Greene County, Mississippi

Last updated

Greene County
Leaksville Junior High School.jpg
Leaksville Junior High School
Map of Mississippi highlighting Greene County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi in United States.svg
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°13′N88°38′W / 31.22°N 88.64°W / 31.22; -88.64
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Mississippi.svg  Mississippi
Founded1811
Named for Nathanael Greene
Seat Leakesville
Largest townLeakesville
Area
  Total719 sq mi (1,860 km2)
  Land713 sq mi (1,850 km2)
  Water5.9 sq mi (15 km2)  0.8%
Population
 (2020)
  Total13,530
  Density19/sq mi (7.3/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
  Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district 4th
Website www.greenecountyms.gov

Greene County is a county located on the southeast border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,530. [1] Its county seat is Leakesville. [2] Established in 1811, the county was named for General Nathanael Greene of the American Revolutionary War. [3]

Contents

History

Historically this area of the state was occupied by the Choctaw people, who constituted the largest tribe. French, Spanish and English colonists traded with them in the early colonial years. in 1830, President Andrew Jackson gained passage of the Indian Removal Act by Congress, and proceeded to force the Choctaw and other of the Five Civilized Tribes out of the Southeast to lands west of the Mississippi River. The land was sold to European-American settlers.

County boundaries went through numerous changes as population increased and new counties were created. Along with neighboring Jones and Perry counties, Greene is characterized by its sandy soil and Piney Woods. These characteristics limited the productivity of farming. [4]

The county economy originally depended on subsistence farmers who ran herds of cattle and hogs, which were allowed to roam freely in the pine forests and bush. Together with the game they hunted, residents sold the meat animals to markets in Mobile, Alabama, the nearest commercial center. [5] While some farmers tried to cultivate cotton because of the high prices when the market was strong, most in this area had small farms and the owners held few enslaved African Americans. The soil did not support very successful cotton crops; in 1860 only 16 of the 213 farmers in this county raised cotton. [4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 719 square miles (1,860 km2), of which 713 square miles (1,850 km2) is land and 5.9 square miles (15 km2) (0.8%) is water. [6]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

The rural county had strong declines in population from 1940 to 1960, a period when many African Americans left for the West Coast in the second wave of the Great Migration. The buildup of defense industries in California and other states before and during World War II attracted many migrants for work opportunities.

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1820 1,345
1830 1,85437.8%
1840 1,636−11.8%
1850 2,01823.3%
1860 2,23210.6%
1870 2,038−8.7%
1880 3,19456.7%
1890 3,90622.3%
1900 6,79574.0%
1910 6,050−11.0%
1920 10,43072.4%
1930 10,6442.1%
1940 9,512−10.6%
1950 8,215−13.6%
1960 8,3661.8%
1970 8,5452.1%
1980 9,82715.0%
1990 10,2204.0%
2000 13,29930.1%
2010 14,4008.3%
2020 13,530−6.0%
U.S. Decennial Census [7]
1790-1960 [8] 1900-1990 [9]
1990-2000 [10] 2010-2013 [11]

2000 census

As of the census [12] of 2000, there were 13,299 people, 4,148 households, and 3,152 families residing in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile (7.3 people/km2). There were 4,947 housing units at an average density of 7 units per square mile (2.7 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 72.79% White, 26.18% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from other races, and 0.38% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,148 households, out of which 37.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.20% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.00% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.10% under the age of 18, 13.10% from 18 to 24, 32.10% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 10.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 130.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 141.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,336, and the median income for a family was $33,037. Males had a median income of $30,189 versus $17,935 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,868. About 16.50% of families and 19.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.30% of those under age 18 and 21.10% of those age 65 or over.

2015

As of 2015 the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Greene County, Mississippi are:

2020 census

Greene County racial composition [14]
RaceNum.Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)9,80972.5%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)3,14323.23%
Native American 600.44%
Asian 210.16%
Pacific Islander 30.02%
Other/Mixed 3232.39%
Hispanic or Latino 1711.26%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,530 people, 3,925 households, and 2,624 families residing in the county.

Government and infrastructure

The Mississippi Department of Corrections South Mississippi Correctional Institution is located in an unincorporated area of Greene County. [15] [16] It opened in 1990. In the early 21st century, it has an inmate population of more than 3,000 men, which has added markedly to the total population of the county. Its inmates constitute approximately 21 percent of the state's total prisoners. Numerous residents of the rural county are employed at the prison.

The Greene County School District includes: Greene County High School, Greene County Vocational-Technical School, Leakesville Elementary School, Leakesville Junior High School, McLain Attendance Center, and Sand Hill Attendance Center. [17]

Communities

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

United States presidential election results for Greene County, Mississippi [18]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.%No.%No.%
2020 4,79482.48%96616.62%520.89%
2016 4,33580.74%97418.14%601.12%
2012 4,53176.51%1,32522.37%661.11%
2008 4,36175.33%1,36623.60%621.07%
2004 3,85072.66%1,42126.82%280.53%
2000 3,08269.48%1,31729.69%370.83%
1996 1,94753.71%1,34737.16%3319.13%
1992 2,40651.90%1,66435.89%56612.21%
1988 2,83757.08%1,63732.94%4969.98%
1984 2,74467.55%1,29731.93%210.52%
1980 1,77250.04%1,74049.14%290.82%
1976 1,53840.80%2,12756.42%1052.79%
1972 2,88483.52%51314.86%561.62%
1968 1323.97%44913.50%2,74482.53%
1964 1,84589.52%21610.48%00.00%
1960 24715.65%55034.85%78149.49%
1956 35128.56%73459.72%14411.72%
1952 50628.86%1,24771.14%00.00%
1948 141.38%11811.59%88687.03%
1944 10910.73%90789.27%00.00%
1940 666.65%92693.35%00.00%
1936 465.23%83094.43%30.34%
1932 293.42%81896.46%10.12%
1928 34236.58%59363.42%00.00%
1924 316.37%45693.63%00.00%
1920 246.59%33792.58%30.82%
1916 327.36%39991.72%40.92%
1912 134.18%26886.17%309.65%

