Rolling Fork, Mississippi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rolling Fork, Mississippi
|
||
|---|---|---|
|
City and county seat
|
||
Welcome sign (2022)
|
||
|
||
Location within Sharkey County and Mississippi
|
||
| Country | United States | |
| State | Mississippi | |
| County | Sharkey | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 1.41 sq mi (3.66 km2) | |
| • Land | 1.41 sq mi (3.66 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) | |
| Elevation | 108 ft (33 m) | |
| Population
(2020)
|
||
| • Total | 1,883 | |
| • Density | 1,333.57/sq mi (515.07/km2) | |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) | |
| ZIP Code |
39159
|
|
| Area code(s) | 662 | |
| FIPS code | 28-63560 | |
| GNIS ID | 2404646 | |
Rolling Fork is a city in Mississippi, United States. It's also the main town, or county seat, of Sharkey County. In 2020, about 1,883 people lived there.
A Look at Rolling Fork's History
The first European-American settler in this area was Thomas Y. Chaney, who arrived in 1828. Before that, the Choctaw people, who had lived there for a long time, were forced to leave their land. This happened because of new settlers and government agreements.
A stream called Deer Creek flows through the town. Chaney named the place "Rolling Fork" because the water moved very fast where the creek split. A post office was opened in 1848.
When Sharkey County was created in 1876, Rolling Fork became its main town. A local newspaper, The Deer Creek Pilot, started in 1884.
The Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway built a train line through Rolling Fork in 1883. Later, the Illinois Central Railroad took over this line. In 1908, the Bank of Rolling Fork was started.
Since 2002, the town has a yearly festival in October called the Great Delta Bear Affair. It celebrates a bear hunt that President Theodore Roosevelt had in Sharkey County in 1902. Each year, an artist carves a new wooden bear statue, which is then placed on the town's streets.
The 2023 Tornado
On March 24, 2023, a very strong tornado hit Rolling Fork. It was an EF4 tornado with winds of 195 miles per hour. The tornado started from a powerful supercell thunderstorm in Issaquena County. It then moved northeast and struck Rolling Fork.
The National Weather Service warned the community about the tornado just before it hit. The storm caused huge damage to many buildings. Parts of the roofs of the post office, city hall, and police department were torn off. Many businesses, even those made of metal or brick, were completely destroyed. Dozens of houses and mobile homes were also ruined.
The tornado knocked over one of the town's water towers. It also threw two large grain trucks into each other. Power lines were broken, and trees were pulled out of the ground, some even losing their bark. This tornado caused 17 deaths in Rolling Fork and nearby towns like Midnight and Silver City. It also injured 165 people. After the tornado, the town's existing tornado siren was fixed, and a new one was added on the other side of town.
Geography and Climate
Rolling Fork covers about 1.4 square miles (3.6 square kilometers) of land. There is no water area within the city limits.
Weather in Rolling Fork
| Climate data for Rolling Fork, Mississippi (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1936–1937, 1969–2016) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 80 (27) |
88 (31) |
89 (32) |
95 (35) |
99 (37) |
103 (39) |
104 (40) |
106 (41) |
106 (41) |
98 (37) |
89 (32) |
83 (28) |
106 (41) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 55.2 (12.9) |
59.5 (15.3) |
68.3 (20.2) |
76.6 (24.8) |
84.2 (29.0) |
90.7 (32.6) |
93.0 (33.9) |
93.2 (34.0) |
88.7 (31.5) |
78.8 (26.0) |
67.0 (19.4) |
57.9 (14.4) |
76.1 (24.5) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 45.8 (7.7) |
49.8 (9.9) |
57.9 (14.4) |
65.7 (18.7) |
74.1 (23.4) |
81.0 (27.2) |
83.3 (28.5) |
82.8 (28.2) |
77.7 (25.4) |
66.9 (19.4) |
55.9 (13.3) |
48.6 (9.2) |
65.8 (18.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 36.5 (2.5) |
40.0 (4.4) |
47.4 (8.6) |
54.8 (12.7) |
64.0 (17.8) |
71.2 (21.8) |
73.7 (23.2) |
72.5 (22.5) |
66.6 (19.2) |
55.0 (12.8) |
44.9 (7.2) |
39.3 (4.1) |
55.5 (13.1) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 4 (−16) |
8 (−13) |
12 (−11) |
27 (−3) |
38 (3) |
49 (9) |
58 (14) |
51 (11) |
40 (4) |
25 (−4) |
11 (−12) |
−2 (−19) |
−2 (−19) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 5.10 (130) |
5.23 (133) |
4.90 (124) |
6.13 (156) |
5.02 (128) |
3.91 (99) |
4.31 (109) |
3.21 (82) |
3.41 (87) |
4.42 (112) |
4.19 (106) |
5.45 (138) |
55.28 (1,404) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.0 (0.0) |
0.3 (0.76) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.3 (0.76) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 10.4 | 9.1 | 9.6 | 7.9 | 8.5 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 7.1 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 7.9 | 9.7 | 97.8 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Population Changes in Rolling Fork
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 91 | — | |
| 1920 | 703 | — | |
| 1930 | 902 | 28.3% | |
| 1940 | 1,320 | 46.3% | |
| 1950 | 1,229 | −6.9% | |
| 1960 | 1,619 | 31.7% | |
| 1970 | 2,034 | 25.6% | |
| 1980 | 2,590 | 27.3% | |
| 1990 | 2,444 | −5.6% | |
| 2000 | 2,486 | 1.7% | |
| 2010 | 2,143 | −13.8% | |
| 2020 | 1,883 | −12.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
What the 2020 Census Showed
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White | 423 | 22.46% |
| Black or African American | 1,392 | 73.92% |
| Asian | 4 | 0.21% |
| Pacific Islander | 3 | 0.16% |
| Other/Mixed | 38 | 2.02% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 23 | 1.22% |
In 2020, the census counted 1,883 people living in Rolling Fork. There were 857 households and 498 families in the city.
Education in Rolling Fork
Public Schools
The South Delta School District serves the city of Rolling Fork. This school district has three schools. About 1,300 students attend these schools in total.
Private Schools
- Sharkey-Issaquena Academy is a private school in the area.
Famous People from Rolling Fork
- Robert Colby, a songwriter and theater producer
- Tommy Davidson, an actor and comedian
- Johnny Dyer, a blues musician
- Jack Holmes, a professional football player
- Larry Smith, a professional basketball player
- Willie Mae Ford Smith, a gospel singer
- Slick Watts, a professional basketball player
- Fielding L. Wright, who was the Governor of Mississippi and ran for Vice-President in 1948
See also
In Spanish: Rolling Fork para niños
