Issaquena 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 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, its population was 1,406, making it the least populous county in the United States east of the Mississippi River. 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 ...

is Mayersville. With a

per-capita income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

of $18,598, Issaquena County is, by that measure, the poorest county in the United States. Issaquena County is located in the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yaz ...

region. The

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

flows along the entire western boundary of the county, and many of the earliest communities were river ports. The county's economy is chiefly based on agriculture, though a number of hunting camps are also located here and contribute to the economy. Mississippi's two most recent records for the heaviest alligator taken by a hunter have both been in Issaquena County, the latest in 2012 when a alligator was killed at a camp near Fitler.

History

"Issaquena" (''isi okhina'') is a

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 ...

word meaning "Deer River"; it is the Indian name for Deer Creek. The Choctaw people were the first inhabitants of the county, and were removed from their land in 1820. Non-Native settlers began arriving in the early 1830s. Issaquena county was established on January 23, 1844, from the southern portion of Washington County. The first county seat was located in Skipwith, and then moved to Duncansby (both communities are now ghost towns). In 1848, the county seat moved to

Tallula Tallula is a village in Menard County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 by William G. Greene. The population was 488 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United State ...

, and in 1871, to Mayersville. The county lies entirely in the

Mississippi Alluvial Plain The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is an alluvial plain created by the Mississippi River on which lie parts of seven U.S. states, from southern Louisiana to southern Illinois (Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Lo ...

, and hardwood forest known as "bottomland" grows thick in the nutrient-rich, high-clay "buckshot" soil. Early settlers cleared many forests, and by the early 1890s about of the county was growing corn, cotton, and oats. About that same time, the

Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway The Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway was built between 1888 and 1890 and was admitted to the Illinois Central Railroad system in 1892. It ran between Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, through Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Baton ...

was completed along a north–south route through the center of the county. In 1876, Sharkey County was created from portions of Issaquena, Warren, and Washington counties.

Slavery

In 1860, 92.5% of Issaquena County's total population were

enslaved people Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, the highest concentration anywhere in the United States. The U.S. Census for that year showed that 7,244 slaves were held in Issaquena County, and of 115 slave owners, 39 held 77 or more slaves.

Stephen Duncan Stephen Duncan (March 4, 1787 – January 29, 1867) was an American planter and banker in Mississippi during the Antebellum South. He was born and studied medicine in Pennsylvania, but moved to Natchez District, Mississippi Territory in 1808 ...

of Issaquena County held 858 slaves, second only to Joshua John Ward of South Carolina. This large "value of slave property" made Issaquena County the second richest county in the United States, with "mean total wealth per freeman" at $26,800 in 1860 ().
Read at

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By 1880—just 15 years after the abolition of slavery—the county had developed "a strong year-round market for wage labor", and Issaquena was the only county in Mississippi to report "no sharecropping or sharerenting whatsoever".

Civil War

During the winter of 1862 and spring of 1863, Union Army General

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...

conducted a series of amphibious operations aimed at capturing the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, located south of Issaquena County. The Steele's Bayou Expedition occurred on waterways within Issaquena County, including Steele Bayou, Little Sunflower River,

Big Sunflower River The Sunflower River (also known as the Big Sunflower River) is one of the main tributaries of the Yazoo River in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is navigable by barge for 50 miles. It rises in De Soto County, Mississippi near the Tennessee borde ...

, Deer Creek, Black Bayou, Little Black Bayou, and the

Yazoo River The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before th ...

. The shallow waterways proved difficult for the large Union boats, and Confederate defenses were robust. The Steele's Bayou Expedition was a defeat for Union forces in Issaquena County.

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 (6.4%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Route 61 *

Mississippi Highway 1 Mississippi Highway 1 (MS 1) is a state highway in Mississippi that runs south from U.S. Highway 49 near Lula to U.S. Highway 61 south of Cary, roughly paralleling the Mississippi River. It travels approximately , serving Sharkey, Issaque ...

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 16 Mississippi Highway 16 (MS 16) is a state highway in central Mississippi. It runs east–west for , from the Mississippi Delta region to the Alabama state line. MS 16 serves 8 counties: Issaquena, Sharkey, Yazoo, Humphreys, Madison, Leake, ...

Adjacent counties

* Washington County (north) * Sharkey County (northeast) * Yazoo County (east) *

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

(south) *

East Carroll Parish, Louisiana East Carroll Parish (french: Paroisse de Carroll Est) is a parish located in the Mississippi Delta in northeastern Louisiana. As of 2020, its population was 7,459. The parish seat is Lake Providence. An area of cotton plantations in the antebel ...

(west) *

Chicot County, Arkansas Chicot County ( ) is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,800. The county seat is Lake Village. Chicot County is Arkansas's 10th county, formed on October 25, 1 ...

(northwest)

Demographics

2020 United States 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 1,338 people, 483 households, and 274 families residing in the county.

