Chickasaw County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the U.S. state of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,392. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

s are

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

and Okolona. The county is named for the

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classifi ...

people, who lived in this area for hundreds of years. Most were forcibly removed to

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

in the 1830s, but some remained and became citizens of the state and the United States.

History

The Mississippi state legislature created Chickasaw County in 1836, following the cession of the land by the

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. The

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

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 Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

. 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. Early in the 20th century, the first agricultural high school in Mississippi opened in the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

of Buena Vista. Cully Cobb, a pioneer of southern agriculture, long-term farm publisher, and an official of the

Agricultural Adjustment Administration The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers subsidies not to plant on part ...

in Washington, D.C., was the superintendent of the school from 1908 to 1910.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Route 45 Alternate (Mississippi) U.S. Route 45 Alternate (US 45 Alternate, also signed as US 45A) is a alternate route of US 45 in northeastern Mississippi, running from Brooksville, through West Point, to Shannon, which lies just south of Tupelo. Excluding the route thr ...

Mississippi Highway 8 Mississippi Highway 8 (MS 8) is an east–west state highway in northern Mississippi, running from MS 1 in Rosedale to U.S. Route 278 (US 278) northeast of Aberdeen. Points of interest along the route include Great River Road State Park, Del ...

* Mississippi Highway 15 *

Mississippi Highway 32 Mississippi Highway 32 (MS 32) is a state highway in northern Mississippi it runs from east to west for , serving the counties of Bolivar, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Yalobusha, Calhoun, and Chickasaw. The publicly accessible portion of MS 32 i ...

Mississippi Highway 41 Mississippi Highway 41 (MS 41) is a state highway in northeastern Mississippi. The route starts at U.S. Route 45 (US 45) and US 278 north of Wren and travels westwards. It then intersects US 45 Alt. east of Okolona. The road enters Okolon ...

* Mississippi Highway 47 *

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

* Pontotoc County (north) * Lee County (northeast) * Monroe County (east) *

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

(southeast) * Webster County (southwest) * Calhoun County (west)

National protected areas

(part) * Tombigbee National Forest (part)

Demographics

2020 census

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 White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 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 A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 19,440 people, 7,253 households, and 5,287 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

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%

, 41.26%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 0.99% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. 2.29% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. According to the

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 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, 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 Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $13,279. About 16.80% of families and 20.00% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 23.90% of those under age 18 and 22.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

(county seat) * Okolona (county seat)

Towns

* New Houlka

Villages

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

Census-designated place

Van Vleet Van Vleet or Vanvleet is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Fred VanVleet (born 1994), American basketball player *Louisa Van Vleet Spicer Wright (1862–1913), American physician * Mike Vanvleet (born 1970), American baseball u ...

Unincorporated communities

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

* Buena Vista *

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

* McCondy * Pyland * Shake Rag *

Sparta Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...

* Thorn * Trebloc

Notable locals

* Singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry, a Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee *

Bukka White Booker T. Washington "Bukka" White (November 12, 1906 February 26, 1977) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. Biography White was born south of Houston, Mississippi. He was a first cousin of B.B. King's mother (White's mother an ...

, early blues performer * William Raspberry, journalist * Milan Williams, founding member of The Commodores *

Jim Hood James Matthew Hood (born May 15, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 39th Attorney General of Mississippi from 2004 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in 2003, defeating Republican Scott New ...

, politician and former Mississippi Attorney General *

Jeff Busby Thomas Jefferson Busby (July 26, 1884 – October 18, 1964) was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi. Born near Short, Mississippi, Busby attended the common schools of his native city, Oakland College, Yale, Mississippi, and Iuka Normal Inst ...

, United States Representative who spearheaded the

Shaquille Vance Shaquille Vance (born March 22, 1991) is an American T42 Paralympic sprint runner and shot putter. Vance lost his leg in an American football accident in 2009. Two weeks after surgery to repair the damaged leg, no blood was circulating to his f ...

, 2012 U.S. Paralympic National Championship, gold medal (100m), silver medal (200m)

Fictional locals

Ida Mae Brandon Gladney ''The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration'' (2010) is a historical study of the Great Migration (African American), Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award.

, central character in the Pulitzer Prize winning book, '' The Warmth of Other Suns'' by Isabel Wilkerson *

Titus Andromedon Titus Andromedon (born Ronald Wilkerson) is a main character on the Netflix original series ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', portrayed by actor Tituss Burgess. Character life Born Ronald Wilkerson in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, where he was ra ...

, aka Ronald Ephen Wilkerson, one of the main characters from the comedy series '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', was originally from Chickasaw County

In popular culture

Candieland, the plantation of the fictional Calvin Candie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensemb ...

's film '' Django Unchained'', is located in Chickasaw County.

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.

References

{{authority control Mississippi counties Mississippi placenames of Native American origin Counties of Appalachia 1836 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1836