Editing Coahoma County, Mississippi

{{short description|County in Mississippi, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Coahoma County
 | state                = Mississippi
 | ex image             = WROX Building ~ Clarksdale, MS.JPG
 | ex image cap         = Original [[WROX (AM)]] building in Clarksdale.
 | seal                 = 
 | founded              = February 9, 1836
 | seat wl              = Clarksdale
 | largest city         = Clarksdale
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 583
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 552
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 31
 | area percentage      = 5.3
 | population_as_of     = 2020
 | population_total     = 21390
 | pop_est_as_of        = 2023
 | population_est       = 20077 {{loss}}
 | density_sq_mi        = auto
 | web                  = http://www.coahomacounty.net/
 | district             = 2nd
 | time zone        = Central }}
[[File:Cahoma County MS 001.jpg|thumb|right]]

'''Coahoma County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Mississippi]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 21,390.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Coahoma County, Mississippi|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Coahoma_County,_Mississippi?g=0500000US28027|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 8, 2023}}</ref> Its [[county seat]] is [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }}</ref> The Clarksdale, MS [[Micropolitan Statistical Area]] includes all of Coahoma County. It is located in the [[Mississippi Delta]] region of Mississippi. In 2023, the Clarksdale, Mississippi Micropolitan area was added to form the new Memphis-Clarksdale-Forrest City Combined Statistical Area.<ref>[https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OMB-Bulletin-23-01.pdf The Whitehouse] {{bare URL PDF|date=February 2024}}</ref> The Memphis-Clarksdale-Forrest City Combined Statistical Area has a population of roughly 1.4 million.

==History==
Coahoma County was established February 9, 1836, and is located in the northwestern part of the state in the fertile [[Yazoo River|Yazoo]] Delta region. The name "Coahoma" is a [[Choctaw]] word meaning "red panther."<ref>{{cite book|last=Baca|first=Keith A.|title=Native American Place Names in Mississippi|url=https://epdf.pub/native-american-place-names-in-mississippi.html|year=2007|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-60473-483-6|page=29}}</ref> Chickasaw leader [[William McGillivray (Chickasaw)|Coahoma]] is the immediate namesake of the county, he was chief of one of four annuity districts arranged by U.S. Indian agents in 1815; Coahoma's territory was in the northwestern section of what is now Mississippi.<ref>{{Cite book |author-last=Atkinson |author-first=James R. |title=Splendid Land, Splendid People: The Chickasaw Indians to Removal |date=2010 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |isbn=978-0-8173-8337-4 |location=Tuscaloosa |pages=208}}</ref>

The act creating the county defined its limits as follows:
<blockquote>Beginning at the point where the line between townships 24 and 25 of the surveys of the late Choctaw cession intersects the Mississippi River, and running thence up the said river to the point where the dividing line between the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes of Indians intersects the same; thence with the dividing line to the point where the line between ranges two and three of the survey of the said Choctaw cession intersects the same; thence with said range line, to the line between townships 24 and 25 aforesaid, and thence with the said township line to the beginning.<ref name="Rowland">{{cite book | last = Rowland | first = Dunbar | title = Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form | publisher = Southern Historical Publishing Association | year = 1907 | url = https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/548960-redirection | volume = 1 | page = 450}}</ref></blockquote>

