Scott County, Mississippi

Scott County
County
1900 Scott County Courthouse (replaced 1924 and again in 1955)
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°24′N89°33′W / 32.4°N 89.55°W / 32.4; -89.55
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1833
Named for	Abram M. Scott
Seat	Forest
Largest city	Forest
Area
• Total	610 sq mi (1,600 km2)
• Land	609 sq mi (1,580 km2)
• Water	1.2 sq mi (3 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	27,990
• Estimate  (2023)	27,507
• Density	46/sq mi (18/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.scottcountyms.gov

Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,990. ^[1] Its county seat is Forest. ^[2] The county is named for Abram M. Scott, the Governor of Mississippi from 1832 to 1833.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 610 square miles (1,600 km²), of which 609 square miles (1,580 km²) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) (0.2%) is water. ^[3]

It is an approximately 45 minute driving distance from Jackson. ^[4]

Major highways

• Interstate 20
• U.S. Highway 80
• Mississippi Highway 13
• Mississippi Highway 21
• Mississippi Highway 35

Adjacent counties

• Leake County (north)
• Newton County (east)
• Smith County (south)
• Rankin County (west)
• Madison County (northwest)

National protected area

• Bienville National Forest (part)

History

This area was developed by European Americans for cotton plantations. After the American Civil War, many freedmen worked as sharecroppers or tenant farmers on the plantations. In 1890 the state legislature disenfranchised most blacks, who were a majority in the state, by creating barriers to voter registration; it also passed Jim Crow laws, treating freedmen and their descendants as second-class citizens.

From 1877 to 1950, there were nine lynchings of blacks in Scott County. ^[5] It was a form of racial terrorism that was at its height at the turn of the 20th century. ^[5]

On October 23–25, 1898, a "race war" erupted in Harperville, an unincorporated community in Scott County, after blacks resisted one of their community being arrested for an alleged conflict with his white employer. They fatally shot a white deputy and wounded three others. A mob of whites gathered that night and started hunting down and killing black suspects, killing nine to eleven black men by the end of the following day. Sources vary in the count of fatalities, and some blacks were buried before being identified or counted. ^[6] The county sheriff arrested some black suspects and took them first to the county seat at Forest, and then to Meridian for their safety. Associated Press and major newspapers covered the events. ^{[7] [6] [8]}

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	1,653		—
1850	3,961		139.6%
1860	8,139		105.5%
1870	7,847		−3.6%
1880	10,845		38.2%
1890	11,740		8.3%
1900	14,316		21.9%
1910	16,723		16.8%
1920	16,420		−1.8%
1930	20,914		27.4%
1940	23,144		10.7%
1950	21,681		−6.3%
1960	21,187		−2.3%
1970	21,369		0.9%
1980	24,556		14.9%
1990	24,137		−1.7%
2000	28,423		17.8%
2010	28,264		−0.6%
2020	27,990		−1.0%
2023 (est.)	27,507	[9]	−1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [10] 1790-1960 [11] 1900-1990 [12] 1990-2000 [13] 2010-2013 [14]

2020 census

Scott County Racial Composition ^[15]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	13,145	46.96%
Black or African American	9,923	35.45%
Native American	95	0.34%
Asian	103	0.37%
Other/Mixed	576	2.06%
Hispanic or Latino	4,148	14.82%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 27,990 people, 10,180 households, and 7,015 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 28,264 people, 10,248 households, and 7,264 families residing in the county. The population density was 46.4 people per square mile (17.9 people/km²). There were 11,470 housing units at an average density of 18 units per square mile (6.9 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 53.3% White, 37.5% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 7.2% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. 10.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino (6.3% Mexican, 1.5% Guatemalan, 0.7% Cuban). ^{[16] [17]}

There were 10,183 households, out of which 36.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.80% were married couples living together, 18.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.00% were non-families. 22.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.60% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,686, and the median income for a family was $31,487. Males had a median income of $26,406 versus $18,459 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,013. About 16.50% of families and 20.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.80% of those under age 18 and 22.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The Scott County Sheriff's office provides the equivalent of County law enforcement for both unincorporated cities as well as incorporated cities within the county. The Scott County Sheriff is the oldest elected position in Scott County. The Scott County Sheriff's Office has 63 employees, both sworn and non-sworn. ^{[ citation needed ]}

It is divided into six divisions; Administration, patrol, criminal investigations, narcotics, communications, and detention. The Sheriff's office operates the County Jail; it provides detention services under contract to the City of Forest Police Department and to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Class-action suit against court and Sheriff's Office

In September 2014 the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the MacArthur Justice Center filed a federal class-action civil rights suit, Burks v. Scott County, against the County courts and the Scott County Sheriff's Office for violating suspects' rights, under the Sixth and Fourteenth amendments, to 1) defense counsel, 2) a speedy trial, 3) individualized bail determinations; and 4) freedom from excessive pre-trial detention.

