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Clarke County, Mississippi
Clarke County Mississippi Courthouse
Clarke County courthouse and Confederate monument in Quitman
Map of Mississippi highlighting Clarke County
Location in the state of Mississippi
Map of the U.S
Mississippi's location in the U.S.
Founded December 23, 1833[1]
Seat Quitman
Largest city Quitman
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

694 sq mi (1,797 km²)
692 sq mi (1,792 km²)
2.0 sq mi (5 km²), 0.3
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

15,615
Congressional districts 3rd, 4th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5

Clarke County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,615.[2] Its county seat is Quitman.[3] Clarke County is named for Joshua G. Clarke,[4] the first Mississippi state chancellor and judge.

The county is part of the Meridian, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History[]

Before white men first arrived, the Choctaw Indians inhabited the land that would later be known as the Clarke County, Mississippi. Clarke County is only a portion of what was known as Okla Hannali or Six Town District of the Choctaws. Okla Hannali or Six Towns District existed at the time of the Dancing Rabbit Treaty in 1830.[5]

David Gage, who came to the area in about 1820, was a Presbyterian minister. Traveling with him was Moses Jewel and Miss Skinner, who were both teachers. He settled at a place called Eewennans in the Choctaw Nation. David Gage, Moses Jewel, and Miss Skinner came to the territory for the purpose of educating the Indians some domestic habits.[6]

At the beginning of 1832, settlers began to appear in what was known as the “New Purchase”. One of the first families to arrive was Jehu and Sarah Pagaus Evans, who arrived in February 1832, and settled east of Buckatunna Swamp. By the fall of 1832, the “New Purchase” began to fill up quickly with arrivals. Among the early settlers were George Evans, Richard Wagster, Henry Hailes, Alex Hailes, Michael McCarty, James Bankston, Calvin M. Ludlow, John Williford, William Williford, James Risher, J. A. Fontain, John Gunn, Robert Fleming, John Fleming, Hiram Fleming, Norman Martin, Stephen Grice, Thomas F. Hicks, Alex McLendon, Roland B. Crosby, Cameron Grayson, Jesse C. Mott, David Neely, David B. Thompson, Dabney Edwards, Jacob Slack, John Johnston, Alex Trotter, Richard N. Hough, Robert McLaughlin, L. D. Phillips, Samuel Lee, Jesse Sumrall, Jeremiah Crane, Howell Sumrall, William Goleman, Thomas Goleman, Samuel K. Lewis and Thomas Watts.[7]

The county was founded in 1833. Quitman, named for General John A. Quitman.[4][7]

After the organization of Clarke County, the first school was built close to the old Tennessee Trace. Mr. Hennessy was the teacher and he came from Kinsale, Ireland. Religious services were held in the pioneer families’ home and on days of good weather, outside. The first actual church built was Cedar Creek Church, a Methodist church, and Elim Baptist Church followed in the 1840s.

In the Spring of 1834, Joel Nail, a quadroon Indian, began moving the Choctaw Indians to Muskalresha, an old town in Neshoba County, Mississippi. These journeys continued through 1838 for all that would go. Some of the Choctaw Indians returned to their homes in Clarke County after arriving at Muskalresha.[6]

In the 1830s there were no postal routes in Clarke County. However, there was a stagecoach line from Columbus, Mississippi to Winchester, Wayne County, Mississippi. The settlers of Clarke County would have to travel to Winchester, 25 miles away to receive their mail.[6]

Ten black people were lynched in Clarke County, as documented in The Hanging Bridge by Jason Morgan Ward.[8]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 694 square miles (1,800 km2), of which 692 square miles (1,790 km2) is land and 2.0 square miles (5.2 km2) (0.3%) is water.[9] The Chickasawhay River flows north to south through the eastern portion of the county; it eventually meets the Pascagoula River.

Major highways[]

  • I-59 Interstate 59
  • US 11 U.S. Highway 11
  • US 45 U.S. Highway 45
  • Circle sign 18 Mississippi Highway 18

Adjacent counties[]

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1840 2,986
1850 5,477 83.4%
1860 10,771 96.7%
1870 7,505 −30.3%
1880 15,021 100.1%
1890 15,826 5.4%
1900 17,741 12.1%
1910 21,630 21.9%
1920 17,927 −17.1%
1930 19,679 9.8%
1940 20,596 4.7%
1950 19,362 −6.0%
1960 16,493 −14.8%
1970 15,049 −8.8%
1980 16,945 12.6%
1990 17,313 2.2%
2000 17,955 3.7%
2010 16,732 −6.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12]
1990-2000[13] 2010-2020[14]

2020 census[]

Clarke County Racial Composition[15]
Race Num. Perc.
White 9,950 63.72%
Black or African American 5,103 32.68%
Native American 16 0.1%
Asian 8 0.05%
Pacific Islander 6 0.04%
Other/Mixed 400 2.56%
Hispanic or Latino 132 0.85%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 15,615 people, 6,237 households, and 4,397 families residing in the county.

