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Chickasaw County, Mississippi
Chickasaw County Courthouse
East façade of Chickasaw County Court House
Map of Mississippi highlighting Chickasaw County
Location in the state of Mississippi
Map of the U.S
Mississippi's location in the U.S.
Founded 1836
Named for Chickasaw people
Seat Houston and Okolona
Largest city Houston
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

504 sq mi (1,305 km²)
502 sq mi (1,300 km²)
2.5 sq mi (6 km²), 0.5
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

17,106
Congressional district 1st
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.chickasawcoms.com

Chickasaw County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,106.[1] Its county seats are Houston and Okolona.[2] The county is named for the Chickasaw people, who lived in this area for hundreds of years. Most were forcibly removed to Indian Territory in the 1830s, but some remained and became citizens of the state and the United States.

Early in the 20th century, the first agricultural high school in Mississippi opened in the unincorporated community of Buena Vista. Cully Cobb, a pioneer of southern agriculture, long-term farm publisher, and an official of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration in Washington, D.C., was the superintendent of the school from 1908 to 1910.[3]

History[]

The Mississippi state legislature created Chickasaw County in 1836, following the cession of the land by the Chickasaw Indians. It was quickly settled by Americans from the east, mainly from the Southern states. By the time of the Civil War, riverfront landings had been developed by the many large cotton plantations worked by slaves, who outnumbered the white residents of the county.[4]

Civil War[]

The American Civil War devastated the local economy, completely destroying the plantation-based infrastructure of Chickasaw County. The newly freed slaves had to adapt to the new labor system, in which the white landowners still retained partial control over their lives through the practice of sharecropping. The economy declined again in the late 19th century, when falling cotton prices reduced both black and white residents to poverty. Farmers eventually began diversifying their crops, and the economy slowly began to improve.[4]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 504 square miles (1,310 km2), of which 502 square miles (1,300 km2) is land and 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2) (0.5%) is water.[5]

Major highways[]

  • US 45 U.S. Route 45 Alternate (Mississippi)
  • Circle sign 8 Mississippi Highway 8
  • Circle sign 15 Mississippi Highway 15
  • Circle sign 32 Mississippi Highway 32
  • Circle sign 41 Mississippi Highway 41
  • Circle sign 47 Mississippi Highway 47
  • Natchez Trace Parkway

Adjacent counties[]

National protected areas[]

  • Natchez Trace Parkway (part)
  • Tombigbee National Forest (part)

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1840 2,955
1850 16,369 453.9%
1860 16,426 0.3%
1870 19,899 21.1%
1880 17,905 −10.0%
1890 19,891 11.1%
1900 19,892 0%
1910 22,846 14.9%
1920 22,212 −2.8%
1930 20,835 −6.2%
1940 21,427 2.8%
1950 18,951 −11.6%
1960 16,891 −10.9%
1970 16,805 −0.5%
1980 17,853 6.2%
1990 18,085 1.3%
2000 19,440 7.5%
2010 17,392 −10.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2020[1]

2020 census[]

Chickasaw County Racial Composition[10]
Race Num. Perc.
White 8,584 50.18%
Black or African American 7,407 43.3%
Native American 13 0.08%
Asian 41 0.24%
Pacific Islander 4 0.04%
Other/Mixed 419 2.45%
Hispanic or Latino 642 3.75%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 17,106 people, 6,476 households, and 4,278 families residing in the county.

2010 census[]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 17,392 people living in the county. 54.0% were White, 42.1% Black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 2.5% of some other race and 1.0% of two or more races. 3.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 census[]

As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 19,440 people, 7,253 households, and 5,287 families living in the county. The population density was 39 people per square mile (15/km2). There were 7,981 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 56.89% White, 41.26% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.99% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. 2.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

According to the census[11] of 2000, the largest ancestry groups in Chickasaw County were English 44.1%, African 41% and Scots-Irish 13.5%.

There were 7,253 households, out of which 36.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.80% were married couples living together, 18.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.10% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.60% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,364, and the median income for a family was $33,819. Males had a median income of $25,459 versus $20,099 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,279. About 16.80% of families and 20.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.90% of those under age 18 and 22.40% of those age 65 or over.


