Wilkinson County | |
---|---|
Left to right: Clark Creek and Wilkinson County Courthouse | |
![]() Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi | |
![]() Mississippi's location within the U.S. | |
Coordinates: 31°10′N91°19′W / 31.16°N 91.32°W | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
Founded | 1802 |
Named for | James Wilkinson |
Seat | Woodville |
Largest town | Centreville |
Area | |
• Total | 688 sq mi (1,780 km2) |
• Land | 678 sq mi (1,760 km2) |
• Water | 9.7 sq mi (25 km2) 1.4% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 8,587 |
• Density | 12/sq mi (4.8/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
Congressional district | 3rd |
Website | www |
Wilkinson County is a county located in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2020, its population was 8,587. [1] Its county seat is Woodville. [2] Bordered by the Mississippi River on the west, the county is named for James Wilkinson, a Revolutionary War military leader and first governor of the Louisiana Territory after its acquisition by the United States in 1803.
After Indian Removal in the 19th century, European-American settlers rapidly developed cotton plantations along the Mississippi River, which forms the western border. The intensive cultivation depended on the labor of numerous enslaved African Americans; in the early 19th century, more than a million slaves were relocated to the Deep South from the Upper South in a major forced migration. The population of this county quickly became majority black as enslaved workers were brought in to develop plantations. Much of the bottomlands and interior were undeveloped frontier until after the American Civil War.
The West Feliciana Railroad was later built to help get the cotton commodity crop to market. Some planters got wealthy during the antebellum years and built fine mansions in the county seat of Woodville, Mississippi. Jane and Samuel Emory Davis moved here in 1812 with their several children, and lived at a plantation near Woodville. Their youngest son, Jefferson Davis, attended the Wilkinson Academy in Woodville for two years before going to Kentucky to another school. [3]
After the Civil War, freedmen and planters negotiated new working arrangements. Sharecropping became widespread. Although cotton continued as the commodity crop, a long agricultural depression kept prices low.
Following Reconstruction, white violence against blacks increased through the later decades of the 19th century and into the early 20th century. According to 2017 data compiled in Lynching in America (2015-2017), some nine lynchings of African Americans were recorded in Wilkinson County. [4]
The peak of population in the county was reached in 1900, after which many blacks left in the Great Migration to the North and Midwest. The county has continued to have a black majority population.
In the early 20th century the boll weevil infestation destroyed much of the cotton crops, and mechanization caused a further loss of agricultural jobs. The exit of many African Americans from the state did not change the state's exclusion of African Americans from politics. They were not enabled to vote until after passage of the federal Voting Rights Act in 1965 and its enforcement. Cotton cultivation was revived, but it is produced on a highly mechanized, industrial scale.
Southwest Mississippi was an area of continuing white violence against blacks during the Civil Rights Movement. In February 1964, the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan officially formed. Clifton Walker, 37, a married father of five and employee of International Paper Company in Natchez, who was not politically active, was killed in an ambush on Poor House Road near his home. The evidence showed there had been a crowd of shooters on both sides of the road. [5] This lynching cold case has never been solved, although it was among numerous ones that the FBI was investigating since 2007, before the Donald Trump administration ended the effort in 2018.
