Sunflower 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 25,971. Its largest city and

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 Indianola. Sunflower County comprises the Indianola, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

-Indianola, MS Combined Statistical Area. It is located in 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 ...

region.

Mississippi State Penitentiary Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP), also known as Parchman Farm, is a maximum-security prison farm located in the unincorporated community of Parchman in Sunflower County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region. Occupying about of la ...

(Parchman Farm) is located in Sunflower County.

History

Sunflower County was created in 1844. The land mass encompassed most of Sunflower and Leflore Counties as we know them today. The first seat of government was Clayton, located near Fort Pemberton. Later the county seat was moved to McNutt, also in present-day Leflore County. When Sunflower and Leflore counties were separated in 1871, the new county seat for Sunflower County was moved to Johnsonville. This village was located where the north end of Mound Bayou empties into the Sunflower River. In 1882 the county seat was moved to Eureka, which was later renamed Indianola. Boyer Cemetery, located in Boyer, goes back to the early days of Sunflower County. After the U.S. Civil War, across several decades

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 ...

s migrated to Sunflower County to work in the

. In 1870, 3,243 black people lived in Sunflower County. This increased to 12,070 in 1900, making up 75% of the residents in Sunflower County. Between 1900 and 1920, the black population almost tripled.Moye, J. Todd. '' Let the People Decide: Black Freedom and White Resistance Movements in Sunflower County, Mississippi, 1945-1986''.

University of North Carolina Press The University of North Carolina Press (or UNC Press), founded in 1922, is a not-for-profit university press associated with the University of North Carolina. It was the first university press founded in the southern United States. It is a mem ...

, November 29, 2004
28
Retrieved from

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

on February 26, 2012; ,

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. Sunflower County is the longest county in Mississippi. The traveling distance from the southern boundary at Caile to its northern boundary at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

is approximately 71 miles. The center of the county is about east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, about west of the hill section of Mississippi, north of

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, and about south of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

Adjacent counties

* Coahoma County (north) * Tallahatchie County (northeast) * Leflore County (east) * Humphreys County (south) * Washington County (southwest) * Bolivar County (northwest)

Demographics

The county reached its peak population in 1930. After that, population declined from 1940 to 1990. There was considerable migration out of the rural county, especially as mechanization reduced the need for farm labor. Both whites and blacks left the county. Many African Americans migrated north or west to industrial cities to escape the social oppression and violence of

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...

, especially moving in the Great Migration during and after World War II, when the defense industry on the West Coast attracted many.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 25,971 people, 8,322 households, and 5,292 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 29,450 people living in the county. 72.9% were black or African American, 25.4%

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 ...

, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% of some other race and 0.5% 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 34,369 people, 9,637 households, and 7,314 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 10,338 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 69.86%

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 ...

, 28.88%

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 ...

, 0.09% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races. 1.30% 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.

1990 census

As of the

of 1990, there were 32,341 people. The racial makeup of the county was 71.89%

, 26.40%

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.50% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races. 1.31% of the population were

or Latino of any race.

1980 census

As of the

of 1980, there were 30,402 people. The racial makeup of the county was 73.88%

, 24.45%

, 0.15% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.52% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races. 1.32% of the population were

or Latino of any race. As of the

of 2000, there were 9,637 households, out of which 38.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.30% were married couples living together, 28.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.10% were non-families. 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.50. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.90% under the age of 18, 14.00% from 18 to 24, 30.30% from 25 to 44, 18.10% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 115.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $24,970, and the median income for a family was $29,144. Males had a median income of $26,208 versus $19,145 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 $11,365. About 24.60% of families and 30.00% 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 39.50% of those under age 18 and 24.10% of those age 65 or over. Sunflower County has the ninth-lowest per capita income in Mississippi and the 72nd-lowest in the United States.

Government

The

Mississippi Department of Corrections The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) is a state agency of Mississippi that operates prisons. It has its headquarters in Jackson. Burl Cain is the commissioner. History In 1843 a penitentiary in four city squares in central Jack ...

(MDOC) is responsible for the state's correctional services, probation services, and parole services. MDOC operates the

(MSP; colloquially known as 'Parchman Farm') in the

unincorporated community 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 ...

of Parchman in Sunflower County and a probation and parole office in the Courthouse Annex in Indianola. MSP, a prison for men,State Prisons
."

. Retrieved on May 21, 2010. is the location of the State of Mississippi male death row and the State of Mississippi execution chamber.Division of Institutions State Prisons
."

