Adams County is a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
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 so ...
of
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 ...
. As of the
2020 United States census, the population was 29,538. The
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is
Natchez.
The county is the first to have been organized in the former
Mississippi Territory
The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that was created under an organic act passed by the United States Congress, Congress of the United States. It was approved and signed into law by Presiden ...
. It is named for the second
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 ...
,
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
, who held that office when the county was organized in 1799. Adams County is part of the
Natchez micropolitan area which consists of Adams County, Mississippi and
Concordia Parish, Louisiana.
History
Adams County was created on April 2, 1799, from part of Pickering Territorial County. The county was organized eighteen years before Mississippi became a state. Five Mississippi
governors
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
have come from Adams County:
David Holmes,
George Poindexter,
John A. Quitman,
Gerard Brandon, and
William Allain.
In 1860, before the
US Civil War, Adams County was the richest county in the United States.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (5.2%) is water.
Major highways
*
U.S. Highway 61
*
U.S. Highway 84
*
U.S. Highway 98
*
U.S. Highway 425
*
Natchez Trace Parkway
Adjacent counties and parishes
*
Jefferson County (north)
*
Franklin County (east)
*
Wilkinson County (south)
*
Concordia Parish, Louisiana (southwest)
*
Tensas Parish, Louisiana
Tensas Parish () is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish located in the northeastern section of the U.S. state, State of Louisiana; its eastern border is the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population ...
(northwest)
National protected areas
*
Homochitto National Forest (part)
*
Natchez National Historical Park
*
Natchez Trace Parkway (part)
*
St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge
Demographics
Population
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 29,538 people, 11,237 households, and 6,650 families residing in the county.
Race
In 2020, its racial makeup was 56.57% Black/African American, 36.99% non-Hispanic white, 0.19% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.24% other or mixed, and 3.43% Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 2010, 53.5% were
Black or African American, 42.7%
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 ...
, 0.4%
Asian, 0.3%
Native American, 1.7% of some other race and 1.4%
of two or more races. 6.7% were
Hispanic or Latino (of any race).
Education
All residents of the county are in the
Natchez-Adams School District.
Alcorn State University, a
historically black college
Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...
that was designated as a
land-grant institution, has its School of Business and School of Nursing at Natchez. The School of Business offers Masters of Business Administration degree and some undergraduate classes at the School of Business, Natchez campus.
It is in the district of
Copiah–Lincoln Community College, and has been since 1971. There is a campus in Natchez. This is adjacent to the Natchez campus of Alcorn State University.
Economy
Adams County Correctional Center, a
private prison
A private prison, or for-profit prison, is a place where people are imprisoned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with governments that commit pris ...
operated by the
Corrections Corporation of America on behalf of the
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...
, is in an
unincorporated area
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in the county.
[Adams County Correctional Center]
" Corrections Corporation of America. Retrieved on June 28, 2016. "20 Hobo Fork Road, Natchez, MS 39120"
Top employers
The top employers of Adams County are as follows:1.
Natchez-Adams School District (620)
2. Merit Health Natchez (425)
3.
Adams County Correctional Center (380)
4.
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
(365)
5. City of Natchez (275)
6.
Magnolia Bluffs Casino (250)
7. Jordan Carriers (250)
8. Supermarket Operations (250)
9. Adams County Government (220)
10. Energy Drilling (220)
Communities
City
*
Natchez (county seat and only municipality)
Unincorporated areas
Census-designated places
*
Cloverdale
*
Morgantown
Other communities
*
Cranfield
*
Kingston
*
Pine Ridge
*
Sibley
*
Stanton
*
Washington
Ghost/extinct towns
*
Arnot
*
Briers
*
Ellis Cliffs
*
Hutchins Landing
*
Kienstra
*
Selsertown
Politics
Adams County, typical of other counties in the
Solid South
The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...
, was heavily Democratic during the first half of the 20th century. After supporting
Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...
in
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
, it began to lean more Republican, and remained that way until the 1980s. Since
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
, Adams County has returned to the Democratic fold.
See also
*
Jefferson College
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Adams County, Mississippi
References
Sources
* Brieger, James. ''Hometown, Mississippi''.
External links
*
Mississippi Courthouses – Adams CountyAdams County Interactive Oil Well MapMississippi Oil Journal
Adams County Police and Miscellaneous County Records Special Collections at The University of Southern Mississippi.
{{authority control
Populated places established in 1799
Mississippi counties
Natchez micropolitan area
Mississippi counties on the Mississippi River
1799 establishments in Mississippi Territory
Black Belt (U.S. region)
Majority-minority counties in Mississippi