Moorhead is a city in
Sunflower County, Mississippi
Sunflower County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,450. Its largest city and county seat is Indianola.
Sunflower County comprises the Indianola, MS Micropolitan Statistical Are ...
, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,405.
Geography
According to the
United States 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 city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.77% is water.
Moorhead is along
U.S. Route 82
U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...
, east of
Indianola, at its intersection with
Mississippi Highway 3
Mississippi Highway 3 (MS 3) is a north–south Mississippi state highway, located entirely within the Mississippi Delta region, running from Redwood, Mississippi, Redwood to Lake Cormorant, Mississippi, Lake Cormorant, both at an intersecti ...
. Moorhead is located at the intersection of the Southern and Yazoo Delta railroads. This is the origin of the legendary
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
crossroads
Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to:
* Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet
Film and television Films
* ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa
* ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...
phrase "where the Southern cross the Dog".
[Moye, J. Todd. ''Let the People Decide: Black Freedom and White Resistance Movements in Sunflower County, Mississippi, 1945-1986''. ]University of North Carolina Press
The University of North Carolina Press (or UNC Press), founded in 1922, is a university press that is part of the University of North Carolina. It was the first university press founded in the Southern United States. It is a member of the Ass ...
, November 29, 2004
28
Retrieved from Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
on February 26, 2012. , .
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 1,937 people, 522 households, and 313 families residing in the city.
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 2,405 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 82.2% Black, 16.3% White, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian and 0.2% from two or more races. 0.7% 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 incl ...
of 2000, there were 2,573 people, 688 households, and 520 families living in the city. 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 1,988.9 people per square mile (770.1/km). There were 720 housing units at an average density of 556.6 per square mile (215.5/km). The racial makeup of the city was 20.44%
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 ...
, 78.97%
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 ...
, 0.19%
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 ...
, 0.27% 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 0.12% from two or more races.
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 ...
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 were 1.24% of the population.
There were 8,391 households, out of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.7% 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, 34.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.67.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 26.7% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $20,401, and the median income for a family was $23,000. Males had a median income of $26,538 versus $17,697 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 city was $8,631. About 32.4% of families and 38.0% 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 46.3% of those under age 18 and 33.5% of those age 65 or over.
Arts and culture
![YellowDogMSBluesTrailMarker](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/YellowDogMSBluesTrailMarker.jpg)
A historic plaque in Moorhead is located where the
Southern Railroad once crossed the
Yazoo Delta Railroad The Yazoo-Delta Railroad (sometimes known as the ''Yellow Dog'') was a branch line that opened in August 1897 between Moorhead and Ruleville, Mississippi. It was extended to Tutwiler, Mississippi, and Lake Dawson and was acquired by the Yazoo and ...
(known as the "Yellow Dog"). The Southern travelled east-west, and later became the
Columbus and Greenville Railway
There have been two uses of Columbus and Greenville Railway, both for the same rail line.
Original Columbus and Greenville
The first Columbus and Greenville Railway was formed by the sale of the Southern Railway operated Southern Railway in M ...
, while the Yellow Dog travelled north-south, and later became the
Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad
The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (Y&MV) was incorporated in 1882 and was part of the Illinois Central Railroad system (IC). Construction began in Jackson, Mississippi, and continued to Yazoo City, Mississippi. The line was later expanded ...
. The level junction (diamond) is still preserved as an historic site, though the north-south line has since been abandoned through Moorhead. This railroad crossing is very significant in the history of blues music. It is widely believed that
W. C. Handy
William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...
, after hearing an old man singing about "where the Southern cross the Yellow Dog", was moved by the sound and began what came to be known as the "blues".
Education
![James C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/James_C._Rosser_Elementary_School%2C_2.jpg)
The City of Moorhead is served by the
Sunflower County Consolidated School District
The Sunflower County Consolidated School District (SCCSD), formerly the Sunflower County School District (SCSD), is a public school district with its headquarters in Indianola, Mississippi in the Mississippi Delta. The district serves all of Sunf ...
(formerly Sunflower County School District). Schools serving Moorhead and in Moorhead include the
K-8 school K8 or K-8 may refer to:
* K-8 (Kansas highway), two highways in Kansas, one in northern Kansas, one in southern Kansas
* K-8 school, a type of school that includes kindergarten and grades one through eight
* AMD K8, the internal designation for the ...
Moorhead Central School, which was formerly Moorhead Middle School until 2018. It also has James C. Rosser Early Learning Center, which was formerly James Rosser Elementary School. it was zoned to Ruleville Central High School (now
Thomas E. Edwards, Sr. High School
Thomas E. Edwards, Sr. High School, formerly Ruleville Central High School (RCHS), is a public high school located in Ruleville, Mississippi, United States. It is a part of the Sunflower County Consolidated School District and had 381 students e ...
), at the time the sole school of the district.
Moorhead is home to
Mississippi Delta Community College's main campus.
The Sunflower County Library operates the Kathy June Sheriff Public Library in Moorhead.
[Sunflower County Library Directory]
" Sunflower County Library. Retrieved on July 21, 2010.
Notable people
*
Chester H. Pond, founder of town
* Lawrence Baggett, blind mathematician and topologist, Emerit Professor at
University of Colorado Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...
*
Charley Booker
Charley Booker (September 3, 1925 – September 20, 1989) was an American blues singer and guitarist from the Mississippi Delta, who recorded in the early 1950s for Modern Records.
Early life and career
Booker was born in 1925 on a plantation be ...
, musician
*
Phil Bryant, former governor of Mississippi
*
Johnny Russell, country musician
References
External links
*
Moorhead Middle SchoolJames C. Rosser Elementary School
{{authority control
Cities in Mississippi
Cities in Sunflower County, Mississippi