Tchula is a town in Holmes County,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, United States. The population was 1,650 at the 2020 census, down from 2,332 in 2000. A 2015 article in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described it as the poorest community in the United States.

History

The first permanent settlement at Tchula was made in the 1830s. The community takes its name from Tchula Lake. In the 1960s most residents were farmworkers; the properties they worked on belonged to people living in other communities in the area. Mississippi columnist Sid Salter stated that the Tchula area had "Some of the best farmland in America" and "some of the most successful plantations". In 1982, the city's first Black mayor, Eddie James Carthan, was incarcerated. Chris McGreal of ''

'' stated that the criminal charges were "trumped-up". In the 2000s the community elected Yvonne Brown as mayor. She was a Republican, and the community hoped this would convince

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, to provide additional funding. She was the first black Republican woman to be elected as a mayor in the country. By 2015 many of the jobs in the area had vanished, partly due to increased use of machines in agriculture. Many businesses formerly in the town had disappeared.

Geography

Tchula is in western Holmes County along Tchula Lake, an old river channel 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 Yazo ...

region of the state.

U.S. Route 49E U.S. Route 49E (US 49E) is an United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway in the Mississippi Delta, Delta region of Mississippi. It travels through Yazoo County, Mississippi, Yazoo, Holmes County, Mississippi, Holmes, Leflore County, Mississi ...

passes through the center of town, leading north to

Greenwood Green wood is unseasoned wood. Greenwood or Green wood may also refer to: People * Greenwood (surname) Settlements Australia * Greenwood, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region * Greenwood, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth ...

and southwest to Yazoo.

Mississippi Highway 12 Mississippi Highway 12 (MS 12) is a state highway in northern Mississippi that runs west–east from MS 1 west of Hollandale at the Mississippi River to State Route 18 (SR 18) at the Alabama state line northeast of Columbus. MS 12 trav ...

leads southeast from Tchula to Lexington, the Holmes County seat. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which , or 2.31%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,652 people, 735 households, and 400 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,332 people, 724 households, and 524 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 772 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 3.43%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 95.93%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.09% Native American, and 0.56% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.47% of the population. There were 724 households, out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 45.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.22 and the average family size was 3.92. In the town, the population was spread out, with 37.9% under the age of 18, 13.0% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 14.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $11,571, and the median income for a family was $14,773. Males had a median income of $22,250 versus $16,310 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $6,373. About 49.4% of families and 54.4% 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 66.6% of those under age 18 and 55.8% of those age 65 or over. In 2010, Tchula had the fifth-lowest median household income of all places in the United States with a population over 1,000.

Government and infrastructure

In 2015 McGreal stated that the police forces were under-equipped. The police chief himself had a second job.

Transportation

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

’s ''

City of New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

'', which operates between

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, passes through the town on CN tracks, but makes no stop. The nearest station is located in

, to the north.

Education

The town of Tchula is served by the Holmes County School District. Current schools in the area include S.V. Marshall Elementary School and

Holmes County Central High School Holmes County Central High School is a senior high school in unincorporated Holmes County, Mississippi, United States, about south of Lexington.S.V. Marshall High School.

Mississippi Blues Trail marker

Notable people

* Woodrow Adams,

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

guitarist and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

player * Yvonne Brown (1952–2012), mayor of Tchula and the first black Republican female mayor in Mississippi, served from 2001 to 2009. She was the Republican nominee for

Mississippi's 2nd congressional district Mississippi's 2nd congressional district (MS-2) covers much of Western Mississippi. It includes most of Jackson, Mississippi, Jackson, the riverfront cities of Greenville, Mississippi, Greenville, Natchez, Mississippi, Natchez and Vicksburg, Mis ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. *

Jimmy Dawkins James Henry “Jimmy” Dawkins (October 24, 1936 – April 10, 2013) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer. He is generally considered to have been a practitioner of the "West Side sound" of Chicago blues. Career ...

(1936–2013), blues guitarist and singer, who moved to

at 18 or 19 * Bess Phipps Dawson, painter and gallerist *

Lester Davenport Lester "Mad Dog" Davenport (January 16, 1932 – March 17, 2009), was an American Chicago blues harmonica player and singer. Born in Tchula, Mississippi, Davenport moved to Chicago, Illinois, United States, when he was 14. There he played wi ...

(1932–2009), blues musician *

Chris Epps Christopher B. Epps (born January 25, 1961) is a federal inmate and a former commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) and career employee in the state criminal justice system though he started his career as a teacher. Appoi ...

, former commissioner of the

Mississippi Department of Corrections The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) is a state agency of Mississippi that operates prisons. It has its headquarters in Jackson. Burl Cain is the commissioner. History In 1843 a penitentiary in four city squares in central Jack ...

, pleaded guilty to corruption-related charges *

Addison Grace Hadley Addison Grace Hadley is an American beauty pageant titleholder that was crowned Miss United States 2023 on October 22, 2023, at the Cannon Center for Performing Arts in Memphis, Tennessee. Hadley is a professional mental health counselor. Her chari ...

Miss United States Miss United States is a pageant held in the United States for unmarried women between the ages of 20 and 29. The pageant includes women selected to represent all 50 states, District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northe ...

2023 * Johnny Mitchell, former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

Little Smokey Smothers Little Smokey Smothers (January 2, 1939 – November 20, 2010) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer. He played with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and played with other Chicago blues musicians in the 1960s, then left music for most of the ...

(1939–2010), blues guitarist and singer * Hartman Turnbow (1905–1988), one of the first blacks in Mississippi to register to vote in the 1960s since disfranchisement in 1890

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Holmes County, Mississippi Towns in Mississippi