Chickasaw 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 ...

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 census, the population was 17,106. Its

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 ...

s are

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and Okolona. The county is named for the

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

people, who lived in this area for hundreds of years. Most were forcibly removed to

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

in the 1830s, but some remained and became citizens of the state and the United States.

History

The Mississippi state legislature created Chickasaw County in 1836, following the cession of the land by the

Indians. It was quickly settled by Americans from the east, mainly from the Southern states. By the time of the Civil War, riverfront landings had been developed by the many large cotton plantations worked by

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, who outnumbered the white residents of the county. The

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

devastated the local economy, completely destroying the plantation-based infrastructure of Chickasaw County. The newly freed slaves had to adapt to the new labor system, in which the white landowners still retained partial control over their lives through the practice of

sharecropping Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...

. The economy declined again in the late 19th century, when falling cotton prices reduced both black and white residents to poverty. Farmers eventually began diversifying their crops, and the economy slowly began to improve.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Route 45 Alternate (Mississippi) * Mississippi Highway 8 *

Mississippi Highway 15 Mississippi Highway 15 (MS 15) is a state highway in Mississippi. At almost , it is the longest highway in the Mississippi Highway System. MS 15 is divided into two sections due to a large gap between Stone County and Perry County. The south ...

* Mississippi Highway 32 *

Mississippi Highway 41 Mississippi Highway 41 (MS 41) is a state highway in northeastern Mississippi. The route starts at U.S. Route 45 (US 45) and US 278 north of Wren and travels westwards. It then intersects US 45 Alt. east of Okolona. The road enters Oko ...

* Mississippi Highway 47 * Natchez Trace Parkway

Adjacent counties

* Pontotoc County (north) * Lee County (northeast) * Monroe County (east) *

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

(southeast) * Webster County (southwest) * Calhoun County (west)

National protected areas

* Natchez Trace Parkway (part) * Tombigbee National Forest (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,106 people, 6,476 households, and 4,278 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 17,392 people living in the county. 54.0% were

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 ...

, 42.1% Black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 2.5% of some other race and 1.0% of two or more races. 3.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

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 19,440 people, 7,253 households, and 5,287 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 7,981 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 56.89%

, 41.26%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.99% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. 2.29% of the population were

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. According to the

of 2000, the largest ancestry groups in Chickasaw County were English 44.1%, African 41% and Scots-Irish 13.5%. There were 7,253 households, out of which 36.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.80% 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, 18.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.10% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.17. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.60% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,364, and the median income for a family was $33,819. Males had a median income of $25,459 versus $20,099 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 county was $13,279. About 16.80% of families and 20.00% 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 23.90% of those under age 18 and 22.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

(county seat) * Okolona (county seat)

Towns

* New Houlka

Villages

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

Census-designated place

* Van Vleet

Unincorporated communities

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

* Buena Vista *

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

* McCondy * Pyland * Shake Rag *

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

* Thorn * Trebloc

Politics

Notable locals

* Singer-songwriter

Bobbie Gentry Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is an American retired singer-songwriter. She was one of the first female artists in the United States to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 ...

, a Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee *

Bukka White Booker T. Washington "Bukka" White (November 12, 1906 – February 26, 1977) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. His first full-length biography'', The Life and Music of Booker "Bukka" White: Recalling the Blues'' (2024), has been ...

, early blues performer *

William Raspberry William Raspberry (October 12, 1935 – July 17, 2012) was an American syndicated public policy, public affairs columnist. He was also the Knight Professor of the Practice of Communications and Journalism at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy ...

, journalist * Milan Williams, founding member of

The Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

* Jim Hood, politician and former Mississippi Attorney General * Jeff Busby, United States Representative who spearheaded the Natchez Trace Parkway * Shaquille Vance, 2012 U.S. Paralympic National Championship, gold medal (100m), silver medal (200m) * Ida Mae Brandon Gladney, central character in the Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book '' The Warmth of Other Suns'' by

Isabel Wilkerson Isabel Wilkerson (born 1961) is an American journalist and the author of '' The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration'' (2010) and '' Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents'' (2020). She is the first woman of African-A ...

In popular culture

Candyland, the plantation of the fictional Calvin Candie, played by

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's film '' Django Unchained'', is located in Chickasaw County. Titus Andromedon, from the Netflix series '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', is from Chickasaw County

References

{{coord, 33.92, -88.95, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MS_source:UScensus1990 Mississippi counties Mississippi placenames of Native American origin 1836 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1836