Attala County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,564. Its county seat is Kosciusko. Attala County is named for Atala, a fictional Native American heroine from an early-19th-century novel of the same name by François-René de Chateaubriand.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. It is bound by the Big Black River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, in the west.

Major roads

* Mississippi Highway 12 *

Mississippi Highway 14 Mississippi Highway 14 (MS 14) is a state highway that runs from west to east in the U.S. State of Mississippi. MS 14 serves the counties of Issaquena, Sharkey, Humphreys, Holmes, Attala, Winston, and Noxubee. MS 14 exists in two sections. T ...

Mississippi Highway 19 Mississippi Highway 19 (MS 19) is a state highway in Mississippi. It runs for , serving the counties of Lauderdale County, MS, Lauderdale, Newton County, MS, Newton, Neshoba County, MS, Neshoba, Winston County, MS, Winston, Attala County, MS, Atta ...

Mississippi Highway 35 Mississippi Highway 35 (MS 35) is a state highway in Mississippi. It runs north–south for , beginning at the Louisiana state line and ending at a junction with MS 315 at Sardis Dam. MS 35 serves the counties of Marion, Jefferson Davis, Co ...

Mississippi Highway 43 Mississippi Highway 43 (MS 43) is a state highway in Mississippi that generally runs north–south in three segments: the first from US 90 near Bay St. Louis to MS 13 south of Columbia, resuming at MS 13 in southern Jefferson Davis County ...

Natchez Trace Parkway The Natchez Trace Parkway is a national parkway in the southeastern United States that commemorates the historic Natchez Trace and preserves sections of that original trail. Its central feature is a two-lane road that extends 444 miles (715 ...

Adjacent counties

* Montgomery County (north) * Choctaw County (northeast) *

Winston County Winston County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Winston County, Alabama Winston County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,540. Its county seat is Double Springs. Known as H ...

(east) *

Leake County Leake County is a county located in the center of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,275. Its county seat is Carthage. The county is named for Walter Leake, the Governor of Mississippi from 1822 t ...

(south) * Madison County (southwest) * Holmes County (west) * Carroll County (northwest)

National protected area

(part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 17,889 people, 6,941 households, and 4,735 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, there were 19,564 people living in the county, down from its peak in 1940. 56.2% were White, 42.0% Black or African American, 0.3%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.7% of some other race and 0.6% of two or more races. 1.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,661 people, 7,567 households, and 5,380 families living in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 8,639 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 58.34% White, 40.00% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.27%

, 0.65% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. 1.42% of the population were Hispanic or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 7,567 households, out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.30% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 16.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.50% 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 3.07. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.90% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $24,794, and the median income for a family was $30,796. Males had a median income of $26,180 versus $17,394 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,782. About 18.30% of families and 21.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.60% of those under age 18 and 21.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Kosciusko (county seat)

Towns

Ethel Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...

* McCool * Sallis

Unincorporated communities

* Hesterville * McAdams * Williamsville * Zama

Ghost towns

* Sand Hill * Valena

Notable people

Myrtis Methvin Myrtis is the name given by archaeologists to an 11-year-old girl from ancient Athens, whose remains were discovered in 1994–95 in a mass grave during work to build the metro station at Kerameikos, Greece. The name was chosen from common ancien ...

was elected in 1932 as the second woman mayor in Louisiana and took office in Castor in Bienville Parish, serving from 1933 to 1945. She was born in Attala County in 1895. *

John D. Winters John David Winters (December 23, 1916 – December 9, 1997)John D. Winters obituary, '' Ruston Daily Leader'', December 10, 1997 was an American historian at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. He is known for his monograph ''T ...

, a historian of the American Civil War, was born in Attala County in 1917. *The

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

Chief Kiliahote was born here in 1826.

Politics

References

External links

Attala County Courthouse Pictures

Attala County GenWeb
{{Authority control Mississippi counties Mississippi placenames of Native American origin 1833 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1833