In the early days of the county, before the construction of railways or extensive roadways inland, the [[Mississippi River]] was the primary transportation route, and the first three county seats were each located on the river. In 1836, [[Port Royal, Mississippi|Port Royal]] was designated as the first county seat.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sansing |first1=David G. |last2=Jones |first2=Walker W. |last3=Bush |first3=Jason R. |title=Unequal Justice: An Unintended Consequence in Mississippi Counties with Two Judicial Districts |publisher=Mississippi Law Journal |date=April 2004 |url=http://mississippilawjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Supra-79-Essay-Sansing.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222050703/http://mississippilawjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Supra-79-Essay-Sansing.pdf |archive-date=February 22, 2014 }}</ref>  In 1841, high waters on the Mississippi River flooded Port Royal, and in 1842 the county seat was moved to the town of [[Delta, Mississippi|Delta]].<ref name="Kerstine">{{cite web | last = Kerstine | first =  Margery | title = Cotton-Family-Religion: Jewish Life in Coahoma County Mississippi, Delta History from 1836 to 1941, Prologue: 1721 to 1867 | publisher = Margery Kerstine | date = January 7, 2011 | url = http://www.margk.com/prologue.htm}}</ref>  High waters on the Mississippi also flooded Delta, and in 1850 the county seat was moved to [[Friars Point, Mississippi|Friars Point]],<ref name="Kerstine"/> which had a population of about 1,000 in 1920, and received its name in honor of Robert Friar, an early settler. As nearby Clarksdale grew in population and influence, it challenged Friars Point's hold on the county government, and in 1892, Coahoma County was divided into two jurisdictions, one going to Friars Point and the other to Clarksdale. In 1930, the county seat was given exclusively to Clarksdale,<ref name="Nelson">{{cite book | last = Nelson | first =  Lawrence J. | title = King Cotton's Advocate: Oscar G. Johnston and the New Deal | publisher = University of Tennessee Press | year = 1999 | isbn = 9781572330252 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-NfyYgEb1_YC&pg=PR4}}</ref> which had a population of 7,500 in 1920. Clarksdale is now the largest and most important city in the county, and was named for John Clark, a brother-in-law of Governor [[James L. Alcorn]], whose home, Eagle's Nest, was in this county.

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|583|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|552|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|31|sqmi}} (5.3%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_28.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928074019/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_28.txt |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=November 3, 2014 |date=August 22, 2012 |title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files }}</ref>

===Major highways===
* [[Image:I-69 (Future).svg|20px]] [[Interstate 69 in Mississippi|Future Interstate 69]]
* [[Image:US 49.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Highway 49]]
* [[Image:US 61.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Highway 61]]
* [[Image:US 278.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Highway 278]]
* [[Image:Circle sign 1.svg|20px]] [[Mississippi Highway 1]]
* [[Image:Circle sign 6.svg|20px]] [[Mississippi Highway 6]]
* [[Image:Circle sign 315.svg|20px]] [[Mississippi Highway 315]]

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Tunica County, Mississippi|Tunica County]] (north)
* [[Quitman County, Mississippi|Quitman County]] (east)
* [[Sunflower County, Mississippi|Sunflower County]] (south)
* [[Tallahatchie County, Mississippi|Tallahatchie County]] (southeast)
* [[Bolivar County, Mississippi|Bolivar County]] (southwest)
* [[Phillips County, Arkansas]] (west)

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1840= 1290
|1850= 2780
|1860= 6606
|1870= 7144
|1880= 13568
|1890= 18342
|1900= 26293
|1910= 34217
|1920= 41511
|1930= 46327
|1940= 48333
|1950= 49361
|1960= 46212
|1970= 40447
|1980= 36918
|1990= 31665
|2000= 30622
|2010= 26151
|2020= 21390
|estyear=2023
|estimate=20077
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 5, 2024}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 3, 2014}}</ref><br />1790–1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=November 3, 2014|archive-date=August 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811110448/http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 1900–1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ms190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 3, 2014}}</ref><br />1990–2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 3, 2014}}</ref> 2010–2013<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28/28027.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607050233/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28/28027.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Coahoma County Racial Composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US28027&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 7, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]]
|4,285
|20.03%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]]
|16,209
|75.78%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|26
|0.12%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|112
|0.52%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|408
|1.91%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|350
|1.64%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 21,390 people, 8,782 households, and 5,637 families residing in the county.

===2010 census===
As of the [[2010 United States Census]], there were 26,151 people living in the county. 75.5% were [[African American|Black or African American]], 22.9% [[White American|White]], 0.5% [[Asian American|Asian]], 0.1% [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]], 0.5% of some other race and 0.5% [[Multiracial American|of two or more races]]. 1.1% were [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (of any race).

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 30,622 people, 10,553 households, and 7,482 families living in the county. The [[population density]] was {{convert|55|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|}}. There were 11,490 housing units at an average density of {{convert|21|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 65.21% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 27.28% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 6.90% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]], 0.47% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.09% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.02% [[Race (United States Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.34% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.60% from two or more races. of any race.

