Wilkinson County, Mississippi
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Wilkinson County is a county located in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2020, its population was 8,587. Its county seat is Woodville. Bordered by the Mississippi River on the west, the county is named for
James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American soldier, politician, and double agent who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, b ...
, a Revolutionary War military leader and first governor of the Louisiana Territory after its acquisition by the United States in 1803.


History

After
Indian Removal Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a de ...
in the 19th century, European-American settlers rapidly developed cotton
plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
along the Mississippi River, which forms the western border. The intensive cultivation depended on the labor of numerous enslaved African Americans; in the early 19th century, more than a million slaves were relocated to the Deep South from the Upper South in a major forced migration. The population of this county quickly became majority black as enslaved workers were brought in to develop plantations. Much of the bottomlands and interior were undeveloped frontier until after the American Civil War. The West Feliciana Railroad was later built to help get the cotton
commodity crop A cash crop or profit crop is an agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") in subsist ...
to market. Some planters got wealthy during the antebellum years and built fine
mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
s in the county seat of
Woodville, Mississippi Woodville is a town in and the county seat of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, United States. Its population as of 2020 was 928. History This historic town, one of the oldest in Mississippi, is set among the rolling hills and pastures of Wilkins ...
. Jane and Samuel Emory Davis moved here in 1812 with their several children, and lived at a plantation near Woodville. Their youngest son,
Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
, attended the Wilkinson Academy in Woodville for two years before going to Kentucky to another school. After the Civil War, freedmen and
planters Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentil ...
negotiated new working arrangements. Sharecropping became widespread. Although cotton continued as the commodity crop, a long agricultural depression kept prices low. Following Reconstruction, white violence against blacks increased through the later decades of the 19th century and into the early 20th century. According to 2017 data compiled in ''Lynching in America'' (2015-2017), some nine lynchings of African Americans were recorded in Wilkinson County. The peak of population in the county was reached in 1900, after which many blacks left in the Great Migration to the North and Midwest. The county has continued to have a black majority population. In the early 20th century the boll weevil infestation destroyed much of the cotton crops, and mechanization caused a further loss of agricultural jobs. The exit of many African Americans from the state did not change the state's exclusion of African Americans from politics. They were not enabled to vote until after passage of the federal Voting Rights Act in 1965 and its enforcement. Cotton cultivation was revived, but it is produced on a highly mechanized, industrial scale. Southwest Mississippi was an area of continuing white violence against blacks during the Civil Rights Movement. In February 1964, the White Knights of the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
officially formed. Clifton Walker, 37, a married father of five and employee of International Paper Company in Natchez, who was not politically active, was killed in an ambush on Poor House Road near his home. The evidence showed there had been a crowd of shooters on both sides of the road. This lynching cold case has never been solved, although it was among numerous ones that the FBI was investigating since 2007, before the Donald Trump administration ended the effort in 2018. Timber has been harvested and processed in the county as a new commodity crop. The population of the rural county has continued to decline because of lack of jobs. It is still majority African American. Towns have started to develop heritage tourism to attract more visitors.


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 (1.4%) is water.


Major highways

*
U.S. Highway 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated ...
*
Mississippi Highway 24 Mississippi Highway 24 (MS 24) is a state highway in Mississippi, United States. The highway runs from Fort Adams east to an interchange with Interstate 55 (I-55) and U.S. Highway 98 (US 98) in McComb. The roadway passes through Wilkinson, ...
*
Mississippi Highway 33 Mississippi Highway 33 (MS 33) is a state highway in southwestern Mississippi. It runs from north to south for and serves the counties of Jefferson, Franklin, Amite, and Wilkinson. Route description MS 33 begins in Wilkinson County at the ...


Adjacent counties

* Adams County (north) * Franklin County (northeast) *
Amite County Amite County is a county located in the state of Mississippi on its southern border with Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,720. Its county seat is Liberty. The county is named after the Amite River, which runs through the ...
(east) *
East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana East Feliciana Parish (french: Paroisse de Feliciana Est, es, Parroquia de East Feliciana) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 20,267, and 19,531 in 2020. The parish seat is Clinton. Est ...
(southeast) * West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana (south) * Concordia Parish, Louisiana (west)


National protected area

* Homochitto National Forest (part)


State protected area

*
Clark Creek Natural Area Clark Creek Natural Area is a publicly owned, natural preservation area encompassing off Mississippi Highway 24 approximately west of Woodville, Mississippi. The state park features approximately 50 waterfalls, some with up to drops. The park ...