. April 21, 2010. Retrieved on May 21, 2010. Around the time of MSP's opening in 1901, Sunflower County residents objected to having executions performed at MSP because they feared that Sunflower County would be stigmatized as a "death county". Therefore, the State of Mississippi originally performed executions of condemned criminals in their counties of conviction. By the 1950s residents of Sunflower County were still opposed to the concept of housing the execution chamber at MSP. In September 1954, Governor Hugh White called for a special session of the

Mississippi Legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and ...

to discuss the application of the death penalty.Cabana, Donald A.
The History of Capital Punishment in Mississippi: An Overview
." ''Mississippi History Now''. Mississippi Historical Society. Retrieved on August 16, 2010. During that year, an

execution chamber An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a prison#Security levels, maximum-security prison, although not always at the same p ...

was installed at MSP.Mississippi and the Death Penalty
."

. Retrieved on August 12, 2010. Sunflower County mirrors other Mississippi Delta counties in that it is a traditional Democratic stronghold. It has not supported a Republican presidential candidate since 1984.

Economy

In December 2011, Sunflower County's unemployment rate was 16.2%. The Mississippi statewide rate was 9.9%, and the U.S. overall unemployment rate was 8.3%. it was one of the poorest counties in the United States.Wright, Chance.
Bryant signs school merger
", '' The Bolivar Commercial''. Retrieved June 13, 2012.

Transportation

Major highways

U.S. Highway 49W * US 82

U.S. Highway 82 * Circle sign 3

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 8 * Circle sign 32

Mississippi Highway 32

Airports

Two airports are located in unincorporated Sunflower County. Indianola Municipal Airport, near Indianola, - Retrieved on September 23, 2010. is operated by the city.Poplarville, Hattiesburg among airports receiving grants
." WDAM. March 12, 2010. Retrieved on September 23, 2010. Ruleville-Drew Airport, between Drew and Ruleville, - Retrieved on September 23, 2010. is jointly operated by the two cities.

Education

Colleges and universities

Mississippi Delta Community College Mississippi Delta Community College is a public community college serving the Mississippi Delta region with its main campus in Moorhead, Mississippi. It also offers courses at locations in Greenville, Greenwood, and Indianola. Its mascot is th ...

has a main campus in Moorhead and other locations.

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

* Public School Districts ** Sunflower County Consolidated School District - The district is the only school district in Sunflower County. ** Former districts: Drew School District, Indianola School District, Sunflower County School District Between 2010 and 2012, the State of Mississippi had taken over all three Sunflower County school districts and put them under the conservatorship of the

Mississippi Department of Education The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) is the state education agency of Mississippi. It is headquartered in the former Central High School (Jackson, Mississippi), Central High School Building at 359 North West Street in Jackson, Mississip ...

,Wright, Chance.
Senate passes school merger
." '' Bolivar Commercial''. February 2012. Retrieved on March 25, 2012. due to academic and financial reasons. In February 2012, the

Mississippi Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

voted 43–4 to pass Senate Bill 2330, to consolidate the three school districts into one school district. The bill went to the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...

. ''

The Greenwood Commonwealth ''The Greenwood Commonwealth'' is a daily newspaper published in Greenwood, Mississippi Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, ...

'' said that the county was an "easy target" for school merging due to the difficulties in all three school districts, and that the scenario "doesn't leave them with much leverage to argue in favor of the

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

. And because none of them does well, none of them can object to assuming someone else's headaches. All three are beset with them." Later that month, the State Board of Education approved the consolidation of the Drew School District and the Sunflower County School District, and if Senate Bill 2330 is approved, Indianola School District will be added. In May 2012

Governor of Mississippi The governor of Mississippi is the head of government of Mississippi and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Mississippi National Guard, military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either appro ...

Phil Bryant signed the bill into law, requiring all three districts to consolidate. SB2330 stipulates that if a county has three school districts all under conservatorship by the Mississippi Department of Education will have them consolidated into one school district serving the entire county.Doyle, Rory.
Drew, Ruleville prepare to merge
." '' Bolivar Commercial''. Retrieved on August 30, 2012. As of July 1, 2012, the Drew School District was consolidated with the Sunflower County School District.

Private schools

* Private School ** Indianola Academy (Indianola) ** North Sunflower Academy (''

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 ...

