Choctaw 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 central part of 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 8,246. Its northern border is the Big Black River, which flows southwest into the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg. 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 Ackerman. The county is named after the

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

tribe of Native Americans. They had long occupied this territory as their homeland before European exploration. Under the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States president Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, ...

of 1830, they were forced by the United States to cede their lands and to move west of the Mississippi River to what became

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, ...

(today's state of Oklahoma).

History

This was one of the first counties organized in central Mississippi after Indian Removal, and it was originally much larger in geography. As the population increased in the Territory, additional counties were organized. For instance, in 1874 Webster County was formed from some of this county, as were Montgomery and Grenada counties. The first county seat was Greensboro, which was later assigned to the territory of Webster County and designated as its county seat. Eventually Walthall, Mississippi was designated as the county seat of that county, resulting in the decline and abandonment of Greensboro.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water. The Big Black River forms the county's northern border.

Adjacent counties

* Webster County, Mississippi - north * Oktibbeha County, Mississippi - east * Winston County, Mississippi - southeast * Attala County, Mississippi - southwest * Montgomery County, Mississippi - west

National
protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...
s

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

Demographics

The adjacent table reflects major decreases in population from 1910 to 1920, and from 1940 to 1960. These were periods of the Great Migration from the South by African Americans, who first moved to jobs in industrial cities in the North and Midwest. In the 1940s and after, they moved to the West Coast for jobs in the rapidly growing defense industry. Farm work declined with mechanization of agriculture. But Black people also migrated to escape the violence and social repression of Mississippi, where they had been essentially disenfranchised since 1890 and lived under

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...

and the threat of violence; the state had a high rate of lynchings.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,246 people, 3,228 households, and 2,010 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 8,543 people living in the county. 68.1% 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 ...

, 30.2%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.1% from some other race and 1.1% of two or more races. 1.4% 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.

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 9,758 people, 3,686 households, and 2,668 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 4,249 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 68.03%

, 30.68%

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 ...

, 0.31% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.01%

, 0.42% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races. 0.81% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 3,686 households, out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.30% 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, 14.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.06. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.80% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 24.90% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,020, and the median income for a family was $31,095. Males had a median income of $26,966 versus $17,798 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 $13,474. About 17.70% of families and 24.70% 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 33.80% of those under age 18 and 21.30% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Choctaw County School District operates public schools, including Choctaw County High School, Ackerman Elementary, French Camp Elementary, and Weir Elementary. French Camp Academy, which provides in-house private education in grades 7 through 12, is located in French Camp.Education
." Choctaw County Economic Development Foundation. Retrieved on March 1, 2011.

Colleges and universities

Colleges and universities within a radius of the center of the county include: * East Mississippi Community College (campuses in Columbus, Mayhew, and Scooba) * Holmes Community College (campuses in Goodman and

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

) *

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

( Starkville) *

Mississippi University for Women Mississippi University for Women (MUW or "The W") is a coeducational public university in Columbus, Mississippi. It was formerly named the "Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls" and later the "Mississippi State Coll ...

(Columbus)

Communities

Towns

* Ackerman (county seat) * French Camp * Mathiston (mostly in Webster County) *

Weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

Unincorporated communities

* Bywy *

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

Ghost towns

* Bankston * Pigeon Roost

Notable people

* James Blackwood, American Gospel singer and one of the founding members of legendary Southern Gospel quartet The Blackwood Brothers. * Turner Catledge, Managing editor of

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

from 1952 to 1964 and the paper's first executive editor. * David A. Chandler, Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi. * James Plemon "J.P." Coleman 52nd Governor of Mississippi and a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. * Thomas Fulton, Former conductor of the New York Metropolitan Opera *

Dennis Johnson Dennis Wayne Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007), nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a c ...

Fullback for Mississippi State University who played for the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills in the NFL. * Kenneth Johnson, NFL defensive back for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

* Tony Kimbrough, Former professional football quarterback * Raymond Edwin "Ray" Mabus Jr., 60th Governor of Mississippi and 75th United States Secretary of the Navy. * Hoyt Ming, old-time fiddler. * Alvin McKinley, NFL defensive tackle who played for the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints. * Roy Oswalt, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher * Cheryl Prewitt, Miss America 1980 and Miss Mississippi 1979

In popular culture

The song "Choctaw County Affair" from Carrie Underwood's 2015 album Storyteller is set in Choctaw County, Mississippi.

Politics

John F. Kennedy is the last Democrat to win Choctaw County despite the fact that there is not one Catholic parish located in the county.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Mississippi counties Mississippi placenames of Native American origin 1833 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1833