Issaquena County, Mississippi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Issaquena County
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Historic photo of the Issaquena County Courthouse in Mayersville, Mississippi
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Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
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 Mississippi's location within the U.S. |
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Mississippi |
| Founded | January 23, 1844 |
| Seat | Mayersville |
| Largest town | Mayersville |
| Area | |
| • Total | 441 sq mi (1,140 km2) |
| • Land | 413 sq mi (1,070 km2) |
| • Water | 28 sq mi (70 km2) 6.4% |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 1,338 |
| • Estimate
(2022)
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1,273  |
| • Density | 3.034/sq mi (1.1714/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
Issaquena County (/ˌɪsəˈkwiːnə/, ISS-ə-KWEEN-ə) is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,338, making it the least populous county in the United States east of the Mississippi River. Its county seat is Mayersville. With a per-capita income of $18,598, Issaquena County is, by that measure, one of the poorest counties in the United States.
Issaquena County is located in the Mississippi Delta region. The Mississippi River flows along the entire western boundary of the county, and many of the earliest communities were river ports.
The county's economy is chiefly based on agriculture, though a number of hunting camps are also located here and contribute to the economy. Mississippi's two most recent records for the heaviest alligator taken by a hunter have both been in Issaquena County, the latest in 2012 when a 697.5 lb (316.4 kg) alligator was killed at a camp near Fitler.
Contents
History
"Issaquena" (isi okhina) is a Choctaw word meaning "Deer River"; it is the Indian name for Deer Creek. The Choctaw people were the first inhabitants of the county, and were removed from their land in 1820. Non-Native settlers began arriving in the early 1830s.
Issaquena county was established on January 23, 1844, from the southern portion of Washington County. The first county seat was located in Skipwith, and then moved to Duncansby (both communities are now ghost towns). In 1848, the county seat moved to Tallula, and in 1871, to Mayersville.
The county lies entirely in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and hardwood forest known as "bottomland" grows thick in the nutrient-rich, high-clay "buckshot" soil. Early settlers cleared many forests, and by the early 1890s about 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) of the county was growing corn, cotton, and oats. About that same time, the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway was completed along a north–south route through the center of the county.
In 1876, Sharkey County was created from portions of Issaquena, Warren, and Washington counties.
Slavery
In 1860, 92.5% of Issaquena County's total population were enslaved people, the highest concentration anywhere in the United States. The U.S. Census for that year showed that 7,244 slaves were held in Issaquena County, and of 115 slave owners, 39 held 77 or more slaves. Stephen Duncan of Issaquena County held 858 slaves, second only to Joshua John Ward of South Carolina. This large "value of slave property" made Issaquena County the second richest county in the United States, with "mean total wealth per freeman" at $26,800 in 1860 (equivalent to $668,000 in 2021). By 1880—just 15 years after the abolition of slavery—the county had developed "a strong year-round market for wage labor", and Issaquena was the only county in Mississippi to report "no sharecropping or sharerenting whatsoever".
Civil War
During the winter of 1862 and spring of 1863, Union Army General Ulysses S. Grant conducted a series of amphibious operations aimed at capturing the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, located south of Issaquena County.
The Steele's Bayou Expedition occurred on waterways within Issaquena County, including Steele Bayou, Little Sunflower River, Big Sunflower River, Deer Creek, Black Bayou, Little Black Bayou, and the Yazoo River.
The shallow waterways proved difficult for the large Union boats, and Confederate defenses were robust. The Steele's Bayou Expedition was a defeat for Union forces in Issaquena County.
Weather events
In 1971, a large and long-tracked tornado destroyed multiple towns in Issaquena County.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 441 square miles (1,140 km2), of which 413 square miles (1,070 km2) is land and 28 square miles (73 km2) (6.4%) is water.
Major highways
U.S. Route 61
Mississippi Highway 1
Mississippi Highway 14
Mississippi Highway 16
Adjacent counties
- Washington County (north)
- Sharkey County (northeast)
- Yazoo County (east)
- Warren County (south)
- East Carroll Parish, Louisiana (west)
- Chicot County, Arkansas (northwest)
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1850 | 4,478 | — | |
| 1860 | 7,831 | 74.9% | |
| 1870 | 6,887 | −12.1% | |
| 1880 | 10,004 | 45.3% | |
| 1890 | 12,318 | 23.1% | |
| 1900 | 10,400 | −15.6% | |
| 1910 | 10,560 | 1.5% | |
| 1920 | 7,618 | −27.9% | |
| 1930 | 5,734 | −24.7% | |
| 1940 | 6,433 | 12.2% | |
| 1950 | 4,966 | −22.8% | |
| 1960 | 3,576 | −28.0% | |
| 1970 | 2,737 | −23.5% | |
| 1980 | 2,513 | −8.2% | |
| 1990 | 1,909 | −24.0% | |
| 2000 | 2,274 | 19.1% | |
| 2010 | 1,406 | −38.2% | |
| 2020 | 1,338 | −4.8% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 1,256 | −10.7% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020 |
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2020 census
| Race | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Black or African American | 748 | 55.9% |
| White | 440 | 32.88% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 128 | 9.57% |
| Other/Mixed | 16 | 1.2% |
| Asian | 5 | 0.37% |
| Native American | 1 | 0.07% |
As of the census of 2020, there were 1,338 people, 483 households, and 274 families residing in the county.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,406 people living in the county. 64.4% were Black or African American, 34.6% White, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.1% of some other race and 0.2% of two or more races. 0.6% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).
Poverty and unemployment
Of 3,197 counties ranked by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2011 for "estimated percent of people of all ages in poverty", Issaquena was 14th; for those under age 18, the county was eighth. It was estimated that 40.1 percent of the county's residents lived in poverty.
In 2014, Issaquena County had the highest percentage of unemployed people in Mississippi, and the fifth highest of any county in the United States, at 18.4 percent.
Education
There are no schools located in Issaquena County. Students attend campuses in neighboring Sharkey and Washington counties.
- Public School Districts
- South Delta School District – Based in Rolling Fork; Serves most of Issaquena County including Mayersville. Operates South Delta High School.
- Western Line School District – Based in Avon; Serves northwestern portion of Issaquena County.
- Private Schools
- Sharkey-Issaquena Academy – Located in Rolling Fork; Enrollment open to Issaquena County residents.
In the segregation era (before around 1970) the county only had schools for black students.
Communities
Town
Census-designated places
- Grace
- Valley Park
Unincorporated communities
Ghost towns
- Arcadia
- Baleshed
- Ben Lomond
- Duncansby
- Magna Vista
- Shiloh
- Skipwith's Landing
Notable people
- Unita Blackwell, civil rights leader and mayor of Mayersville from 1976 to 2001; first female African-American mayor in Mississippi
- Charles C. Diggs, Sr., first African-American Democrat elected to the Michigan Senate; born in Tallula
- William Stamps Farish II, president of Standard Oil; born in Mayersville
- Muddy Waters, blues musician (1913–1983); born in "Jug's Corner"
- Eliza Winston, notable enslaved person
See also
In Spanish: Condado de Issaquena (Misisipi) para niños
