Noxubee County, Mississippi

Noxubee County
County
Noxubee County courthouse in Macon
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°07′N88°34′W / 33.11°N 88.57°W / 33.11; -88.57
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1833
Seat	Macon
Largest city	Macon
Area
• Total	700 sq mi (2,000 km2)
• Land	695 sq mi (1,800 km2)
• Water	4.8 sq mi (12 km2)  0.7%
Population  (2020)
• Total	10,285
• Density	15/sq mi (5.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Noxubee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, its population was 10,285. ^[1] Its county seat is Macon. ^[2] The name is derived from the Choctaw word nakshobi meaning "to stink". ^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 700 square miles (1,800 km²), of which 4.8 square miles (12 km²) (0.7%) is covered by water. ^[4]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 45
• Mississippi Highway 14
• Mississippi Highway 21
• Mississippi Highway 39

Adjacent counties

• Lowndes County (north)
• Pickens County, Alabama (east)
• Sumter County, Alabama (southeast)
• Kemper County (south)
• Winston County (west)
• Oktibbeha County (northwest)

National protected area

• Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	9,975		—
1850	16,299		63.4%
1860	20,667		26.8%
1870	20,905		1.2%
1880	29,874		42.9%
1890	27,338		−8.5%
1900	30,846		12.8%
1910	28,503		−7.6%
1920	23,710		−16.8%
1930	25,560		7.8%
1940	25,669		0.4%
1950	20,022		−22.0%
1960	16,826		−16.0%
1970	14,288		−15.1%
1980	13,212		−7.5%
1990	12,604		−4.6%
2000	12,548		−0.4%
2010	11,545		−8.0%
2020	10,285		−10.9%
2023 (est.)	9,914	[5]	−3.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [6] 1790-1960 [7] 1900-1990 [8] 1990-2000 [9] 2010-2013 [10]

2020 census

Noxubee County Racial Composition ^[11]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	2,639	25.66%
Black or African American	7,190	69.91%
Native American	13	0.13%
Asian	14	0.14%
Other/mixed	257	2.5%
Hispanic or Latino	172	1.67%

As of the 2020 United States Census, 10,285 people, 3,986 households, and 2,592 families were residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, 11,545 people lived in the county; 71.6% were African American, 27.1% White, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% of some other race, and 0.5% of two or more races, and 0.8% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 census

As of the census ^[12] of 2000, 12,548 people, 4,470 households, and 3,222 families were living in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile (6.9 people/km²). The 5,228 housing units had an average density of 8 units per square mile (3.1 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 69.30% Black, 29.49% White, 0.15% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. About 1.12% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 4,470 households, 35.8% had children under 18 living with them, 43.0% were married couples living together, 24.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were not families. About 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.77, and the average family size was 3.36.

In the county, the age distribution was 30.7% under 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.50 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 84.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $22,330, and for a family was $27,312. Males had a median income of $25,008 versus $17,636 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,018. About 29.20% of families and 32.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.60% of those under age 18 and 25.30% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Noxubee County, Mississippi ^[13]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,151	25.87%	3,269	73.48%	29	0.65%
2020	1,240	23.23%	4,040	75.67%	59	1.11%
2016	1,200	21.53%	4,347	77.99%	27	0.48%
2012	1,325	21.15%	4,920	78.54%	19	0.30%
2008	1,525	23.14%	5,030	76.34%	34	0.52%
2004	1,723	28.26%	4,346	71.28%	28	0.46%
2000	1,530	30.88%	3,383	68.29%	41	0.83%
1996	1,287	29.94%	2,801	65.17%	210	4.89%
1992	1,623	32.22%	3,188	63.29%	226	4.49%
1988	1,870	40.38%	2,722	58.78%	39	0.84%
1984	2,123	41.23%	2,928	56.87%	98	1.90%
1980	1,970	35.46%	3,434	61.82%	151	2.72%
1976	1,860	44.97%	2,121	51.28%	155	3.75%
1972	2,239	66.28%	1,052	31.14%	87	2.58%
1968	232	6.34%	1,387	37.91%	2,040	55.75%
1964	1,980	96.59%	70	3.41%	0	0.00%
1960	342	22.97%	277	18.60%	870	58.43%
1956	257	19.47%	690	52.27%	373	28.26%
1952	887	53.92%	758	46.08%	0	0.00%
1948	17	1.52%	74	6.60%	1,031	91.89%
1944	103	9.39%	994	90.61%	0	0.00%
1940	51	4.24%	1,152	95.76%	0	0.00%
1936	27	1.99%	1,332	97.94%	1	0.07%
1932	41	3.74%	1,052	95.99%	3	0.27%
1928	102	8.13%	1,153	91.87%	0	0.00%
1924	44	4.36%	966	95.64%	0	0.00%
1920	24	3.31%	701	96.56%	1	0.14%
1916	10	1.49%	656	98.06%	3	0.45%
1912	5	0.75%	646	97.00%	15	2.25%

Noxubee County is solidly Democratic in modern presidential elections, having last voted for the Republican nominee in 1972. ^[14] This is the result of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which returned the vote to the African-American majority after nearly a century of whites-only elections.

