North Mississippi is a region in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi, consisting of Alcorn, Itawamba, Lee, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo, and Union counties. These counties share a unique cultural history that distinguishes them from other areas in the state of Mississippi. As of 2010, the counties have a combined population of 267,560. Tupelo is the largest city in the region, but other notable cities include Booneville, Corinth, New Albany, and Pontotoc.
The northeast Mississippi region is notable for its hilly terrain and infertile soil that made it unsuitable for cotton farming during the Antebellum period. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), northeast Mississippi was home to Southern Unionist sentiment. Woodall Mountain, the highest natural point in Mississippi, is located in the region. Dramatic poverty[ clarification needed ] continued in the region until the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933. Growth in the manufacturing sector during the 1950s and 1960s provided an economic boom to the region, and today North Mississippi benefits from the presence of a large health service industry centered on Tupelo.
The region is among the most ancestrally Democratic-voting and socially conservative in Mississippi, often sending Blue Dog Democrats to the state legislature and United States Congress. Democrat Jamie L. Whitten served North Mississippi in the House of Representatives from 1941 to 1995, and Travis Childers served as its Congressman from 2008 to 2011. The area is represented in the House by Trent Kelly (a Republican from Saltillo) as part of Mississippi's 1st congressional district. As of 2018, the region was home to Mississippi's senior US Senator Roger Wicker (a Republican from Pontotoc). An example of the region's staunch social conservatism is in the results of the 2004 Mississippi Amendment 1 banning same-sex marriage: the five counties most supportive of the measure (out of the state's 82 in all) were in North Mississippi, and all eight of the region's counties were over 90% in favor.
34°39′38″N88°29′08″W / 34.660541°N 88.485688°W
Mobile County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the third-most populous county in the state after Jefferson and Madison counties. As of the 2020 census, its population was 414,809. Its county seat is Mobile, which was founded as a deepwater port on the Mobile River. The only such port in Alabama, it has long been integral to the economy for providing access to inland waterways as well as the Gulf of Mexico.
Pontotoc County is a county in the south central part of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,065. Its county seat is Ada. The county was created at statehood from part of the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory. It was named for a historic Chickasaw tribal area in Mississippi. According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Pontotoc is usually translated "cattail prairie" or "land of hanging grapes."
Coal County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,266. Its county seat is Coalgate.
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.
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.
Lee County is a county in U.S. state of Mississippi. At the 2020 census, the population was 83,343. Its county seat is Tupelo. Lee County is included in the Tupelo Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Tupelo is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1860, the population was 37,923 at the 2020 census. It is the 7th most populous city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of northern Mississippi.
Holly Springs is a city in, and the county seat of, Marshall County, Mississippi, United States, near the border with Tennessee to the north. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,968, down from 7,699 in 2010. Along with the Mississippi Delta, in the 19th century, the area was developed for cotton plantations. After the Civil War, many freedmen continued to work in agriculture as sharecroppers and tenant farmers.
Pontotoc is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Mississippi, located to the west of the larger city of Tupelo. The population was 5,640 at the 2020 census. Pontotoc is a Chickasaw word that means, “Land of the Hanging Grapes.” A section of the city largely along Main Street and Liberty Street has been designated the Pontotoc Historic District and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Treaty of Pontotoc Site is also listed on the National Register. The Treaty of Pontotoc Creek, part of U.S. president Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal policy, ceded millions of acres of Native American lands and relocated the Chicakasaw west of the Mississippi River.
Sherman is a town which straddles Lee, Pontotoc, and Union counties in Mississippi. The population was 600 at the 2020 census.
U.S. Route 45 is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as 1,297 miles (2,087 km).
Mississippi Highway 6 (MS 6) runs east–west from MS 161 in Lyon, east to MS 25 near Amory. It travels approximately 139 miles (224 km), serving Coahoma, Quitman, Panola, Lafayette, Pontotoc, Lee, and Monroe Counties. West of Tupelo, it is concurrent with US 278. Points of interest along the route include the University of Mississippi, Trace State Park, Natchez Trace Parkway, the Elvis Presley Birthplace, and Tombigbee State Park.
Itawamba Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Fulton, Mississippi. Additional campuses are in Belden and Tupelo.
Mississippi's 1st congressional district is in the northeast corner of the state. It includes much of the northern portion of the state including Columbus, Oxford, Southaven, Tupelo, Olive Branch, and West Point. The University of Mississippi is in the district.
Mississippi's 4th congressional district covers the southeastern region of the state. It includes all of Mississippi's Gulf Coast, stretching ninety miles between the Alabama border to the east and the Louisiana border to the west, and extends north into the Pine Belt region. It includes three of Mississippi's four most heavily populated cities: Gulfport, Biloxi, and Hattiesburg. Other major cities within the district include Bay St. Louis, Laurel, and Pascagoula. The district is currently represented by Republican Mike Ezell. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+22, it is the most Republican district in Mississippi.
The Tupelo Micropolitan Statistical Area is a micropolitan area in northeastern Mississippi that covers three counties—Itawamba, Lee and Pontotoc. As of the 2000 census, the area had a population of 125,251. The population at the 2020 Census was 138,390.
The Pontotoc County School District is a public school district based in Pontotoc County, Mississippi (USA). The district serves the towns of: Algoma, Ecru, Thaxton, Toccopola, most of Sherman, the communities of Randolph, and Springville, and most rural areas in Pontotoc County. It also covers a small portion of Pontotoc. The headquarters are in Pontotoc.
The 2008 Mississippi 1st congressional district special election was a special election in the state of Mississippi to determine who would serve the remainder of former Representative Roger Wicker's term. After an April 22, 2008 ballot resulted in no candidate receiving a majority, Democratic Party candidate Travis Childers defeated Republican candidate Greg Davis in a runoff election on May 13, 2008.
The Yocona Area Council of Boy Scouts of America serves 12 counties in northeast Mississippi including Alcorn, Benton, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Marshall, Prentiss, Pontotoc, Tippah, Tishomingo, Union, and Yalobusha. The council headquarters is in Tupelo, Mississippi. The Yocona Area Council, supported by 1,100 volunteers, and 130 chartered partners, serves approximately 6,500 youth annually in one of five programs: Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Venturing, Learning for Life, and Exploring.
Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area is a federally designated National Heritage Area in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The designation commemorates the region's impact on American culture and its role in the American Civil War and the American civil rights movement. The national heritage area designation provides a unified marketing and promotion framework for the area.