Timber has been harvested and processed in the county as a new commodity crop. The population of the rural county has continued to decline because of lack of jobs. It is still majority African American. Towns have started to develop heritage tourism to attract more visitors.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 688 square miles (1,780 km2), of which 678 square miles (1,760 km2) is land and 9.7 square miles (25 km2) (1.4%) is water. [6]
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1810 | 5,068 | — | |
1820 | 9,718 | 91.8% | |
1830 | 11,686 | 20.3% | |
1840 | 14,193 | 21.5% | |
1850 | 16,914 | 19.2% | |
1860 | 15,933 | −5.8% | |
1870 | 12,705 | −20.3% | |
1880 | 17,815 | 40.2% | |
1890 | 17,592 | −1.3% | |
1900 | 21,453 | 21.9% | |
1910 | 18,075 | −15.7% | |
1920 | 15,319 | −15.2% | |
1930 | 13,957 | −8.9% | |
1940 | 15,955 | 14.3% | |
1950 | 14,116 | −11.5% | |
1960 | 13,235 | −6.2% | |
1970 | 11,099 | −16.1% | |
1980 | 10,021 | −9.7% | |
1990 | 9,678 | −3.4% | |
2000 | 10,312 | 6.6% | |
2010 | 9,878 | −4.2% | |
2020 | 8,587 | −13.1% | |
2023 (est.) | 8,058 | [8] | −6.2% |
U.S. Decennial Census [9] 1790-1960 [10] 1900-1990 [11] 1990-2000 [12] 2010-2013 [13] |
Wilkinson County had a population of 8,587 people, 3,170 households, and 1,843 families at the 2020 United States census. [1]
Race/ethnicity | Num. | Perc. |
---|---|---|
White | 2,525 | 29.4% |
Black or African American | 5,764 | 67.12% |
Native American | 16 | 0.19% |
Asian | 8 | 0.09% |
Other/Mixed | 204 | 2.38% |
Hispanic or Latino | 70 | 0.82% |
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Wilkinson County's racial and ethic makeup was predominantly Black and African American in 2020. [1] The total racial and ethnic composition at the 2020 census was 67.12% Black and African American, 29.4% non-Hispanic white, 0.19% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 2.38% multiracial or other race or ethnicity, and 0.82% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.
In 2010, the American Community Survey estimated the county had a median household income of $28,066. [14] At the 2020 American Community Survey, its median household income increased to $30,760; the median monthly housing costs were $419. In 2020, the county had a mean income of $46,538, and married-couple families had a median income of $50,227 while non-family households averaged $27,468. [15]
Wilkinson County School District serves the county. [16] Prior to 1970, when a federal court ruling forced the schools to integrate, the county maintained a separate and highly inferior educational system for Black students. When the schools were finally integrated, all but two white students initially chose to attend Wilkinson County Christian Academy, which was established in 1969 as a segregation academy, [17] or other private schools rather than attend school with Black students. [18] [19] Barnard Waites, the superintendent of the public school system sent his own child to Wilkinson County Christian Academy, and harshly criticized the white parents who exposed their children to the "all negro environment" of Wilkinson County Training School. [20]
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 1,324 | 32.08% | 2,749 | 66.61% | 54 | 1.31% |
2016 | 1,318 | 31.25% | 2,857 | 67.73% | 43 | 1.02% |
2012 | 1,415 | 29.16% | 3,412 | 70.31% | 26 | 0.54% |
2008 | 1,560 | 30.36% | 3,534 | 68.77% | 45 | 0.88% |
2004 | 1,563 | 35.64% | 2,794 | 63.72% | 28 | 0.64% |
2000 | 1,423 | 34.72% | 2,551 | 62.25% | 124 | 3.03% |
1996 | 1,016 | 24.77% | 2,807 | 68.43% | 279 | 6.80% |
1992 | 1,399 | 28.29% | 3,210 | 64.91% | 336 | 6.79% |
1988 | 1,528 | 36.18% | 2,678 | 63.41% | 17 | 0.40% |
1984 | 1,722 | 39.28% | 2,627 | 59.92% | 35 | 0.80% |
1980 | 1,442 | 32.04% | 2,981 | 66.24% | 77 | 1.71% |
1976 | 1,273 | 33.11% | 2,514 | 65.38% | 58 | 1.51% |
1972 | 1,608 | 52.65% | 1,409 | 46.14% | 37 | 1.21% |
1968 | 272 | 6.94% | 2,144 | 54.71% | 1,503 | 38.35% |
1964 | 1,473 | 93.46% | 103 | 6.54% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 174 | 14.24% | 216 | 17.68% | 832 | 68.09% |
1956 | 240 | 28.20% | 260 | 30.55% | 351 | 41.25% |
1952 | 699 | 55.39% | 563 | 44.61% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 21 | 2.40% | 43 | 4.92% | 810 | 92.68% |
1944 | 80 | 8.48% | 863 | 91.52% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 46 | 4.66% | 942 | 95.34% | 0 | 0.00% |
1936 | 21 | 2.66% | 767 | 97.09% | 2 | 0.25% |
1932 | 18 | 2.16% | 813 | 97.48% | 3 | 0.36% |
1928 | 73 | 8.69% | 767 | 91.31% | 0 | 0.00% |
1924 | 40 | 10.13% | 355 | 89.87% | 0 | 0.00% |
1920 | 15 | 3.46% | 416 | 96.07% | 2 | 0.46% |
1916 | 8 | 1.69% | 460 | 97.46% | 4 | 0.85% |
1912 | 8 | 1.92% | 379 | 90.89% | 30 | 7.19% |
Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,922. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is named in honor of the first president of the United States, George Washington. It is located to the Arkansas border.
