Panola 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 33,208. 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

Sardis Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...

and Batesville. The county is located just east of 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 ...

in the northern part of the state. It is bisected by the Tallahatchie River flowing to the southwest; travel difficulties because of the river resulted in two county seats being established. Panola is the

anglicization Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English languag ...

of ''ponolo'', a word meaning "thread" in both old

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 ...

and

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 ...

and "

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

" in modern Choctaw. This was one of twelve large counties organized from the Chickasaw Cession of 1832.

History

Following forced removal of most of the historic Chickasaw tribe to territory west of the Mississippi River, Panola County was established February 9, 1836, by the state legislature. It is one of the twelve large northern

counties created that year from the territory of the

Cession of 1832. The original act defined its limits as follows: ' On February 1, 1877, when Quitman County was organized by the legislature, it took a small fraction of Panola's southwestern area, reducing Panola from an area of to its present land surface of . By 1920 the county had a population of 27,845. Its inhabitants gradually increased in numbers from 1850 to 1910, from 11,444 to 31,274, reaching a peak of population in 1940. Through this period the area was based on agriculture. From then until 1980, population declined markedly, as many African Americans moved west and north in the second wave of the Great Migration, to take jobs on the West Coast in the burgeoning defense industry. Whites also left the rural area. In 2020, the county was 48.3% African American and 47.1% white. Starting in 1803, sixteenth sections in each township in Mississippi were established for school purposes. These sections of land were to be used exclusively for school projects. In essence, schools were later founded on land that had been Chickasaw territory. Two of the oldest settlements in Panola County were at Belmont and Panola, which were a few miles apart and located on opposite sides of the Tallahatchie River. For several years there was a spirited contest between these two towns to gain the county court of Panola County. With the advent of the Mississippi and Tennessee (now the Illinois Central railroad), Belmont was absorbed by

, and Panola was absorbed by Batesville. The legislature authorized two judicial districts for the county, with Sardis designated as the seat of justice for the first judicial district, and Batesville for the second judicial district.

Early education

During the early period of county formation, most education was done at home. There was no public education, and only wealthier families hired tutors or sent their sons to seminaries or academies. The informal education consisted of basic math, basic reading, and study of biblical concepts. Through the antebellum period, the state generally forbade education of slaves and

free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...

. By 1840, four small private schools with a combined student population of 92 pupils were operating in the county.Fowler, "Schools and Churches: Education Efforts, 1840‑60," in ''History of Panola County, 1836‑1860'', Unpublished master's thesis (University of Mississippi, 1965), pg. 63 Documentation has not survived about these schools. During the early 1840s, the first school‑related advertisements were published r in the county newspapers. The ads attempted to present the virtues of these early schools. During this period, Judge James S.B. Thacher, a highly educated Bostonian, devised a popular educational program for the state of Mississippi. The proposed scheme received considerable discussion and was finally incorporated by the state legislature (March 4, 1846) into "An Act to establish a System of Common Schools."Rowland, ''History of Mississippi: The Heart of the South'' (Chicago‑Jackson: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1925), vol. II, pg. 647.Rowland, ''The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi‑1912'' (Nashville: Brandon, 1912), pg. 286. The act "provided for a board of five school commissioners in each county, to license teachers and have charge of schools, lease the school lands and have charge of the school funds in each county." To a large degree, this act was passed because A.G. Brown, a candidate for Mississippi governor, decided to make the establishment of a general school system a campaign issue. By 1846, Governor Brown (1844‑48), succeeded in getting the Act passed.Federal Writers' Project (Worker's Project Administration), ''Mississippi ‑‑ A Guide to the Magnolia State'' (New York: Hasting House, 1949), pg. 120. Schools established under this rule "had no uniformity since they differed as the counties differed in wealth and efficiency of management." Although the Act had proved to be of little assistance in Panola County, progress was being made for wealthier white students. By 1850, the seventh census in Panola County listed 18 schools and a total student population of 439 pupils (approximately four times that of the 1840 census). This census (unpublished returns) recorded that 18 individuals stated their occupation as educators or teachers. By the spring of 1854, several members of the local Shiloh community (Capt Thomas F. Wilson, Dr H. Moseley, and Jesse Smith) constructed a small log cabin to be used as the community's school house. This school, known as the Jones' School, at first employed only one teacher. It slowly grew in size and popularity. Several years later, the facility was moved to Peach Creek, where the school was informally known as the "Greasy Smith Schoolhouse," being named for the local village blacksmith.Pan Gens, ''Schools: The Early Years'', pg. 139. In 1882, the facility was moved to Pleasant Grove.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.8%) is water.

Major highways

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...

U.S. Route 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south–north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Hi ...

Mississippi Highway 3 Mississippi Highway 3 (MS 3) is a north–south Mississippi state highway, located entirely within the Mississippi Delta region, running from Redwood, Mississippi, Redwood to Lake Cormorant, Mississippi, Lake Cormorant, both at an intersec ...

* Mississippi Highway 6 * Mississippi Highway 35 * U.S. Route 278 * Mississippi Highway 315

Adjacent counties

* Tunica County (northwest) * Tate County (north) * Lafayette County (east) * Yalobusha County (southeast) * Tallahatchie County (southwest) * Quitman County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 33,208 people, 12,488 households, and 8,512 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 34,707 people living in the county. 49.4% 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 ...

, 48.6% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.6% of some other race and 0.9% of two or more races. 1.4% 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 34,274 people, 12,232 households, and 9,014 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 13,736 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 50.48%

, 48.36%

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 ...

, 0.16% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.41% from other races, and 0.39% from two or more races. 1.12% 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. There were 12,232 households, out of which 36.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.90% 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, 19.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.30% were non-families. 23.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.25. In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.40% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,785, and the median income for a family was $32,675. Males had a median income of $27,359 versus $19,088 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 $13,075. About 21.20% of families and 25.30% 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 32.30% of those under age 18 and 25.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government

In presidential elections, Panola County is a swing county.

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

won the county in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, with 51.6 percent to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's 47.4 percent. The county's Board of Supervisors are elected from five districts. They hire a county administrator to manage daily affairs.

Education

The elected school board selects the school superintendent. School districts include: * North Panola School District * South Panola School District

Communities

City

* Batesville (county seat)

Towns

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

* Courtland * Crenshaw (partly in Quitman County) * Crowder (mostly in Quitman County) *

(county seat)

Village

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Unincorporated communities

* Askew * Ballentine *

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

* Curtis Station * Glenville * Horatio * Locke Station‡ * Longtown * Pleasant Grove * Terza

Ghost town

* Tocowa

References

* Carl Edwin Lindgren. 1994. Panola Remembers: Education in a Southern Community. N.E. Morris Publishing Co. Also on-line a
Panola Remembers

External links

Panola County Sheriff's Office
{{authority control Mississippi counties Mississippi placenames of Native American origin 1836 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1836 Majority-minority counties in Mississippi