1922, Will Thrasher was Lynched, the first lynching in Copiah county in twenty years.

Civil rights-era violence related to passage of civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965 led the armed Deacons for Defense and Justice to established centers in both Crystal Springs and nearby Hazlehurst in 1966 and 1967. They acted to provide physical protection for African-American protesters who were working with the NAACP on a commercial boycott of white merchants to force integration of stores and employment, to gain jobs for African Americans at places where they were patrons. Eventually the protesters won the removal of discriminatory practices at stores and African Americans gained some jobs in these local businesses.

In 2012, the First Baptist Church denied a black couple permission to be married there after objections from church members. The pastor performed the wedding at a different church.

Notable people

 * Hulette F. Aby, former attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma
 * Dexter Allen, blues guitarist
 * Greg Osgood, multi-genre keyboardist, singer and songwriter
 * Bruce M. Bailey, author and humorist
 * Joseph W. Bailey, U.S. senator from Texas
 * Percy Bland, mayor of Meridian, Mississippi
 * Tom Funchess, former professional football offensive tackle
 * Larry Grantham, American Football League linebacker and member of the *New York Jets (Super Bowl III champions)
 * White Graves, former professional football defensive back
 * Pat Harrison, a Democratic member of the *U.S. Congress in the 1920s and 1930s
 * Anita C. Hill, Lutheran minister
 * Tommy Johnson, Delta blues musician
 * George Kinard, former professional football guard
 * Phil Redding, former Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals
 * Hunter Renfroe, professional baseball player
 * Alton D. Slay, four-star general in the United States Air Force
 * Malcolm Taylor, former professional football defensive end

title: Crystal Springs, Mississippi


text:
Georgetown, Mississippi

Georgetown is a town in Copiah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 286 at the 2010 census. With its eastern border formed by the Pearl River, it is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Two sites near Georgetown are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Highway 28 bridge over the Pearl River, about a mile east of Georgetown, and the Alford-Little House, off Highway 27 south of town.

Geography
Georgetown is located in eastern Copiah County at 31.87111°N, -90.16417°W. Mississippi Highway 28 leads west 14 mi to Hazlehurst, the county seat, and east 29 mi to Magee. Mississippi Highway 27 crosses Highway 28 on the northern edge of town and leads northwest 15 mi to Crystal Springs and south 23 mi to Monticello.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Georgetown has a total area of 1.8 km2, of which 0.02 km2, or 1.23%, is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 344 people, 135 households, and 88 families residing in the town. The population density was 513.2 PD/sqmi. There were 152 housing units at an average density of 226.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 68.02% White, 29.94% African American, 0.87% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.74% of the population.

There were 135 households, out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 19.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,781, and the median income for a family was $31,000. Males had a median income of $28,958 versus $20,313 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,919. About 19.3% of families and 22.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.0% of those under age 18 and 31.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Georgetown is served by the Copiah County School District.

The Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library operates a branch in Georgetown.

Notable people

 * Dick Bass, former American football running back who played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1960 to 1969
 * David Catchings Dickson, former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and fourth Lieutenant Governor of Texas
 * Troy H. Middleton, U.S. Army Lieutenant general and former president of Louisiana State University

title: Georgetown, Mississippi


text:
Hazlehurst, Mississippi

Hazlehurst is a city in and the county seat of Copiah County, Mississippi, United States, located about 30 mi south of the state capital Jackson along Interstate 55. The population was 4,009 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its economy is based on agriculture, particularly tomatoes and cabbage.

History
The first settlement here by European Americans became known as the town of Gallatin; two lawyers and brothers-in-law named Walters and Saunders came from Gallatin, Tennessee, in 1819 and named the village after their hometown. They built their homes on the banks of the Bayou Pierre, in the western part of Copiah County. Other settlers came with them, and in 1829 the state legislature incorporated the town. The first decades of agriculture The incorporation charter was repealed on January 18, 1862.

The construction of the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad began on November 3, 1865, stimulating development of Hazlehurst at the railway stop. It was named for Col. George H. Hazlehurst, an engineer for the new railroad. A city in Georgia is also named for him.