There were 10,553 households, out of which 36.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.20% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 28.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.10% were non-families. 26.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.42.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 33.00% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 84.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $22,338, and the median income for a family was $26,640. Males had a median income of $26,841 versus $19,611 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $12,558. About 29.80% of families and 35.90% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 45.90% of those under age 18 and 31.50% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
* '''Colleges'''
** [[Coahoma Community College]] (Clarksdale)

Coahoma County was previously in the service area of the [[Mississippi Delta Community College]] (MDCC). As a result of the 1995 [[Mississippi Legislature]] session, Coahoma County is no longer in the MDCC service area.<ref>"[http://www.msdelta.edu/mdcc/about_mdcc/history.html The History of MDCC] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627230757/http://www.msdelta.edu/mdcc/about_mdcc/history.html |date=2010-06-27 }}." [[Mississippi Delta Community College]]. Retrieved on October 18, 2010.</ref>
* '''Public School Districts'''
** [[Clarksdale Municipal School District]] - Its high school is [[Clarksdale High School]]
** [[Coahoma County School District]] - Its high school is [[Coahoma County Junior-Senior High School]]
* '''Private Schools'''
** [[Lee Academy (Mississippi)|Lee Academy]] (Clarksdale)

==Communities==

===Cities===
* [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]] (county seat)

===Towns===
* [[Coahoma, Mississippi|Coahoma]]
* [[Friars Point, Mississippi|Friars Point]]
* [[Jonestown, Coahoma County, Mississippi|Jonestown]]
* [[Lula, Mississippi|Lula]]
* [[Lyon, Mississippi|Lyon]]

===Census-designated places===
* [[Bobo, Coahoma County, Mississippi|Bobo]]
* [[Dublin, Mississippi|Dublin]]
* [[Farrell, Mississippi|Farrell]]
* [[Rena Lara, Mississippi|Rena Lara]]

===Unincorporated communities===
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Burke Landing, Mississippi|Burke Landing]]
* [[Claremont, Mississippi|Claremont]]
* [[Clover Hill, Mississippi|Clover Hill]]
* [[Hillhouse, Mississippi|Hillhouse]]
* [[Hopson, Mississippi|Hopson]]
* [[Humber, Mississippi|Humber]]
* [[Lurand, Mississippi|Lu-Rand]]
* [[Mattson, Mississippi|Mattson]]
* [[Moon Lake, Mississippi|Moon Lake (community)]]
* [[Rich, Mississippi|Rich]]
* [[Roseacres, Mississippi|Roseacres]]
* [[Roundaway, Coahoma County, Mississippi|Roundaway]]
* [[Rudyard, Mississippi|Rudyard]]
* [[Sherard, Mississippi|Sherard]]
* [[Stovall, Mississippi|Stovall]]
* [[Sunflower Landing, Mississippi|Sunflower Landing]]
{{div col end}}

===Ghost towns===
* [[Delta, Mississippi|Delta]]
* [[Ingram, Mississippi|Ingram]] (also in Quitman County)
* [[Port Royal, Mississippi|Port Royal]]
* [[Wildwood, Coahoma County, Mississippi|Wildwood]]

