Yazoo 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 26,743, and was estimated to be 23,024 in 2024. 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 Yazoo City. It is named for the

Yazoo River The Yazoo River is a river primarily in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before the Ame ...

, which forms its western border. Its name is said to come from a

Choctaw language The Choctaw language (Choctaw: ), spoken by the Choctaw, an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, US, is a member of the Muskogean languages, Muskogean language family. Chickasaw language, Chickasaw is a separate but closely related l ...

word meaning "River of Death".

History

The area which is now Yazoo County was acquired by the State of Mississippi from 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 ...

Indians in 1820. Yazoo County was established on January 21, 1823. It was the 19th county established in the State of Mississippi and remains the largest in area. It was developed for cotton plantations, which lined the major river to have transportation access. The first county seat was at Beatties Bluff. As population increased, In 1829 the county seat was moved to Benton. In 1849 the county seat was moved again, to Yazoo City, where it remains. Yazoo County was a battlefield in 1863 and 1864 during 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 ...

. After the war, whites committed violence against freedmen to assert their dominance. Such violence continued after Reconstruction. In the period from 1877 to 1950, Yazoo County had 18 documented lynchings of African Americans.''Lynching in America'', 3rd edition
, Supplement by County, p. 6 Most occurred around the turn of the 20th century, as part of white imposition 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 ...

conditions and suppression of black voting. In 1900 a railroad disaster killed engineer

Casey Jones John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1864 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train in Vaughan, Mississippi. Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois Cen ...

; it took place in Yazoo County just north of

Vaughan Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...

. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 did much damage in Yazoo County. It experienced two accidents relating to

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

s owned by Denbury Resources. In 2011, a pipeline had a "blowout" in Tinsley, Mississippi, causing the sickening of one worker and killing deer, fish and birds. In 2020, a pipeline ruptured less than half a mile from Satartia. More than 300 people were evacuated and 46 hospitalized with carbon dioxide poisoning.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. It is the 1st largest county in Mississippi by total area and the 1st largest by total area.

Adjacent counties

* Humphreys County (north) * Holmes County (northeast) * Madison County (east) * Hinds County (south) * Warren County (southwest) * Issaquena County (west) * Sharkey County (northwest)

National protected area

* Hillside National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Panther Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in Yazoo County was $138,610. As of the 2023

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, there are 8,892 estimated households in Yazoo County with an average of 2.45 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $40,974. Approximately 30.9% of the county's population lives at or 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 ...

. Yazoo County has an estimated 43.2% employment rate, with 13.3% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 74.7% holding a high school diploma. The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (94.0%), Spanish (5.7%), Indo-European (0.1%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.0%), and Other (0.2%). The median age in the county was 38.4 years. Yazoo County, Mississippi – racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 26,743 people, 9,012 households, and 5,781 families residing 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 10,432 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 37.43%

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 ...

, 59.57%

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, 0.43% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.38% from some other races and 1.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.02% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 28,065 people, 8,860 households, and 6,280 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 10,074 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 39.95%

, 57.06%

, 0.29% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.01%

, 0.71% from some other races and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.64% of the population.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 28,149 people, 9,178 households, and 6,644 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 10,015 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 44.74%

, 53.96%

, 0.28% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.00%

, 0.22% from some other races and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.38% of the population. 35.60% of the 9,178 households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.20% 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, 23.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.35. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.50% under the age of 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 20.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 103.60 males (boys). For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $24,795, and the median income for a family was $29,395. Males had a median income of $28,553 versus $19,797 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 $12,062. About 25.40% of families and 31.90% of the population were below the

, including 42.90% of those under age 18 and 22.50% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

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. Highway 49 * US 49W

U.S. Highway 49W * US 49E

U.S. Highway 49E * 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 16 Mississippi Highway 16 (MS 16) is a state highway in central Mississippi. It runs east–west for , from the Mississippi Delta region to the Alabama state line. MS 16 serves 8 counties: Issaquena, Sharkey, Yazoo, Humphreys, Madison, Leak ...

Mississippi Highway 149 Mississippi Highway 149 (MS 149) is a state highway in Mississippi. The route designation is given to six former segments of U.S. Route 49 in Mississippi, U.S. Route 49 (US 49), and two former sections of U.S. Route 49W, US 49W, within the state ...

Mississippi Highway 433

Airport

Yazoo County Airport is located 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 Yazoo County, - Retrieved on September 23, 2010. west of central Yazoo City.Jeter, Lynne W.
Airports an advantage when it comes to site selection
" '' Mississippi Business Journal''. March 26, 2001. Retrieved on September 21, 2010.

Education

* Public School Districts ** Yazoo City Municipal School District serves areas in the Yazoo City limits;
Text list

2010 Map2010 text list
/ref> its high school is Yazoo City High School ** Yazoo County School District serves areas outside of the Yazoo City limits; its high school is Yazoo County High School * Private Schools ** Benton Academy (Benton) ** Manchester Academy (Yazoo City) ** Covenant Christian School (Yazoo City) ** Thomas Christian Academy (Yazoo City)

Politics

Originally a solid Democratic stronghold, Yazoo has been a swing county since the 1950s. The 2008 election, when

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

carried the county with a decisive majority, began a 12-year Democratic streak there, broken in 2024 when

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 ...

narrowly flipped it Republican. In 2024, Yazoo County was the most Black county or equivalent to vote for Donald Trump. This was even more stark because the county's Black population share has been increasing in recent decades.

Communities

Cities

* Yazoo City (county seat)

Town

* Bentonia

Villages

* Eden * Satartia

Census-designated place

* Benton

Unincorporated communities

* Anding * Carter * Holly Bluff * Hopewell Landing * Little Yazoo * Midway * Oil City * Phoenix *

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

* Tinsley *

Ghost towns

* Claibornesville * Hilton *

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

* Pearce * Plumville

Popular culture

Yazoo County, Mississippi has been featured in an

Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrenc ...

series documenting bullying.

Notable people

Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he previously ser ...

, Governor of Mississippi * Willie Brown, football player * Jerry Clower, comedian * Henry Espy, Mayor of Clarksdale, Mississippi * Mike Espy, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture * Lawrence Gordon, motion picture producer * Lynn Hamilton, actress * Jesse E. Holmes, minister, community leader * Duck Holmes, blues musician * T. J. Huddleston, entrepreneur *

Skip James Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "Coupling an oddball guitar tuning set against eerie, falsetto vocals, James' early recordings ...

, blues musician * Tommy McClennan, blues musician * Willie Morris, writer *

Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born Estelle Caro Eggleston; October 1, 1938 – February 17, 2023) was an American actress. She was the mother of actor Andrew Stevens. Stevens began her acting career in 1959 in the film ''Say One for Me'', winning the Golden ...

, actress * Zig Ziglar, writer and motivational speaker

References

External links

*
Yazoo County Mississippi
on RootsWeb.com
Yazoo County Convention and Visitors Bureau
{{Coord, 32.78, -90.40, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MS_source:UScensus1990 1823 establishments in Mississippi Mississippi counties Mississippi placenames of Native American origin Populated places established in 1823 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Mississippi