Shelby is a city in

Bolivar County Bolivar County ( ) is a County (United States), county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,985. Its county seats are Rosedale, Mississippi, Roseda ...

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 ...

, United States. The population was 2,229 at the 2010 census, down from 2,926 in 2000. The town of Shelby was established in 1853 by Tom Shelby, who had purchased a block of land there from the federal government.

Geography

Shelby is located at (33.949293, -90.765241). 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 , or 0.39%, is water. The rear entrance of the

Mississippi State Penitentiary Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP), also known as Parchman Farm, is a maximum-security prison farm located in unincorporated Sunflower County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region. Occupying about of land,unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Sunflower County 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 ...

is about east of Shelby, along

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 is ...

.Cross, Robert
A prison's family plan
" ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. October 2, 1985. D1. Retrieved on September 23, 2010. "Ten miles east of Shelby, the sprightly cotton fields along Miss. Hwy. 32 begin to recede, and parched weeds on the shoulder squeeze the road down to a single lane of potholes. Highway 32 continues for a few more yards. Then a steel barricade, flanked by a guard tower, cuts it off."

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 2,021 people, 649 households, and 442 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 2,229 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 94.3% Black, 4.7% White and 0.2% from two or more races. 0.8% 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 2,926 people, 919 households, and 677 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 1,079.5 people per square mile (416.9/km). There were 963 housing units at an average density of 355.3 per square mile (137.2/km). The racial makeup of the city was 7.93%

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 ...

, 91.08%

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 ...

, 0.07% Native American, 0.10%

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 ...

, 0.38% 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 0.44% 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 ...

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 0.99% of the population. There were 919 households, out of which 43.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.3% 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, 41.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07 and the average family size was 3.60. In the city, the population was spread out, with 37.5% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $17,798, and the median income for a family was $20,368. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $19,554 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 $10,567. About 39.9% of families and 44.5% 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 56.5% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Shelby is served by the

North Bolivar Consolidated School District The North Bolivar Consolidated School District, formerly the North Bolivar School District is a public school district located in northern Bolivar County in the state of Mississippi. It is headquartered in Mound Bayou with an office in Shelby. ...

, formerly known as the North Bolivar School District until it consolidated in 2014. Students are zoned to Brooks Elementary School (in Duncan), as it belonged to the pre-consolidation North Bolivar School District, and Northside High School (the only secondary school in the district). Northside High opened in 2018 after

Broad Street High School Broad Street High School was a public high school in Shelby, Mississippi. It is a part of the North Bolivar Consolidated School District (formerly the North Bolivar School District). The school served the towns of Shelby, Duncan, and Alligator ...

in Shelby consolidated into it. Shelby Middle School closed in 2018.

Notable people

* Walter Luzar "Choker" Campbell, musician * Dorsett Terrell Davis, football player * William S. Fischer, keyboardist, saxophonist, arranger, and composer *

Erma Franklin Erma Vernice Franklin (March 13, 1938 – September 7, 2002) was an American gospel and soul singer. Franklin was the elder sister of American singer/musician Aretha Franklin. Franklin's best known recording was the original version of "Piece of ...

, gospel and R&B singer, sister of the gospel and R&B singer

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

* Hattie Littles, soul singer * Sonny Boy Nelson, blues musician *

Delbert Tibbs Delbert Lee Tibbs (June 19, 1939 – November 23, 2013) was an American man who was wrongfully convicted of murder and rape in 1974 in Florida and sentenced to death. Later exonerated, Tibbs became a writer and anti-death penalty activist. Early ...

, anti-death penalty activist * Vera B. Rison, Michigan state legislator * Mississippi Slim, blues musician *

, writer and

anti-death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

activist *

Henry Townsend Henry Townsend may refer to: * Henry Townsend (Norwich) (1626–1695), early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England * Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay) (1649–1703), American colonist born in Oyster Bay * Henry Townsend (missionary) (1815� ...

, blues singer most associated with

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, on the

St. Louis Walk of Fame The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors notable people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to the culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years ther ...

and a

Mississippi Blues Trail The Mississippi Blues Trail was created by the Mississippi Blues Commission in 2006 to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the birth, growth, and influence of the blues throughout (and in some cases beyond) t ...

marker *

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...

, jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger

References

External links

City of Shelby official website
{{Authority control Cities in Mississippi Cities in Bolivar County, Mississippi Mississippi Blues Trail 1853 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1853