In the final presidential contest before the act's passage, the 1964 election, anti-civil rights whites in Noxubee gave 96.6% of the county's vote to Republican Barry Goldwater — a margin no candidate of either party has surpassed in any county in any subsequent presidential election. Goldwater received 1,980 votes to incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson's 70. ^[13]

Law enforcement

The Noxubee County Sheriff's Department has been embroiled in controversies related to covering up rape and abuse at its facilities. In 2023, former sheriff Terry Grassaree faced criminal charges for his involvement in rape cases. ^[15]

In 2023, The New York Times and the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting at Mississippi Today uncovered gross mismanagement at the Noxubee County jail, enabling male inmates to rape and abuse female inmates. ^[15]

Education

Public elementary and secondary education is administered by the Noxubee County School District, which includes the entire county. ^[16]

Noxubee County is within the service area of the East Mississippi Community College system. ^[17] The system offers classes in the Macon Extension at Noxubee County High School in Macon. ^[18]

At one time, many more schools existed within the county. In the early 20th century, 19 of these were consolidated into two districts consisting of six schools, which were Salem, Lynn Creek, Center Point, Cliftonville, Cooksville-Paulette, Mashulaville, and Brooksville. The old Salem School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. ^[19] The Noxubee County Agricultural School at Mashulaville opened in 1910 and included a 40-acre farm and provided living arrangements for up to 40 boarding students. ^[20]

The public school population is 1% White, compared to 27% of the county population. ^[21] Central Academy in Macon, which was founded in 1968 as a segregation academy, ^[22] closed in 2017. In 1982, private deals that had been made between board members to use public funds to aid Central Academy became public. As a result, the NAACP called for the resignation of all Noxubee county school board members who had knowledge of the board's aid to Central Academy, which at the time did not enroll any black students. ^[23]

United States v. Ike Brown

Main article: United States v. Ike Brown

In 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice began an investigation and the following year filed suit under the Voting Rights Act alleging that the chairman of the Noxubee County Democratic Party, Ike Brown, had conspired to orchestrate "relentless racial discrimination" against White voters. ^{[24] [25]}

The court ruled that Brown, in conjunction with the Noxubee Democratic Executive Committee, had "manipulated the political process in ways specifically intended and designed to impair and impede participation of White voters and to dilute their votes". ^[24] This was the first time the Voting Rights Act of 1965 had been used to allege discrimination against Whites. ^[26]

Communities

City

• Macon

Towns

• Brooksville
• Shuqualak

Unincorporated communities

• Bigbee Valley
• Deerbrook
• Gholson
• Mashulaville

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Noxubee County, Mississippi
• Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge

• Mississippi portal

References

1. "Census - Geography Profile: Noxubee County, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 14, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Byington, Cyrus (1909). Choctaw Language Dictionary. Global Bible Society.
4. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
5. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
8. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
9. "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 6, 2014.
10. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
11. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
12. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
13. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
14. "Noxubee County, Miss". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
15. Daly, Ilyssa; Mitchell, Jerry (April 11, 2023). "Sex Abuse, Beatings and an Untouchable Mississippi Sheriff". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331.
16. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Noxubee County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 25, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022. - Text list
17. "CATALOG 2007-09 Archived 2010-12-18 at the Wayback Machine , eastms.edu. 3 (3/147); retrieved March 1, 2011.
18. CATALOG 2007-09, eastms.edu, 10 (10/147) Archived 2010-12-18 at the Wayback Machine ; retrieved on March 1, 2011.
19. "STORES OF THE SOUTH - OLD SALEM SCHOOL" . Retrieved November 19, 2017.
20. "The Mashulaville School". Macon Beacon. August 11, 1911. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
21. "2006-07 State, District, and School Enrollment by Race/Gender with Poverty Data" (XLS). Mississippi Department of Education. January 16, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2008.^{[ dead link ‍]}
22. Bolton, Charles C. (2005). The Hardest Deal of All . Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN   9781578067176.
23. "Schools board member resigns before NAACP asks". Clarksdale Press-Register. May 19, 1982. p. 11.
24. Nossiter, Adam (October 11, 2006). "U.S. Says Blacks in Mississippi Suppress White Vote". The New York Times.
25. Shapiro, Ari (November 14, 2005). "White Voters in Mississippi Allege Voting Discrimination" (audio). National Public Radio.
26. "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. IKE BROWN NOXUBEE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE" . Retrieved November 28, 2017.

33°07′N88°34′W / 33.11°N 88.57°W / 33.11; -88.57