Clay 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 ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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. Miss ...

. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,634. 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 st ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. Its name is in honor of American statesman Henry Clay, member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

and

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

in the 19th century.

J. Wesley Caradine J. Wesley Caradine (February 16, 1846 - ?) was a farmer and state legislator in Mississippi. He served in the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1874 and 1875.Freedom's Lawmakers by Eric Foner Louisiana State University Press (1996) page 39 H ...

, an African American, was the first state representative for Clay County after it was established in 1871. The federal government formerly designated Clay County as the West Point Micropolitan Statistical Area, but the county lost that status in 2013. It is part of the Golden Triangle region of the state.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway Alternate 45 *

Mississippi Highway 25 Mississippi Highway 25 (MS 25) runs from I-55 in Jackson, Mississippi to the Tennessee state line north of Iuka. The largely controlled-access part from Jackson to Starkville connects the state capital with the main campus of Mississippi State ...

Mississippi Highway 46 Mississippi Highway 46 (MS 46) is a state highway located in the U.S. State of Mississippi. The western terminus of the route is at the western terminus of Mississippi Highway 782, MS 782 in Mantee, Mississippi, Mantee in Webster County, Mississip ...

* Mississippi Highway 47 *

Mississippi Highway 50 Mississippi Highway 50 (MS 50) is a state highway in Mississippi. It generally follows an east/west track for and runs from MS 9 in Walthall, Mississippi, east to the Alabama state line east of Columbus. MS 50 serves the following Mississippi c ...

Adjacent counties

* Chickasaw County (north) * Monroe County (northeast) * Lowndes County (southeast) * Oktibbeha County (south) * Webster County (west)

National protected area

* Natchez Trace Parkway (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 18,636 people, 7,618 households, and 4,841 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 servi ...

, there were 20,634 people living in the county. 58.2% were Black or African American, 40.5%

White White is the 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 reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% of some other race and 0.6% of two or more races. 1.0% were

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...

(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 21,979 people, 8,152 households, and 5,885 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 54 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 8,810 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 56.33%

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 ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 42.82%

, 0.05% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.01%

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 O ...

, 0.21% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.42% from two or more races. 0.86% 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 forme ...

or Latino of any race. According to the

of 2000, the largest ancestry groups in Clay County were African 56.3%, English 35% and Scots-Irish 4.5%. There were 8,152 households, out of which 35.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.80% were married couples living together, 22.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.80% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.19. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.80% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 89.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,372, and the median income for a family was $35,461. Males had a median income of $30,038 versus $19,473 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 $14,512. About 19.20% of families and 23.50% 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 t ...

, including 34.20% of those under age 18 and 21.90% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Clay County is within the service area of the

East Mississippi Community College East Mississippi Community College (EMCC), formerly East Mississippi Junior College, is a public community college in Scooba, Mississippi. EMCC serves and is supported by Clay, Kemper, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Noxubee and Oktibbeha counties in ...

system.CATALOG 2007-2009
." East Mississippi Community College. 3 (3/147). Retrieved on March 1, 2011.

Public schools

* West Point Consolidated School District and West Point High School are in the county.

Communities

Cities

(county seat)

Census-designated place

* Pheba

Unincorporated communities

* Abbott * Cedarbluff * Hopewell * Montpelier * Tibbee *

Una Una and UNA may refer to: Places * 160 Una, the asteroid "Una", an asteroid named after the Faerie Queene character * Una River (disambiguation), numerous rivers * Una, Himachal Pradesh, a town in India ** Una, Himachal Pradesh Assembly constit ...

* Waverly * White Station

Ghost town

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

Politics

References

{{authority control Mississippi counties Counties of Appalachia 1871 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1871 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Mississippi

Geography

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 census

Education

Public schools

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

Politics

See also

References