Demographics


Population

Wilkinson County had a population of 8,587 people, 3,170 households, and 1,843 families at 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 ...
.


Race

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Wilkinson County's racial and ethic makeup was predominantly Black and African American in 2020. The total racial and ethnic composition at the 2020 census was 67.12% Black and African American, 29.4%
non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...
, 0.19% Native American, 0.09%
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 ...
, 2.38%
multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
or other race or ethnicity, and 0.82% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.


Income

In 2010, the
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
estimated the county had a median household income of $28,066. At the 2020 American Community Survey, its median household income increased to $30,760; the median monthly housing costs were $419. In 2020, the county had a mean income of $46,538, and married-couple families had a median income of $50,227 while non-family households averaged $27,468.


Education

Wilkinson County School District serves the county. Prior to 1970, when a federal court ruling forced the schools to integrate, the county maintained a separate and highly inferior educational system for Black students. When the schools were finally integrated, all but two white students initially chose to attend
Wilkinson County Christian Academy Wilkinson County Christian Academy is a private PK3-12 Christian school in Wilkinson County, Mississippi, near Woodville. It was established in 1969 as a segregation academy. History In a 1969 newspaper article, a parent explained that "my kid ...
, which was established in 1969 as a segregation academy, or other private schools rather than attend school with Black students. Barnard Waites, the superintendent of the public school system sent his own child to Wilkinson County Christian Academy, and harshly criticized the white parents who exposed their children to the "all negro environment" of Wilkinson County Training School.


Communities


Towns

* Centreville (partly in
Amite County Amite County is a county located in the state of Mississippi on its southern border with Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,720. Its county seat is Liberty. The county is named after the Amite River, which runs through the ...
) * Crosby (partly in
Amite County Amite County is a county located in the state of Mississippi on its southern border with Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,720. Its county seat is Liberty. The county is named after the Amite River, which runs through the ...
) * Woodville (county seat)


Unincorporated communities

* Doloroso * Fort Adams *
Pinckneyville Pinckneyville is a city in and the county seat of Perry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,066 at the 2020 census. It is named for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, an early American diplomat and presidential candidate. Pinckney ...
* Possum Corner * Rosetta *
Wilkinson Wilkinson may refer to: People * Wilkinson (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places in the United States * Wilkinson, Illinois * Wilkinson, Indiana, a town in Hancock County * Wilkinson, Minnesota * Wilkinson, Mis ...


Ghost towns

* Artonish * Clarksville *
Loch Leven Loch Leven may refer to: ;Bodies of water in Scotland * Loch Leven (Kinross), a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross ** Loch Leven Castle, a fortress on the loch ** William Douglas of Lochleven, later the 6th Earl of Morton * Loch Leven (Highlands) ...


Notable people

*
Regina Barrow Regina Ashford Barrow is an American politician serving as a member of the Louisiana State Senate from the 15th district. Elected in November 2015, she assumed office on January 11, 2016. Barrow previously represented the 29th district in the Lo ...
(born 1966),
Louisiana state senator The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is compose ...
from
Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
, Louisiana, since 2016; former
state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
from 2005 to 2016; native of Wilkinson County *
Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
, President of the Confederate States of America; grew up at
Rosemont Rosemont may refer to: * Rosemont (horse), an American Thoroughbred racehorse * ''Rosemont'', a 2015 film Places In Australia * Rosemont (Woollahra), located in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra and listed on the NSW State Heritage Register In Canada ...
plantation just east of Woodville *
Anne Moody Anne Moody (September 15, 1940 – February 5, 2015) was an American author who wrote about her experiences growing up poor and black in rural Mississippi, and her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement through the NAACP, CORE and SNCC. Moody ...
(1940-2015), civil rights
activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
and author * Edward Grady Partin (1924–1990),
Teamsters Union The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...
business agent in Baton Rouge, native of Woodville *
William Grant Still William Grant Still Jr. (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an American composer of nearly two hundred works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas, over thirty choral works, plus art songs, chamber music and works fo ...
, African-American classical composer and
Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame The Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, headquartered in Clinton, Mississippi, honors Mississippi's famous musicians. It is a "Who's Who" of the blues, rock and roll, and jazz from their beginnings to present day. The organization's museum is loca ...
inductee was born in Woodville in 1895


Politics


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilkinson County, Mississippi


References


External links


Official website of Wilkinson County
{{authority control Mississippi counties Mississippi counties on the Mississippi River 1802 establishments in Mississippi Territory Populated places established in 1802 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Mississippi