2000 census[]

As of the census[16] of 2000, there were 17,955 people, 6,978 households, and 5,024 families residing in the county. The population density was 26 people per square mile (10/km2). There were 8,100 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 64.49% White, 34.81% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 0.30% from two or more races. 0.67% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,978 households, out of which 33.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.00% were married couples living together, 15.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.80% 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 3.06.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.80% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,610, and the median income for a family was $33,396. Males had a median income of $27,580 versus $19,402 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,288. About 18.80% of families and 23.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.50% of those under age 18 and 24.10% of those age 65 or over.

Ancestry/Ethnicity[]

As of 2017 the largest self-identified ancestry groups/ethnic groups in Clarke County, Mississippi were:[17][18]

Largest ancestries (2017) Percent
English 22.37%
"American" 10.6%
Irish 7.04%
German 2.65%
Dutch 1.4%
Scots-Irish 1.3%
Scottish 1.1%
French (except Basque) 0.6%

[17]


Communities[]

Cities[]

  • Quitman (county seat)

Towns[]

  • Enterprise
  • Pachuta
  • Shubuta
  • Stonewall

Census-designated place[]

  • De Soto

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Basic
  • Carmichael
  • Energy
  • Sykes
  • Wautubbee

Ghost town[]

  • Gin

Politics[]

United States presidential election results for Clarke County, Mississippi[19]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 5,417 64.97% 2,838 34.04% 83 1.00%
2016 5,137 65.94% 2,585 33.18% 69 0.89%
2012 5,049 61.18% 3,111 37.70% 93 1.13%
2008 5,229 62.27% 3,121 37.17% 47 0.56%
2004 5,068 67.51% 2,402 32.00% 37 0.49%
2000 4,503 65.08% 2,368 34.22% 48 0.69%
1996 3,470 56.04% 2,337 37.74% 385 6.22%
1992 4,207 60.67% 2,259 32.58% 468 6.75%
1988 4,522 63.71% 2,576 36.29% 0 0.00%
1984 4,551 66.61% 2,262 33.11% 19 0.28%
1980 3,303 49.14% 3,303 49.14% 115 1.71%
1976 2,935 48.96% 2,816 46.97% 244 4.07%
1972 4,561 81.56% 954 17.06% 77 1.38%
1968 298 5.53% 878 16.29% 4,214 78.18%
1964 3,591 93.42% 253 6.58% 0 0.00%
1960 586 17.71% 1,244 37.61% 1,478 44.68%
1956 500 20.77% 1,763 73.24% 144 5.98%
1952 754 27.38% 2,000 72.62% 0 0.00%
1948 17 0.88% 144 7.47% 1,767 91.65%
1944 95 5.31% 1,694 94.69% 0 0.00%
1940 42 2.40% 1,711 97.60% 0 0.00%
1936 31 1.46% 2,089 98.40% 3 0.14%
1932 53 3.44% 1,482 96.11% 7 0.45%
1928 563 33.23% 1,131 66.77% 0 0.00%
1924 87 6.24% 1,306 93.62% 2 0.14%
1920 47 5.35% 807 91.91% 24 2.73%
1916 49 4.19% 1,092 93.33% 29 2.48%
1912 17 2.29% 638 85.87% 88 11.84%



See also[]

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

References[]

  1. ^ "Clarke County, Mississippi Genealogy & History Network". http://clarke.msghn.org/. 
  2. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Clarke County, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/profile/Clarke_County,_Mississippi?g=0500000US28023. 
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  4. ^ a b Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off.. pp. 83. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ. 
  5. ^ (1893) "Okla Hannali: Or the Six towns District of the Choctaws". The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal 15: 146–149. 
  6. ^ a b c Recollections of John Hicks Evans, Personal Manuscript, 1902, Department of Archive & History, Washington, D.C.
  7. ^ a b Lowry, Robert; McCardle, William H. (1891). "XXIV, Clarke County". A History of Mississippi: From the Discovery of the Great River by Hernando DeSoto, Including the Earliest Settlement Made by the French Under Iberville, to the Death of Jefferson Davis. R. H. Henry & Company. pp. 460–462. ISBN 978-0-7884-4821-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=1meUmjGDshUC&pg=PA444. 
  8. ^ Ward, Jason Morgan (2018). Hanging Bridge: Racial Violence and America's Civil Rights Century. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190905842. https://bookshop.org/books/hanging-bridge-racial-violence-and-america-s-civil-rights-century/9780190905842. 
  9. ^ "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. 
  10. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  11. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  12. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ms190090.txt. 
  13. ^ "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. 
  14. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28/28023.html. 
  15. ^ "Explore Census Data". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US28023&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2. 
  16. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  17. ^ a b "American FactFinder - Results". https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/17_5YR/DP02/0500000US28023. 
  18. ^ "The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States - Statistical Atlas". https://statisticalatlas.com/state/Mississippi/Ancestry. 
  19. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 

Coordinates: 32°02′N 88°41′W / 32.04, -88.69

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Clarke 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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