As Hazlehurst grew, Gallatin declined into a settlement at a crossroads. In April 1872, the legislature ordered the county board of supervisors to hold an election to decide whether the county seat should be moved from Gallatin to Hazlehurst. After a majority voted for the change, Gallatin's old brick courthouse was torn down and reassembled in Hazlehurst

This city had civil rights activity during the mid-1960s. Because of violence against black people in this area, Mississippi, the armed Deacons for Defense and Justice established centers here and in nearby Crystal Springs in 1966 and 1967. They provided physical protection for protesters working with the NAACP on a commercial boycott of white merchants to force integration of facilities and employment, and to gain jobs for African Americans following passage of civil rights legislation in 1964.

On January 23, 1969, an F4 tornado devastated the south side of Hazlehurst, killing 11 people in town and damaging or destroying 175 homes.

Geography
Hazlehurst is located slightly east of the center of Copiah County. U.S. Route 51 passes through the center of the city, leading north 9 mi to Crystal Springs and south 20 mi to Brookhaven. Interstate 55 runs west of and generally parallel to US 51, with access to Hazlehurst from exits 59 and 61. Mississippi Highway 28 crosses US 51 and I-55 in the northern part of town, leading east 14 mi to Georgetown and west 46 mi to Fayette.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Hazlehurst has a total area of 11.5 km2, of which 11.3 km2 is land and 0.1 km2, or 1.02%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,619 people, 1,108 households, and 743 families residing in the city.

Education
The city is served by the Hazlehurst City School District. The Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library main offices are in Hazlehurst, as well as the main office of Copiah County School District.

Rail transportation
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Hazlehurst. Amtrak Train 59, the southbound City of New Orleans, is scheduled to depart Hazlehurst at 11:55 am daily with service to Brookhaven, McComb, Hammond, and New Orleans. Amtrak Train 58, the northbound City of New Orleans, is scheduled to depart Hazlehurst at 4:17 pm daily with service to Jackson, Yazoo City, Greenwood, Memphis, Newbern-Dyersburg, Fulton, Carbondale, Centralia, Effingham, Mattoon, Champaign-Urbana, Kankakee, Homewood, and Chicago.

Notable people

 * Joe Bailey (1863-1929), an attorney and US Senator from Texas, lived and worked in Hazlehurst before moving.
 * Houston Boines, blues singer and harmonica player
 * Alvin Chester Cockrell Jr.; awarded a Navy Cross in World War II
 * Max Dale Cooper, immunologist and Professor of Pathology at Emory University known for identifying T cells and B cells
 * Clifford Davis, U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1940 to 1965
 * Mablean Ephriam, adjudicator of the courtroom series Divorce Court for seven seasons from the 1999–2006 season
 * John Epperson, actor and singer best known for his performance as Lypsinka; born in Hazlehurst
 * Robert Evans, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
 * Ron Franklin, sportscaster
 * Ben Garry, NFL player
 * Beth Henley, playwright, was born in Jackson but spent much of her childhood here, as it was where her father grew up. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Crimes of the Heart, is set in Hazlehurst.
 * William Hester, tennis player and official. Former president of the United States Tennis Association.
 * Roy Hilton, former professional football defensive end
 * Gregory Holloway Sr., member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
 * Ruth Atkinson Holmes, painter and philanthropist
 * Robert Johnson, the Delta blues musician, was born in Hazlehurst. A monument to him was installed between the Copiah County courthouse and the Trustmark Bank. Johnson's birth home is located near the courthouse; the City of Hazlehurst is in litigation to determine its future.
 * Rory Lee, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Hazlehurst from 1976 to 1994; president of two Southern Baptist colleges
 * Print Matthews, former sheriff of Copiah County
 * Benjamin Morgan Palmer, 19th-century Presbyterian minister, made Hazlehurst his family's home in the summer of 1862 as he served as chaplain with the Washington Artillery of New Orleans.
 * Lawrence Pillers, former professional football defensive end
 * Mary Tillman Smith, outsider artist
 * Truett Smith, former professional football blocking back
 * Lewis Tillman, professional football player
 * Walter Washington, former president of Alcorn State University and Alpha Phi Alpha
 * H. Lynn Womack, publisher

title: Hazlehurst, Mississippi