Kemper County, Mississippi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kemper County
U.S. county
The Kemper Project power plant
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1833
Named for	Reuben Kemper
Seat	De Kalb
Largest Town	De Kalb
Area
• Total	767 sq mi (1,990 km2)
• Land	766 sq mi (1,980 km2)
• Water	0.8 sq mi (2 km2)  0.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	8,988
• Density	11.718/sq mi (4.524/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Kemper County is a county located on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,988. Its county seat is De Kalb. The county is named in honor of Reuben Kemper.

The county is part of the Meridian, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area. In 2010 the Mississippi Public Service Commission approved construction of the Kemper Project, designed to use "clean coal" to produce electricity for 23 counties in the eastern part of the state. As of February 2017^[update], it was not completed and had cost overruns. It is designed as a model project to use gasification and carbon-capture technologies at this scale.

East Mississippi Community College is located in Kemper County in the town of Scooba, at the junction of US 45 and Mississippi Highway 16.

History

In this county the land was developed by white planters for cotton cultivation in the 19th century. It continues to be largely rural. After the American Civil War and Reconstruction, racial violence increased as whites struggled to regain power over the majority population of freedmen. In 1890, blacks made up the majority of the county' population: 10,084 blacks to 7,845 whites.

Beginning in late December 1906, there were several days of racial terror in the county.

In 1934, three African-American suspects in Kemper County were repeatedly whipped in order to force them to confess to murder. In Brown v. Mississippi (1936), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled such forced confessions violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and were inadmissible at trial.

The peak of population in the county was in 1930. Mechanization of agriculture decreased the need for farm labor. From 1940 to 1970, the population declined markedly, as may be seen on the table below, as people moved to other areas for work. This was also the period of the second wave of the Great Migration of 5 million African Americans out of the South to the North and to the West Coast, where the defense industry had many jobs, beginning during World War II.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 767 square miles (1,990 km²), of which 766 square miles (1,980 km²) is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) (0.1%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 45
• Mississippi Highway 16
• Mississippi Highway 21
• Mississippi Highway 39

Adjacent counties

• Noxubee County (north)
• Sumter County, Alabama (east)
• Lauderdale County (south)
• Neshoba County (west)
• Winston County (northwest)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 8,988 people, 3,611 households, and 2,201 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 10,456 people living in the county. 60.1% were Black or African American, 35.3% White, 3.7% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% of some other race and 0.7% of two or more races. 0.5% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

Education

Public school districts

• Kemper County School District

Kemper County is within the service area of the East Mississippi Community College system. The main campus of EMCC, including the college system's administrative headquarters, is in the Scooba Campus in Scooba.

Electric power plant

In 2010, the Mississippi Public Service Commission approved the construction of a lignite coal plant in Kemper County to be financed by electricity customers in twenty-three southeastern Mississippi counties being served by Mississippi Power Company. It is designed as a model project to use gasification and carbon-capture technologies at this scale.

The plant was strongly opposed by former Republican State Chairman Clarke Reed of Greenville, who favored a less-expensive natural gas-fueled plant. Reed called the project "... a horrible thing." He said it would be a political issue that could be used against Republicans for years.

The Kemper Project was scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2016, more than two years behind schedule. Its cost increased to $6.6 billion—three times original cost estimate. As of February 2017^[update], the project was still not in service, and the cost had increased to $7.1 billion.

Communities

Towns

• De Kalb (county seat)
• Scooba

Census-designated place

• Bogue Chitto (mostly in Neshoba County)

Unincorporated communities

• Electric Mills
• Kellis Store
• Minden
• Moscow
• Preston
• Porterville
• Union Hill
• Wahalak

Ghost town

• Binnsville

Notable residents

• Eddie Briggs, 28th Lt. Governor of Mississippi
• Bud Brown, former pro football player, was born in DeKalb
• Clay Hopper, professional baseball player
• Sampson Jackson, served in the Mississippi State Senate, was born in Preston
• John J. Pettus, 23rd Governor of Mississippi, previously represented Kemper County in the Mississippi House of Representatives and the Mississippi State Senate
• Devonta Pollard, professional basketball player
• J.H. Rush, who founded the first private hospital in Meridian
• John C. Stennis, who served as United States Senator from 1947 to 1988, was born in Kemper County

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Kemper para niños