==Notable people==
* [[James L. Alcorn]], [[United States Senator]] from Mississippi, owned and died at "Eagle Nest" in Coahoma County<ref name="Marquis 1607-1896">{{cite book | title = Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896 | publisher = Marquis Who's Who | year = 1967}}</ref>
* [[Thomas Harris]], author of ''[[Hannibal Lecter]]'' novels; he was born in [[Jackson, Tennessee]], but raised in Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated community in Coahoma County.
* [[John Lee Hooker]] (1917–2001),  [[blues]] musician born in 1917 in Coahoma County into a [[sharecropper]] and [[Baptist]] preacher family.
* [[D. H. Hopson]] (born 1859), a teacher, state legislator, tax assessor, and coroner in Mississippi
* [[Maud Jeffries]] (1869{{spaced ndash}}1946), actress, born in [[Lula, Mississippi]], married a wealthy Australian grazier, and settled in Australia.
* [[Ransom A. Myers]] (b. [[Lula, Mississippi]], 1952 – d. [[Halifax Regional Municipality|Halifax, Nova Scotia]], 2007) was a renowned Canada-based marine biologist, conservationist and scholar at [[Dalhousie University]] who published a seminal study on overfishing.
* [[Nate Dogg]] spent his childhood in [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]].
* [[Rick Ross (rapper)|Rick Ross]] the rapper was born in Coahoma County in 1976. Soon moved to [[Miami-Dade County, Florida]].
* [[Frederick Bruce Thomas]] (1872-1928), prominent entrepreneur and multi-millionaire in [[Moscow]] and [[Constantinople]].
* [[Ike Turner]], musician, was born in [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]]
* [[Tennessee Williams]], playwright, spent much of his childhood in Clarksdale and Coahoma County. A Tennessee Williams Festival is held annually in Clarksdale.
* [[Blac Elvis]] was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Award-winning music producer/songwriter.
* [[Son House]], blues singer and guitarist, (b. 1902 – d. 1988), was born at Lyon in Coahoma County, Mississippi.
* [[Conway Twitty]], country singer, (b. 1933 - d. 1993), was born in [[Friars Point, Mississippi]].<ref name="countryTrail">{{cite web|title=View Marker Local Map Conway Twitty Conway Twitty - Friars Point|url=http://www.mscountrymusictrail.org/markers/conway-twitty|website=Mississippi Country Music Trail|access-date=January 11, 2018}}</ref>

==Politics==
Like the rest of the Mississippi Delta region, Coahoma County is a Democratic stronghold, having not supported a Republican presidential candidate since [[Richard Nixon]] in his 1972 landslide.

{{PresHead|place=Coahoma County, Mississippi|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 5, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Democratic|2,008|4,711|71|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2020|Democratic|2,375|6,020|106|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2016|Democratic|2,426|6,378|108|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|2,712|7,792|45|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|2,917|7,597|54|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|3,676|6,805|127|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|3,695|5,662|196|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|3,441|5,776|394|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|4,120|6,409|651|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|4,939|6,139|200|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1984|Democratic|5,759|6,839|212|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|4,592|7,030|393|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|4,269|6,412|432|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|6,602|3,708|415|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1968|Democratic|1,875|5,352|3,671|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|4,172|964|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|1,096|1,386|1,385|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|1,082|1,677|540|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|1,619|2,115|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1948|Dixiecrat|113|246|1,960|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|191|2,392|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|137|2,440|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|49|2,059|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|62|1,672|3|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|223|1,778|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|121|1,362|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|61|882|10|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|21|697|3|Mississippi}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|16|396|28|Mississippi}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Mississippi}}
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Coahoma County, Mississippi]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* https://web.archive.org/web/20060906233219/http://www.clarksdale.com/chamber/
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051103073133/http://www.mississippicourthouses.com/coahoma/ Coahoma County Courthouse Pictures]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071029091637/http://deltanewsonline.com/ Delta News Online: Hometown News for the Mississippi Delta]

{{coord|34.23|-90.60|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-MS_source:UScensus1990}}

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Coahoma County, Mississippi
|North     = [[Tunica County, Mississippi|Tunica County]]
|Northeast =
|East      = [[Quitman County, Mississippi|Quitman County]]
|Southeast = [[Tallahatchie County, Mississippi|Tallahatchie County]]
|South     = [[Sunflower County, Mississippi|Sunflower County]]
|Southwest = [[Bolivar County, Mississippi|Bolivar County]]
|West      = [[Phillips County, Arkansas]]
|Northwest =
}}

{{Coahoma County, Mississippi}}
{{Mississippi}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Coahoma County, Mississippi| ]]
[[Category:Mississippi counties]]
[[Category:Mississippi counties on the Mississippi River]]
[[Category:Mississippi placenames of Native American origin]]
[[Category:1836 establishments in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1836]]
[[Category:Black Belt (U.S. region)]]
[[Category:Majority-minority counties in Mississippi]]