The two plaintiffs had each been held for months in detention without access to a public defender before they were indicted or tried on the charges. "... Mr. Burks has spent over three years in the Scott County jail since August 30, 2009, on the three separate charges," the complaint states. "He has only been indicted once, he has never been to trial, and he has never been convicted." ^[18]

The state does not require the county courts to issue indictments within any set period of time. The county courts call a grand jury only three times a year, so defendants have long waits in between. At the time of indictment, the Scott County judges pick the public defender for each defendant, creating a conflict of interest. The ACLU notes that similar abuses exist in other Mississippi county court systems. ^[18]

At the time of the suit, Brandon Buskey, a lawyer with the ACLU's Criminal Law Reform Project, said 53 of the 129 inmates in the Scott County Detention Center had not been indicted. ^[19]

On September 23, 2014, these parties filed a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of several inmates in the Scott County Detention Center who had been detained for lengthy periods without counsel, fair bail arrangements, formal prosecution, or trial. They proposed the creation of three classes of plaintiffs, among persons who were treated similarly by the county courts. ^[4]

As of November 2015, the case was ongoing. The US District Court dismissed the plaintiff's motion for a declaratory judgment in September 2015. It retained the claim for damages by the two named plaintiffs but dismissed the motions to certify three classes as moot, saying that defendants could bring up the claimed issues above with the county judges before indictment. The plaintiffs were thus denied class status by the court. ^[20]

United States presidential election results for Scott County, Mississippi ^[21]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	6,098	61.65%	3,729	37.70%	64	0.65%
2020	6,285	58.56%	4,330	40.34%	118	1.10%
2016	6,122	58.18%	4,268	40.56%	132	1.25%
2012	6,089	54.36%	5,031	44.91%	82	0.73%
2008	6,584	56.41%	5,025	43.06%	62	0.53%
2004	6,395	62.52%	3,802	37.17%	31	0.30%
2000	5,601	60.84%	3,548	38.54%	57	0.62%
1996	4,018	52.43%	3,163	41.27%	483	6.30%
1992	5,268	56.47%	3,349	35.90%	712	7.63%
1988	5,522	65.06%	2,939	34.63%	27	0.32%
1984	5,763	63.66%	3,274	36.16%	16	0.18%
1980	4,645	52.59%	4,043	45.78%	144	1.63%
1976	3,649	48.86%	3,643	48.78%	176	2.36%
1972	5,244	79.95%	1,213	18.49%	102	1.56%
1968	604	8.93%	1,067	15.77%	5,093	75.30%
1964	4,729	95.21%	238	4.79%	0	0.00%
1960	607	17.48%	1,024	29.49%	1,841	53.02%
1956	503	15.86%	2,077	65.50%	591	18.64%
1952	1,123	33.71%	2,208	66.29%	0	0.00%
1948	15	0.59%	170	6.73%	2,341	92.68%
1944	60	2.70%	2,165	97.30%	0	0.00%
1940	30	1.25%	2,377	98.75%	0	0.00%
1936	33	1.55%	2,097	98.40%	1	0.05%
1932	17	1.09%	1,537	98.91%	0	0.00%
1928	164	7.41%	2,050	92.59%	0	0.00%
1924	53	4.01%	1,179	89.18%	90	6.81%
1920	64	5.61%	1,055	92.46%	22	1.93%
1916	25	2.18%	1,106	96.26%	18	1.57%
1912	7	0.94%	722	97.30%	13	1.75%

Media

The Scott County Times has served Scott County since 1939. It is a weekly publication owned by Emmerich Newspapers, Inc. ^[22]

Communities

Cities

• Forest
• Morton

Towns

• Lake (partly in Newton County)
• Sebastopol (partly in Leake County)

Census-designated places

• Harperville
• Hillsboro

Other unincorporated communities

• Forkville
• Homewood
• Kalem
• Ludlow
• Midway
• Norris
• Pulaski
• Contrell

Education

School districts include: ^[23]

• Forest Municipal School District
• Scott County School District

See also

• Bienville National Forest
• Dry counties
• Mississippi Snake Grabbers
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Scott County, Mississippi
• Roosevelt State Park

References

1. "Census - Geography Profile: Scott County, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 15, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
4. Robertson, Campbell. "In a Mississippi Jail, Convictions and Counsel Appear Optional." The New York Times . September 24, 2014. Print: September 25, 2014, p. A15 ("In a Mississippi Jail, Convictions and Counsel Appear Optional"). Retrieved on September 26, 2014.
5. Lynching in America, 2nd edition Archived June 27, 2018, at the Wayback Machine , Supplement by County, p. 5
6. Associated Press, "Mississippi Race War/ Counting Its Victims by the Dozen", Los Angeles Herald, Volume 26, Number 25, October 25, 1898; California Digital Newspaper Collection; accessed March 20, 2017
7. "Fierce Race War in Mississippi", San Francisco Call, Volume 84, Number 146, October 24, 1898; California Digital Newspaper Collection; accessed March 19, 2017
8. "Casualties to Date", New Orleans Picayune, October 24, 1898; reprinted within Los Angeles Herald article
9. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
10. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
12. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
13. "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 7, 2014.
14. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
15. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
16. Bureau, U.S. Census. "American FactFinder - Results". factfinder2.census.gov. Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2018.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
17. "Scott County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". quickfacts.census.gov. Archived from the original on May 12, 2001. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
18. Karen Houpper, "Challenging Mississippi’s depraved justice system: Months in jail, with no indictment and no lawyer", Salon.com, September 23, 2014. Accessed March 17, 2017.
19. CAMPBELL ROBERTSON, "In a Mississippi Jail, Convictions and Counsel Appear Optional", September 24, 2014. Accessed March 17, 2017.
20. "Burks v. Scott County". Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse . September 30, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2017. (case ID: 3:14-cv-00745-HTW-LRA (S.D. Miss.))
21. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
22. "EMMERICH CONTACT FORM" . Retrieved March 4, 2018.
23. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Scott County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022. - Text list

External links

• Media related to Scott County, Mississippi at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website of Scott County
• Mississippi Courthouses – Scott County

32°24′N89°33′W / 32.40°N 89.55°W / 32.40; -89.55