Coahoma County, Mississippi

Coahoma County, Mississippi
Location in the state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 9, 1836
Seat	Clarksdale
Largest city	Clarksdale
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	583.14 sq mi (1,510 km²) 554.15 sq mi (1,435 km²) 28.99 sq mi (75 km²), 4.97%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	26,151 54/sq mi (21/km²)

Coahoma County is a county located in the Mississippi Delta region of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2010, the population was 26,151. Its county seat is Clarksdale^[1].

The Clarksdale Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Coahoma County.

History

Coahoma County was established February 9, 1836, and is located in the northwestern part of the state in the fertile Yazoo Delta region. The name "Coahoma" is a Choctaw word meaning "red panther." The act creating the county defined its limits as follows:

Beginning at the point where the line between townships 24 and 25 of the surveys of the late Choctaw cession intersects the Mississippi River, and running thence up the said river to the point where the dividing line between the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes of Indians intersects the same; thence with the dividing line to the point where the line between ranges two and three of the survey of the said Choctaw cession intersects the same; thence with said range line, to the line between townships 24 and 25 aforesaid, and thence with the said township line to the beginning.

Port Royal was once the county seat of Coahoma County. It was a rival of Friars Point, five miles up the Mississippi River. In the early days the county seats of the Mississippi River counties were always located on the banks of that stream. When Port Royal was cut off from the river in 1848, its fate was sealed and the county seat of justice was located at Friars Point, which still remained a river town. The latter place had a population of about 1,000 (census of 1920), and received its name in honor of Robert Friar, one of its earliest settlers. Clarksdale, one of the county seats, is now the largest and most important city in the county, and had a population of 7,500 in 1920. Clarksdale was named for John Clark, a brother-in-law of Governor James L. Alcorn, whose home, Eagle’s Nest, was in this county.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 583.14 square miles (1,510.3 km²), of which 554.15 square miles (1,435.2 km²) (or 95.03%) is land and 28.99 square miles (75.1 km²) (or 4.97%) is water.^[2]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 49
• U.S. Highway 61
• Mississippi Highway 1
• Mississippi Highway 6

Adjacent counties

• Tunica County (north)
• Quitman County (east)
• Tallahatchie County (southeast)
• Bolivar County (southwest)
• Phillips County, Arkansas (west)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	1,290		—
1850	2,780		115.5%
1860	6,606		137.6%
1870	7,144		8.1%
1880	13,568		89.9%
1890	18,342		35.2%
1900	26,293		43.3%
1910	34,217		30.1%
1920	41,511		21.3%
1930	46,327		11.6%
1940	48,333		4.3%
1950	49,361		2.1%
1960	46,212		−6.4%
1970	40,447		−12.5%
1980	36,918		−8.7%
1990	31,665		−14.2%
2000	30,622		−3.3%
2010	26,151		−14.6%
MS Counties 1900-1990 GeoHive - 2000 & 2010 statistics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 30,622 people, 10,553 households, and 7,482 families residing in the county. The population density was 55 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 11,490 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 29.28% White, 69.21% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 0.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 10,553 households out of which 36.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.20% were married couples living together, 28.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.10% were non-families. 26.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.42.

In the county the population was spread out with 33.00% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 84.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $22,338, and the median income for a family was $26,640. Males had a median income of $26,841 versus $19,611 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,558. About 29.80% of families and 35.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.90% of those under age 18 and 31.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

• Cities
  • Clarksdale

• Towns
  • Coahoma
  • Friars Point
  • Jonestown
  • Lula
  • Lyon

• Unincorporated places
  • Bobo
  • Claremont
  • Clover Hill
  • Dublin
  • Farrell
  • Hillhouse
  • Lu-Rand
  • Mattson
  • Moon Lake (community)
  • Rena Lara
  • Rich
  • Roundaway
  • Rudyard
  • Sherard
  • Stovall

Education

• Colleges
  • Coahoma Community College (Clarksdale)

Coahoma County was previously in the service area of the Mississippi Delta Community College (MDCC). As a result of the 1995 Mississippi Legislature session, Coahoma County is no longer in the MDCC service area.^[4]

• Public School Districts
  • Clarksdale Municipal School District
  • Coahoma County School District

• Private Schools
  • Lee Academy (Clarksdale)

Notable residents

• James L. Alcorn, United States Senator from Mississippi, owned and died at "Eagle Nest" in Coahoma County^[5]
• Thomas Harris, author of Hannibal Lecter novels; he was born in Jackson, Tennessee, but raised in Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated community in Coahoma County.
• John Lee Hooker (1917–2001), influential blues singer, was born on August 22, 1917 in Coahoma County into a sharecropper and Baptist preacher family.
• Ransom A. Myers (b. Lula, Mississippi, 1952 - d. Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2007) was a renowned Canada-based marine biologist, conservationist and scholar at Dalhousie University who published a seminal study on overfishing.
• Rick Ross the rapper was born in Coahoma County in 1976. Soon moved to Miami-Dade County, Florida.
• Ike Turner was born in Clarksdale
• Nate Dogg spent his childhood in Clarksdale.
• Tennessee Williams spent much of his childhood in Clarksdale and Coahoma County. A Tennessee Williams Festival is held annually in Clarksdale.
• Blac Elvis was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Award-winning music producer/song-writer.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Coahoma County, Mississippi

External links

Mississippi portal

• http://www.clarksdale.com/chamber/
• Coahoma County, Mississippi at the Open Directory Project
• Coahoma County Courthouse Pictures
• Delta News Online: Hometown News for the Mississippi Delta

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ "The History of MDCC." Mississippi Delta Community College. Retrieved on October 18, 2010.
5. ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who. 1967. 

Coordinates: 34°14′N 90°36′W / 34.23°N 90.60°W / 34.23; -90.60