Tallahatchie County, Mississippi Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Tallahatchie County
U.S. county
Tallahatchie County courthouse in Sumner
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	December 31, 1833
Named for	Choctaw word roughly meaning “River of rocks"
Seat	Charleston and Sumner
Largest city	Charleston
Area
• Total	652 sq mi (1,690 km²)
• Land	645 sq mi (1,670 km²)
• Water	6.9 sq mi (18 km²) 1.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	12,715
• Density	19.502/sq mi (7.530/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Tallahatchie County is a county in the state of Mississippi. In 2020, about 12,715 people lived there. Its main towns, called county seats, are Charleston and Sumner.

Tallahatchie County is in the Mississippi Delta region. The Tallahatchie River flows through the county from north to south. This river later joins to form the Yazoo River.

History

Tallahatchie County was created on December 31, 1833. This happened after most of the Choctaw people were forced to move from their lands. The name "Tallahatchie" comes from the Choctaw language. It means "rock of waters" or "river of rocks."

The county is special because it has two county seats. Charleston is on the east side of the river. Sumner is on the west side. Charleston was the first county seat. Sumner was started later in 1872.

Early Settlements

European Americans founded Charleston in 1837. But people had lived there even before that. Early settlers had built five small communities along the Tillatoba Creek.

In 1833, the United States government opened this land for new settlers. This was after the Choctaw people were moved to Indian Territory. This area is now part of Oklahoma. Old Native American trails went through the county. Many settlers came using a trail called Charley's Trace. This trail came from the Mississippi River and passed near where Charleston is today.

Colonel Thomas Bailey from Kentucky started the first European-American settlement. Other families like the Baileys, Caruthers, and Flemmings joined him. They built homes along the creek. Two towns, DeKalb and Tillatoba, were also founded nearby. Tillatoba was chosen as the county seat for a short time.

A section of land in the middle of these settlements was given to Greenwood LeFlore. He was a main chief of the Choctaw people. He chose to stay in Mississippi on his land. Later, a company bought this land. They planned to build the town of Charleston. They hoped it would become the permanent county seat.

Sumner's Beginnings

J.B. Sumner moved to the area in 1872. He founded the town that is now called Sumner. At first, it was a thick forest. He gave land for a railroad, a park, and the courthouse. In 1873, the first church was built.

From 1882 to 1884, big floods hit the Tallahatchie River. People in Sumner had to use boats to get supplies. A post office opened in 1885. The town officially became a town in 1900.

Sumner's first courthouse was built in 1902. It burned down in 1908, but the records were saved. Then, in 1909, a fire destroyed the entire business area. All the town's records were lost. More floods happened from 1931 to 1933. They covered many farms and destroyed property.

A Difficult Time

In 1955, a sad event happened in nearby Glendora, Mississippi. A young African American boy named Emmett Till was murdered. This event brought national attention to the county. It became an important part of the Civil Rights Movement.

Geography

Tallahatchie County covers about 652 square miles. Most of this is land, about 645 square miles. The rest, about 6.9 square miles, is water. The Tallahatchie River flows through the county.

Major Roads

U.S. Highway 49
Mississippi Highway 3
Mississippi Highway 8
Mississippi Highway 32
Mississippi Highway 35

Neighboring Counties

Tallahatchie County shares borders with these counties:

Quitman County (north)
Panola County (northeast)
Yalobusha County (east)
Grenada County (southeast)
Leflore County (south)
Sunflower County (southwest)
Coahoma County (northwest)

Protected Natural Areas

Parts of these national wildlife refuges are in the county:

Coldwater River National Wildlife Refuge
Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge

People in Tallahatchie County

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1840	2,985	—
1850	4,643	55.5%
1860	7,890	69.9%
1870	7,852	−0.5%
1880	10,926	39.1%
1890	14,361	31.4%
1900	19,600	36.5%
1910	29,078	48.4%
1920	35,953	23.6%
1930	35,568	−1.1%
1940	34,166	−3.9%
1950	30,486	−10.8%
1960	24,081	−21.0%
1970	19,338	−19.7%
1980	17,157	−11.3%
1990	15,210	−11.3%
2000	14,903	−2.0%
2010	15,378	3.2%
2020	12,715	−17.3%
2023 (est.)	11,837	−23.0%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

In 2020, there were 12,715 people living in Tallahatchie County. There were about 4,369 households.

Who Lives Here?

Tallahatchie County Racial Composition
Race	Number	Percent
White	4,727	37.18%
Black or African American	7,390	58.12%
Native American	4	0.03%
Asian	10	0.08%
Pacific Islander	3	0.02%
Other/Mixed	156	1.23%
Hispanic or Latino	425	3.34%

In 2010, about 56.4% of the people were Black or African American. About 38.9% were White. People of Hispanic or Latino background made up 5.6% of the population.

Education

Public Schools

East Tallahatchie School District (in Charleston)
- Charleston High School
West Tallahatchie School District (in Webb)
- West Tallahatchie High School

Colleges

Coahoma Community College is the local community college.

Communities

Cities

Charleston (a county seat)

Towns

Sumner (a county seat)
Tutwiler
Webb

Villages

Glendora

Other Communities

These are smaller places that are not officially cities, towns, or villages:

Old Towns (Ghost Towns)

These towns no longer exist:

Images for kids

A map showing Tallahatchie County in Mississippi.

Tallahatchie County, Mississippi facts for kids

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