Communities[]

Cities[]

  • Okolona (county seat)
  • Houston (county seat)

Towns[]

  • New Houlka

Villages[]

  • Woodland

Census-designated place[]

  • Van Vleet

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Atlanta
  • Buena Vista
  • Egypt
  • McCondy
  • Pyland
  • Shake Rag
  • Sparta
  • Thorn
  • Trebloc

Notable people[]

  • Singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry, a Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee, was born in Chickasaw County in 1942.
  • Bukka White, early blues performer
  • William Raspberry, journalist
  • Milan Williams, founding member of The Commodores
  • Jim Hood, Former Mississippi Attorney General
  • Jeff Busby, Congressman who spearheaded the Natchez Trace Parkway
  • Shaquille Vance, 2012 U.S. Paralympic National Championship, gold medal (100m), silver medal (200m)
  • Ida Mae Brandon Gladney, central character in the Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson[12]

In popular culture[]

Titus Andromedon, aka Ronald Ephen Wilkerson, a fictional character from the comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, was from Chickasaw County.[13]

Candieland, the plantation of the fictional Calvin Candie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained, is located in Chickasaw County.[14]

Politics[]

Chickasaw County is a swing county. No presidential candidate has won more than 55% of the county's vote since George H.W. Bush in 1988, and it has voted Republican and Democratic an equal number of times since 1976.

United States presidential election results for Chickasaw County, Mississippi[15]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 4,175 51.28% 3,810 46.80% 156 1.92%
2016 4,127 52.31% 3,649 46.25% 114 1.44%
2012 3,994 46.97% 4,378 51.49% 131 1.54%
2008 4,395 48.52% 4,588 50.65% 75 0.83%
2004 4,193 50.22% 4,078 48.84% 79 0.95%
2000 3,549 49.46% 3,519 49.05% 107 1.49%
1996 2,535 42.75% 2,971 50.10% 424 7.15%
1992 3,150 44.96% 3,220 45.95% 637 9.09%
1988 3,390 55.35% 2,713 44.29% 22 0.36%
1984 3,605 60.52% 2,329 39.10% 23 0.39%
1980 2,540 40.13% 3,622 57.23% 167 2.64%
1976 2,581 45.10% 2,891 50.52% 251 4.39%
1972 3,753 84.66% 579 13.06% 101 2.28%
1968 381 7.38% 720 13.95% 4,062 78.68%
1964 3,138 91.83% 279 8.17% 0 0.00%
1960 385 15.17% 791 31.17% 1,362 53.66%
1956 231 11.24% 1,650 80.25% 175 8.51%
1952 685 27.51% 1,805 72.49% 0 0.00%
1948 12 0.61% 115 5.89% 1,827 93.50%
1944 180 8.51% 1,935 91.49% 0 0.00%
1940 58 3.18% 1,764 96.76% 1 0.05%
1936 18 1.14% 1,559 98.80% 1 0.06%
1932 16 1.08% 1,455 98.64% 4 0.27%
1928 171 10.26% 1,495 89.74% 0 0.00%
1924 86 6.07% 1,301 91.88% 29 2.05%
1920 194 16.67% 944 81.10% 26 2.23%
1916 47 3.61% 1,215 93.32% 40 3.07%
1912 19 2.00% 856 90.30% 73 7.70%



See also[]

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Chickasaw County, Mississippi

References[]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28/28017.html. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ "The Founders of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology". Mississippi State University. https://www.cobb.msstate.edu/about-us/the-founders-of-the-cobb-institute-of-archaeology/. 
  4. ^ a b "Chickasaw County History". msgw.org. http://msgw.org/chickasaw/chickasawcohistory.html. 
  5. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_28.txt. 
  6. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  8. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ms190090.txt. 
  9. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  10. ^ "Explore Census Data". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US28017&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2. 
  11. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  12. ^ "The Great Migration: Journey That Reshaped America". 2 October 2010. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130291351. 
  13. ^ "Tituss Burgess Airs His Launcry". http://www.wnyc.org/story/tituss-burgess-death-sex-money/. 
  14. ^ Kaster, Gregory L. (January 2, 2013). "The Law of Slavery Lies at the Heart of the Movies "Lincoln" and "Django Unchained"". http://origins.osu.edu/history-news/law-slavery-lies-heart-movies-lincoln-and-django-unchained. 
  15. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 

Coordinates: 33°55′N 88°57′W / 33.92, -88.95

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Chickasaw County, Mississippi. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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