2010 United States 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 1,406 people living in the county. 64.4% were Black or African American, 34.6%

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 on ...

, 0.4%

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, 0.1% of some other race and 0.2% of two or more races. 0.6% 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 United States 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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 2,274 people, 726 households, and 509 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 5.15 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 877 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 36.32%

, 62.75%

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 have o ...

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 ...

, 0.09% Native American, 0.22% 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 0.62% from two or more races. 0.44% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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 726 households, out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.60% 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, 16.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 26.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.37. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.70% under the age of 18, 10.90% from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 19.90% from 45 to 64, and 10.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 113.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 130.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $19,936, and the median income for a family was $23,913. Males had a median income of $23,167 versus $17,115 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 $10,581. About 25.90% of families and 33.20% 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 43.20% of those under age 18 and 41.00% of those age 65 or over. Issaquena County has the second lowest per capita income in Mississippi and the 36th lowest in the United States.

Poverty and unemployment

Of 3,197 counties ranked by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2011 for "estimated percent of people of all ages in poverty", Issaquena was 14th; for those under age 18, the county was eighth. It was estimated that 40.1 percent of the county's residents lived in poverty. In 2014, Issaquena County had the highest percentage of unemployed people in Mississippi, and the fifth highest of any county in the United States, at 18.4 percent.

Government and politics

The county is considered to lean Democratic, voting for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in both 2008 and 2012. However, the county voted for Republican senator

Thad Cochran William Thad Cochran (; December 7, 1937 – May 30, 2019) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator for Mississippi from 1978 until his resignation due to health issues in 2018. A Republican, he previously s ...

's reelection bid in 2014. and Donald Trump came within 50 votes of winning the county in 2020, In the 2019 statewide elections, Issaquena voted Democratic for Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General, and Republican for Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and Agriculture Commissioner.

Education

There are no schools located in Issaquena County. Students attend campuses in neighboring Sharkey and Washington counties. * Public School Districts **

South Delta School District The South Delta School District (SDSD) is a public school district based in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, USA. The district serves all of Sharkey County, including the towns of Rolling Fork, Anguilla, and Cary, as well as the unincorporated areas ...

– Based in Rolling Fork; Serves most of Issaquena County including Mayersville. Operates

South Delta High School South Delta High School is a public high school in Rolling Fork, Mississippi (United States). The school serves students in grades nine through twelve. South Delta High is part of the South Delta School District; the district serves all of Shar ...

. **

Western Line School District The Western Line School District (WLSD) is a public school district based in the community of Avon, Mississippi ( USA). In addition to Avon, the district serves the town of Metcalfe, a small portion of Greenville, as well as the unincorporated ...

– Based in Avon; Serves northwestern portion of Issaquena County. * Private Schools **

Sharkey-Issaquena Academy Sharkey-Issaquena Academy is a Private school, private, nonsectarian, school in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. It was founded as a segregation academy in 1970. History In 1970, one year after the Supreme Court of the United States, United States S ...

– Located in Rolling Fork; Enrollment open to Issaquena County residents. In the segregation era (before around 1970) the county only had schools for black students.

Communities

Town

* Mayersville

Census-designated places

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...

* Valley Park

Unincorporated communities

* Chotard * Fitler *

Ghost towns

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

* Baleshed *

Ben Lomond Ben Lomond (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Laomainn, 'Beacon Mountain'), , is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Me ...

* Duncansby * Magna Vista * Shiloh

Notable people

Unita Blackwell Unita Zelma Blackwell (March 18, 1933 – May 13, 2019) was an American civil rights activist who was the first African-American woman to be elected mayor in the U.S. state of Mississippi.Blackwell 2006, p. 10. Blackwell was a project dir ...

, civil rights leader and mayor of Mayersville from 1976 to 2001; first female African-American mayor in Mississippi. * Charles C. Diggs, Sr., first African-American Democrat elected to the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

; born in Tallula. *

William Stamps Farish II William Stamps Farish II (February 23, 1881 – November 29, 1942) was a pioneer in East Texas oilfield development, president of Standard Oil and a founding member and president of the American Petroleum Institute. He was a member of the influ ...

, president of Standard Oil; born in Mayersville. *

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

, blues musician (1913–1983); born in "Jug's Corner". * Eliza Winston, notable slave.

References

External links

Sharkey-Issaquena County Library

South Delta School District

Western Line School District

Howard Miller Wildlife Management Area

Shipland Wildlife Management Area

Mahannah Wildlife Management Area
{{authority control Mississippi counties Mississippi counties on the Mississippi River Mississippi placenames of Native American origin History of slavery in Mississippi 1844 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1844 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Mississippi

History

Slavery

Civil War

Geography

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 United States Census

2010 United States Census

2000 United States Census

Poverty and unemployment

Government and politics

Education

Communities

Town

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Notable people

See also

References

Further reading

External links