'') ** Restoration Ministries Christian Academy The

Central Delta Academy Central Delta Academy (CDA) was a private elementary and middle school,, and later just elementary school, in Inverness, Mississippi,

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

closed on May 21, 2010. Three of the private schools (Indianola Academy, North Sunflower, and Central Delta) originated as

segregation academies Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend desegregated public schools. They were founded between 1954, when the U.S ...

. Pillow Academy in unincorporated Leflore County, near Greenwood, enrolls some students from Sunflower County.Profile of Pillow Academy 2010-2011
." Pillow Academy. Retrieved on March 25, 2012. It originally was a segregation academy.

Public libraries

The Sunflower County Library provides library services. The administration is in Indianola, and the system operates libraries in Drew, Indianola,

, Moorhead, and Ruleville.

Media

The Enterprise-Tocsin ''The Enterprise-Tocsin'' is a newspaper in the U.S. state 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 n ...

'', a newspaper based out of Indianola, is distributed throughout Sunflower County. '' The Bolivar Commercial'' is also distributed in Sunflower County.

Communities

J. Todd Moye, author of '' Let the People Decide: Black Freedom and White Resistance Movements in Sunflower County, Mississippi, 1945-1986'', said "Sunflower County has always been overwhelmingly rural." At the end of the 20th century, the county had just four "main towns of any size".

Cities

* Indianola (county seat) * Drew * Moorhead * Ruleville * Shaw (mostly in Bolivar County)

Towns

* Doddsville *

Sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...

Unincorporated communities

* Baird * Baltzer * Blaine * Boyer * Caile * Dockery * Fairview * Heathman * Holly Ridge * Kinlock *

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Carl Linnaeus, abbreviated as Linn. * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Place ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

(Parchman) *

* Roundaway * Steiner * Stephenville

Ghost towns

* Cottondale * Inwood *

Promised Land In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" ( ) refers to a swath of territory in the Levant that was bestowed upon Abraham and his descendants by God in Abrahamic religions, God. In the context of the Bible, these descendants are originally ...

Notable people

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...

(singer & Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, born 1939) *

Willie Best William Best (May 27, 1916 – February 27, 1962), known professionally as Willie Best or Sleep 'n' Eat, was an American television and film actor. Best was one of the first African American film actors and comedians to become well known ...

(actor, 1916–1962) *

Craig Claiborne Craig Claiborne (September 4, 1920 January 22, 2000) was an American restaurant critic, food journalist and book author. A long-time food editor and restaurant critic for ''The New York Times'', he was also the author of numerous cookbooks ...

(''New York Times'' food editor, 1920-2000) *

James Eastland James Oliver Eastland (November 28, 1904 February 19, 1986) was an American attorney, plantation owner, and politician from Mississippi. A Democrat, he served in the United States Senate in 1941 and again from 1943 until his resignation in late ...

(U.S. Senator from Mississippi, 1904–1986) * C. L. Franklin, father of

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

(minister, civil rights activist, 1915–1984) *

Fannie Lou Hamer Fannie Lou Hamer (; Townsend; October 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977) was an American voting and women's rights activist, community organizer, and leader of the civil rights movement. She was the vice-chair of the Freedom Democratic Party, ...

(civil rights activist, 1917–1977)Barnwell, p
225
*

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

(bluesman, 1925–2015) *

Sam Lacey Samuel Lacey (March 28, 1948 – March 14, 2014) was an American basketball player. He spent the majority of his career with the Royals/Kings franchise. Lacey was selected as an all-star while playing for the Kings in 1975, and eventually had his ...

(retired NBA basketball player, 1948–present) *

Archie Manning Elisha Archibald Manning III (born May 19, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982. He also h ...

(NFL quarterback, 1971–1984) *

Charlie Patton Charlie Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), more often spelled Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of America ...

(bluesman, 1891–1934) * Johnny Russell (country singer)

References

;Specific ;General * Excerpt of: Mills, Kay ''This Little Light of Mine''. In: Barnwell, Marion (editor) '' A Place Called Mississippi: Collected Narratives''.

University Press of Mississippi The University Press of Mississippi (UPM), founded in 1970, is a university press that is sponsored by the eight state universities in Mississippi (i.e., Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi Sta ...

, 1997. , 9781617033391.

External links

* - State of Mississippi
Sunflower County Library
{{Coord, 33.61, -90.60, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MS_source:UScensus1990 Mississippi counties 1844 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1844 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Mississippi

History

Geography

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 census

1990 census

1980 census

Government

Economy

Transportation

Major highways

Airports

Education

Colleges and universities

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Private schools

Public libraries

Media

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Notable people

See also

References

External links