Quitman County, Mississippi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Quitman County
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Quitman County Courthouse
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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 | 1877 |
| Named for | John A. Quitman |
| Seat | Marks |
| Largest town | Lambert |
| Area | |
| • Total | 406 sq mi (1,050 km2) |
| • Land | 405 sq mi (1,050 km2) |
| • Water | 1.4 sq mi (4 km2) 0.3% |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 6,176 |
| • Density | 15.212/sq mi (5.873/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
Quitman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,176, making it the third-least populous county in Mississippi. Its county seat is Marks. The county is named after John A. Quitman, Governor of Mississippi from 1835 to 1836 and from 1850 to 1851.
Quitman County is located in the Mississippi Delta region of Mississippi.
Contents
History
The county was developed for cotton cultivation. Much of the bottomlands behind the riverfront were not developed until the late 19th century, and population continued to increase as the frontier was cleared and cultivated. The county reached its peak population in 1940. Agricultural mechanization reduced the need for farm labor, and workers were recruited to northern and midwestern industrial cities. Thousands of African Americans left in the Great Migration, many going upriver to St. Louis and Chicago.
Poor People's Campaign
Martin Luther King Jr. originally wanted the Poor People's Campaign to start in Quitman County because of the intense and visible economic disparity there. On March 18, 1968, King visited the town of Marks, Mississippi. He watched a teacher feeding black schoolchildren their lunch, consisting only of a slice of apple and some crackers, and was moved to tears.
After King's death, the Southern part of the Campaign began in Quitman County. Participants rode a train of mules to Washington, D.C. to protest about economic conditions. According to wagonmaster Willie Bolden, white citizens of Marks harassed the mule train on its way out of town. Bolden stated that they "would drive by blowing their horns, purposely trying to spook the mules and us." More recently, Quitman County residents have made an effort to promote tourism based on the county's role in the Poor People's Campaign.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 406 square miles (1,050 km2), of which 405 square miles (1,050 km2) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km2) (0.3%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest county in Mississippi by land area and third-smallest by total area.
Major highways
Mississippi Highway 3
Mississippi Highway 6
U.S. Route 278
Mississippi Highway 315
Adjacent counties
- Tunica County (north)
- Panola County (east)
- Tallahatchie County (south)
- Coahoma County (west)
National protected area
- Coldwater River National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Demographics
Reflecting the decreased need for farm labor after mechanization and the development of industrial farms, the population has declined by more than two thirds since its peak in 1940.
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 1,407 | — | |
| 1890 | 3,286 | 133.5% | |
| 1900 | 5,435 | 65.4% | |
| 1910 | 11,593 | 113.3% | |
| 1920 | 19,861 | 71.3% | |
| 1930 | 25,304 | 27.4% | |
| 1940 | 27,191 | 7.5% | |
| 1950 | 25,885 | −4.8% | |
| 1960 | 21,019 | −18.8% | |
| 1970 | 15,888 | −24.4% | |
| 1980 | 12,636 | −20.5% | |
| 1990 | 10,490 | −17.0% | |
| 2000 | 10,117 | −3.6% | |
| 2010 | 8,223 | −18.7% | |
| 2020 | 6,176 | −24.9% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 5,546 | −32.6% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 |
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2020 census
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,484 | 24.03% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 4,546 | 73.61% |
| Native American | 1 | 0.02% |
| Asian | 12 | 0.19% |
| Pacific Islander | 3 | 0.05% |
| Other/Mixed | 109 | 1.76% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 21 | 0.34% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,176 people, 3,027 households, and 1,833 families residing in the county.
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 8,223 people living in the county. 69.6% were Black or African American, 29.0% White, 0.2% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.3% of some other race and 0.8% of two or more races. 0.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).
Education
On July 24, 1969, federal judge William Keady found that Quitman County school officials were maintaining an unconstitutional de jure racially segregated school system, and he placed the school board under the supervision of United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. As of 1993, this order had not been set aside. In March 1991, the school board asked the district court for permission to close Crowder elementary and junior high school, a majority-white school. The court gave permission, and a group of parents sued for an injunction to prevent the closing. The district court denied them an injunction, and this decision was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
By 1975, the majority of African-American students in Quitman County were attending public schools, which had earlier been segregated. But the majority of white students had been moved into newly established private academies. This situation has continued; in 2007 the Mississippi Department of Education found that the students in the district were 97.92% African American, 1.81% White, and 0.27% Hispanic.
Schools in Quitman County remain effectively segregated by race. White students almost exclusively attend private schools while Black children attend the local public schools.
| School | Total Students | White Students | Black Students | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Academy (Private) | 175 | 147 (84.0%) | 17 (9.7%) | |
| M. S. Palmer High School (Public) | 351 | 4 (1.1%) | 347 (98.9%) | |
| Combined (Public plus private) | 526 | 151 (28.7%) | 364 (69.2%) |
- Public School Districts
- Quitman County School District - The only school district in the county.
- Private Schools
- Delta Academy (Marks)
Communities
City
- Marks (county seat)
Towns
- Crenshaw (mostly in Panola County)
- Crowder (partly in Panola County)
- Falcon
- Lambert
- Sledge
Census-designated place
Other unincorporated communities
- Allen
- Barksdale
- Belen
- Birdie
- Bobo
- Chancy
- Denton
- Essex
- Hinchcliff
- Locke Station (partly in Panola County)
- Longstreet
- Oliverfried
- Riverview
- Sabino
- Vance (partly in Tallahatchie County)
- Walnut
- West Marks
- Yarbrough
Notable people
- Earl Hooker (January 15, 1929 — April 21, 1970) — blues guitarist.
- Charley Pride (March 18, 1934 —December 12, 2020) — country music artist.
- Snooky Pryor (September 15, 1921 — October 18, 2006) — harmonica player.
- Sunnyland Slim (September 5, 1907 — March 17, 1995 ) — blues piano player.
- Fred Smith (August 11, 1944-) Founder, President and CEO FedEx
See also
In Spanish: Condado de Quitman (Misisipi) para niños
