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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 a handful of Union sympathizers. 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.
Coordinates: 34°39′38″N88°29′08″W / 34.660541°N 88.485688°W
Mobile County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the second most-populous county in the state after Jefferson County. 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.
Coal County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,925. Its county seat is Coalgate.
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 83,353. 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. With an estimated population of 38,300, Tupelo is the sixth-largest city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of North Mississippi.
Pontotoc is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Mississippi, located to the west of the much larger city of Tupelo. The population was 5,625 at the 2010 census. Pontotoc is a Chickasaw word that means, “Land of the Hanging Grapes.”
Booneville is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi and is the county seat of Prentiss County. It is located in the hilly North Mississippi region, and ecologically is part of the Southeastern Plains region.
Mantachie is a town in Itawamba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,121 in the 2020 census. It is located 14 miles (23 km) northeast of Tupelo at the intersection of Mississippi Highways 363 and 371 and 5 miles (8 km) north of Interstate 22.
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).
The Jackson Purchase, also known as the Purchase Region or simply the Purchase, is a region in the U.S. state of Kentucky bounded by the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and the Tennessee River to the east.
Jacob Thompson was the United States Secretary of the Interior, who resigned on the outbreak of the American Civil War and became the Inspector General of the Confederate States Army.
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, and West Point. The University of Mississippi is in the district.
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 163,398.
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.
Travis Wayne Childers is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Mississippi's 1st congressional district from 2008 to 2011. The district included much of the northern portion of the state including New Albany, Columbus, Oxford, Southaven, and Tupelo. A member of the Democratic Party, Childers previously served as Chancery Clerk of Prentiss County from 1992 until his election to Congress. On March 1, 2014, Childers announced that he was running for the United States Senate. He won his party's nomination for the Senate seat in the Democratic primary on June 3. He lost the general election to Republican incumbent Thad Cochran.
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.
John Trent Kelly is an American lawyer, politician, and U.S. Army general officer from Mississippi. A member of the Republican Party, Kelly is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 1st congressional district.