Amite County is a county located in the state of Mississippi on its southern border with Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,720. Its county seat is Liberty. The county is named after the Amite River, which runs through the county.
Chicot County is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,208. The county seat is Lake Village. Chicot County is Arkansas's 10th county, formed on October 25, 1823, and named after Point Chicot on the Mississippi River. It is part of the Arkansas Delta, lowlands along the river that have been historically important as an area for large-scale cotton cultivation.
West Feliciana Parish is a civil parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,310. The parish seat is St. Francisville. The parish was established in 1824.
Iberia Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 69,929; the parish seat is New Iberia.
East Feliciana Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 19,531. The parish seat is Clinton.
East Carroll Parish is a parish located in the Mississippi Delta in northeastern Louisiana. As of 2020, its population was 7,459. The parish seat is Lake Providence. An area of cotton plantations in the antebellum era, the parish in the early 21st century has about 74% of its land devoted to agriculture.
Concordia Parish borders the Mississippi River in eastern central Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,687. The parish seat is Vidalia. The parish was formed in 1807.
Uniontown is a city in Perry County, Alabama, in west-central Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city is 2,107, up 18.7% over 2010. Of the 573 cities in Alabama, Uniontown is the 207th most populous.
Elaine is a small town in Phillips County, Arkansas, United States, in the Arkansas Delta region of the Mississippi River. The population was 636 at the 2010 census.
Slaughter is a town in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 997 at the 2010 U.S. census, down from 1,011 at the 2000 U.S. census. At the 2020 population estimates program, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 882 people lived in the township. Slaughter is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.
Amite City is a town in and the seat of Tangipahoa Parish in southeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,141 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hammond Micropolitan Statistical Area.
St. Francisville is a town in and the parish seat of, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,557 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.
Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Holmes County, Mississippi, United States. The county was organized in 1833 and the city in 1836. The population was 1,731 at the 2010 census, down from 2,025 at the 2000 census. The estimated population in 2018 was 1,496. It has declined from its high of 3,198 in 1950 due to the expansion of industrial-scale agriculture.
Mayersville is a town on the east bank of the Mississippi River, and the county seat for Issaquena County, Mississippi, United States. It is located in the Mississippi Delta region, known for cotton cultivation in the antebellum era. Once the trading center for the county, the town was superseded when railroads were built into the area. The population of the majority-black town was 547 at the 2010 census, down from 795 at the 2000 census.
Sumner is a town in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. The population was 407 at the 2000 census. Sumner is one of the two county seats of Tallahatchie County. It is located on the west side of the county and the Tallahatchie River, which runs through the county north–south. The other county seat is Charleston, located east of the river. Charleston was the first county seat, as settlement came from the east, and it is the larger of the two towns.
Woodville is one of the oldest towns in Mississippi and is the county seat of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, United States. Its population as of 2020 was 928.
Centreville is a town in Amite and Wilkinson counties, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the McComb, Mississippi micropolitan statistical area. Its population was 1,258 in 2020.
The Black Belt is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama. The term originally referred to the region's rich, black soil, much of it in the soil order Vertisols. The term took on an additional meaning in the 19th century, when the region was developed for cotton plantation agriculture, in which the workers were enslaved African Americans. After the American Civil War, many freedmen stayed in the area as sharecroppers and tenant farmers, continuing to comprise a majority of the population in many of these counties.
Edward McGehee was an American judge and major planter in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. He owned nearly 1,000 slaves to work his thousands of acres of cotton land at his Bowling Green Plantation.