Yazoo County, Mississippi

Yazoo County is a located in the  region of the  of. As of 2000, the population was 28,149. The is. It is named for the, whose name, legend has it, comes from an Indian word meaning "River of Death". Farming and lumber are the predominant industries of Yazoo County.

Yazoo County is the only county in the Yazoo City, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,419 (934 ). 2,381 km² (919 sq mi) of it is land and 38 km² (15 sq mi) of it (1.57%) is water.

The total land area of 934 square miles makes Yazoo County the largest county in Mississippi. In fact, the State of is only 298 square miles larger.

Major Highways

 * [[Image:I-55.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 49.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Circle sign 3.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Circle sign 16.svg|20px]]

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

History
The area which is now Yazoo County was acquired by the State of Mississippi from the Indians in. Yazoo County was established on,. It was the 19th county established in the State of Mississippi, and remains the largest in area. The first county seat was at. In the county seat was moved to. In the county seat was moved once again, to  where it remains.

Yazoo County was a battlefield in and  during the.

The famous disaster which killed engineer  took place in Yazoo County, just north of, in.

The did much damage in Yazoo County.

Comedian Jerry Clower was a native of Liberty, Mississippi, who immortalized the fictitious Ledbetter Amite County family (based on his memories of real people) with his comedy sketches. His humor was always gentle, upbeat, and deeply based on his faith. Jerry attended, and was employed by the Mississippi Chemical Company of Yazoo City. He died shortly after building a new home in his native Amite County. See: http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/clower_jerry/

Demographics


As of the of 2000, there were 28,149 people, 9,178 households, and 6,644 families residing in the county. The was 12/km² (31/sq mi). There were 10,015 housing units at an average density of 4/km² (11/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 44.74%, 53.96% or , 0.20% , 0.36% , 0.22% from , and 0.52% from two or more races. 4.38% of the population were or  of any race.

35.60% of the 9,178 households have children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.20% were living together, 23.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.50% under the age of 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 20.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 103.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $24,795, and the median income for a family was $29,395. Males had a median income of $28,553 versus $19,797 for females. The for the county was $12,062. About 25.40% of families and 31.90% of the population were below the, including 42.90% of those under age 18 and 22.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

 * Cities


 * Towns


 * Villages


 * Unincorporated places

Education

 * Public School Districts


 * Private Schools
 * (Bentonia)
 * (Yazoo City)

Famous Residents of Yazoo County

 * , Governor of Mississippi
 * , athlete
 * , comedian
 * , former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
 * , motion picture producer
 * , actress
 * , entrepreneur
 * , blues musician
 * , blues musician
 * , writer
 * , actress
 * , nationally acclaimed folk artist
 * , writer and motivational speaker