Education

Greene County School District is the only school district. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clay County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,636. Its county seat is West Point. Its name is in honor of American statesman Henry Clay, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky and United States Secretary of State in the 19th century. J. Wesley Caradine, an African American, was the first state representative for Clay County after it was established in 1871.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walthall County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Walthall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,884. Its county seat is Tylertown. The county is named after Civil War Confederate general and Mississippi Senator Edward C. Walthall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It was formed in 1870 from Tippah and Pontotoc counties, and in 1874 a portion of Lee County was added. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,777. Its county seat is New Albany. According to most sources, the county received its name by being a union of pieces of several large counties, like other Union counties in other states. However, other sources say that the name was meant to mark the re-union of Mississippi and the other Confederate states after the Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tallahatchie County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Tallahatchie County is a county in the U.S. state of Mississippi. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,715. Its county seats are Charleston and Sumner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontotoc County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Pontotoc County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,184. Its county seat is Pontotoc. It was created on February 9, 1836, from lands ceded to the United States under the Chickasaw Cession. Pontotoc is a Chickasaw word meaning "land of hanging grapes". The original Natchez Trace and the current-day Natchez Trace Parkway both pass through the southeast corner of Pontotoc County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leake County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Leake County is a county in the center of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,275. Its county seat is Carthage. The county is named for Walter Leake, the Governor of Mississippi from 1822 to 1825.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauderdale County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Lauderdale County is a county located on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,984. The county seat is Meridian. The county is named for Colonel James Lauderdale, who was killed at the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. Lauderdale County is included in the Meridian, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calhoun County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Calhoun County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,266. Its county seat is Pittsboro. The county is named after John C. Calhoun, the U.S. Vice President and U.S. Senator from South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attala County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Attala County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,889. Its county seat is Kosciusko. Attala County is named for Atala, a fictional Native American heroine from an early-19th-century novel of the same name by François-René de Chateaubriand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craighead County, Arkansas</span> County in Arkansas, United States

Craighead County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 111,231. The county has two county seats — Jonesboro and Lake City. Craighead County is Arkansas's 58th county, formed on February 19, 1859, and named for state Senator Thomas Craighead. It is one of several dry counties within the state of Arkansas, in which the sale of alcoholic beverages is largely prohibited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eutaw, Alabama</span> City in and county seat of Greene County, Alabama

Eutaw is a city in and the county seat of Greene County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,937. The city was named in honor of the Battle of Eutaw Springs, the last engagement of the American Revolutionary War in the Carolinas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrightsville, Arkansas</span> City in Arkansas, USA

Wrightsville is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 1,542 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located on Highway 365, Wrightsville existed as an unincorporated community for more than a century before it was incorporated late in the 20th century. Since 1981, it has been home to a major Arkansas Department of Corrections facility, which is the principal employer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ackerman, Mississippi</span> Town in Mississippi, United States

Ackerman is a town in Choctaw County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,594 at the 2020 census, up from 1,510 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Choctaw County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leakesville, Mississippi</span> Town in Mississippi, United States

Leakesville is a town in and the county seat of Greene County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Chickasawhay River in Greene County, Mississippi, United States. It is served by the junction of Mississippi routes 57 and 63. As of the 2010 census, the rural town population was 898, down from 1,026 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLain, Mississippi</span> Town in Mississippi, United States

McLain is a town in Greene County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 441 at the 2010 census, down from 603 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lambert, Mississippi</span> Town in Mississippi, United States

Lambert is a town in Quitman County, Mississippi. The population was 1,638 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wade, Mississippi</span> Census-designated place in Mississippi, United States

Wade is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,074 at the 2010 census, up from 491 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Franklin Township is a township in Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,003 at the 2020 census, down from 7,280 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Morgan Township is a township that is located in Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,348 at the time of the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Line, Mississippi</span> Town in Mississippi, United States

State Line is a town in Greene and Wayne counties, Mississippi, in the United States. The population was 452 at the 2020 census.

References

  1. "Census - Geography Profile: Greene County, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 143.
  4. 1 2 Ball, Brooks (August 4, 2017). "History of Greene County – Part 4 (the Civil War years )". Greene County Herald. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  5. Ball, Brooks (August 4, 2017). "THE HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY – Part 1". Greene County Herald. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  6. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  7. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  9. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  10. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  11. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  12. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  13. Bureau, U.S. Census. "American FactFinder - Results". factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  14. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  15. "State Prisons Archived 2002-12-06 at the Wayback Machine ." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on May 21, 2010.
  16. "MDOC QUICK REFERENCE." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on May 21, 2010.
  17. "Greene County School District". www.greene.k12.ms.us. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  18. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  19. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Greene County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022. - Text list

31°13′N88°38′W / 31.22°N 88.64°W / 31.22; -88.64