Claiborne County, Mississippi

Claiborne County, Mississippi
Claiborne County courthouse in Port Gibson, Mississippi
Location in the state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location in the U.S.
Founded	1802
Seat	Port Gibson
Largest city	Port Gibson
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	501.36 sq mi (1,299 km²) 486.77 sq mi (1,261 km²) 14.59 sq mi (38 km²), 2.91%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	9,604 23/sq mi (9/km²)

Claiborne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2010, the population was 9,604. Its county seat is Port Gibson.^[1]

The county is named after William C. C. Claiborne, the second governor of the Mississippi Territory.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Claiborne County has the third-largest percentage of black residents of any American county, with an 84 percent majority of the population being African-American.^[2] Claiborne County was home to a little known but profound African-American civil rights struggle during the middle of the 20th century.^[3]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 501.36 square miles (1,298.5 km²), of which 486.77 square miles (1,260.7 km²) (or 97.09%) is land and 14.59 square miles (37.8 km²) (or 2.91%) is water.^[4]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 61
• Mississippi Highway 18
• Natchez Trace Parkway

Adjacent counties

• Warren County (north)
• Hinds County (northeast)
• Copiah County (southeast)
• Jefferson County (south)
• Tensas Parish, Louisiana (west)

National protected area

• Natchez Trace Parkway (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1810	3,102		—
1820	5,963		92.2%
1830	9,787		64.1%
1840	13,078		33.6%
1850	14,941		14.2%
1860	15,679		4.9%
1870	13,386		−14.6%
1880	16,768		25.3%
1890	14,516		−13.4%
1900	20,787		43.2%
1910	17,403		−16.3%
1920	13,019		−25.2%
1930	12,152		−6.7%
1940	12,810		5.4%
1950	11,944		−6.8%
1960	10,845		−9.2%
1970	10,086		−7.0%
1980	12,279		21.7%
1990	11,370		−7.4%
2000	11,831		4.1%
2010	9,604		−18.8%
MS Counties 1900-1990 GeoHive - 2000 & 2010 statistics

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 11,831 people, 3,685 households, and 2,531 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 4,252 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.11% Black or African American, 15.18% White, 0.05% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races. 0.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,685 households out of which 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.50% were married couples living together, 26.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 28.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.30% under the age of 18, 23.10% from 18 to 24, 22.30% from 25 to 44, 17.90% from 45 to 64, and 10.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 85.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $22,615, and the median income for a family was $29,867. Males had a median income of $28,777 versus $20,140 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,244. About 27.90% of families and 32.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.80% of those under age 18 and 28.00% of those age 65 or over.

Claiborne County has the eighth lowest per capita income in Mississippi and the 67th lowest in the United States.

Communities

• Cities
  • Port Gibson

• Unincorporated places
  • Alcorn State
  • Carlisle
  • Grand Gulf
  • Hermanville
  • Pattison
  • Russum

Sites of interest

• Claiborne County Courthouse
• Grand Gulf Nuclear Generating Station
• Grand Gulf Military State Park (Mississippi)

See also

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

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ "Minorities now in the majority in nearly 10% of U.S. counties", Lexington Herald-Leader August 8, 2007 p A8
3. ^ Crosby, Emilye. A Little Taste of Freedom: The Black Freedom Struggle in Claiborne County, Mississippi. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 2005. ISBN 0-8078-5638-X.
4. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Claiborne County Courthouse Pictures
• Claiborne County Public School District

Coordinates: 31°58′N 90°55′W / 31.97°N 90.91°W / 31.97; -90.91