Tallahatchie County is a county in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Missis ...

. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,715. Its county seats are Charleston and

Sumner Sumner may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica * Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica Australia * Sumner, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane New Zealand * Sumner, New Zealand, seaside s ...

. Tallahatchie County is located in the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazo ...

region, divided by the

Tallahatchie River The Tallahatchie River is a river in Mississippi which flows from Tippah County, through Tallahatchie County, to Leflore County, where it joins the Yalobusha River to form the Yazoo River. The river is navigable for about . At Money, Mississi ...

which runs from north to south through the county before joining what becomes the Yazoo River in LeFlore County.

History

The county was founded on December 31, 1833, after most of the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United St ...

was forced out under Indian Removal. Tallahatchie is a

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

name meaning "rock river". The county is one of 10 in Mississippi with two county seats: Charleston on the east side of the river and

on the west side. Charleston was the first county seat. Sumner was organized later in 1872 in the district to the west and has always been smaller in population. Charleston was founded by European Americans in 1837, but its history antedates that. Settlers who were there illegally had developed five communities along the forks of Tillatoba Creek. In 1833 the federal government opened the land for settlement by European Americans after the

were relocated to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River, in what is now

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

. Ancient Indian trails led through the county at the time. Most of the settlers entered the county over what was called Charley's Trace, an Indian trail that came across east from the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

and entered the hills about where Leverett is now located. Here the trail merged with a trail from the south and passed near the present site of Charleston. Colonel Thomas Bailey came from Kentucky and formed the first European-American settlement on the north fork of the creek, which was about five miles to the northeast. He was later joined by James Bailey, Samuel Caruthers, William Flemming, M. Johnson, Willam Kendrick, Robert Thrasher, A. Patterson, and Kinchen Mayo, who extended the settlement along the creek toward the Junction. Another settlement was started by the Priddys, the J. Houstons, Cade Alford, and the Carson family, who extended the settlement along the creek to the junction of three forks. DeKalb and Tillatoba were founded on the north fork of the creek just west of the present town. Both towns wanted to be county seat of Tallahatchie, and Tillatoba gained the distinction. In 1837 the Board of Police found it necessary to abandon Tillatoba. A section of unsettled land lay at the heart of the first five settlements. Under the Dancing Rabbit Treaty of 1830, this section of land had been granted to Greenwood LeFlore, the leading Choctaw chief. He stayed in Mississippi on his land after most of his people moved to Indian Territory. J.S. Topp & Co. had acquired this section of land and proposed to build the town of Charleston (named for

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint ...

). He hoped to have this designated as the permanent county seat. In 1843 the county seat fight flared up again. The board voted to abandon Charleston, but Mr. Steel, president of the Board of Police, refused to sign the minutes which killed the rally. J.B. Sumner moved to this section in 1872 and founded what is now Sumner. The present site was a dense forest. He donated land for the railroad right-of-way, railroad park, and courthouse square and jail lot. The next year Presbyterians erected Maria Church. From 1882 through 1884 disastrous floods and overflows of the Tallahatchie River forced the people of Sumner to go by boat for supplies to

Webb Webb most often refers to James Webb Space Telescope which is named after James E. Webb, second Administrator of NASA. It may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Webb Glacier (South Georgia) * Webb Glacier (Victoria Land) * Webb Névé, Victori ...

(which was at the time called Hood). A post office was established in 1885, and the town incorporated in 1900. The first county court house in Sumner was built in 1902; it was destroyed by fire in 1908. The records were saved, but in 1909 the entire business section of the town burned, and all records were destroyed. From 1931 through 1933, floods inundated thousands of acres of farmland and destroyed much property. Sumner's county courthouse was the site of the 1955 murder trial of two white men, J.W. Milam and

Roy Bryant Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

, accused in the

lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

and murder of

Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941August 28, 1955) was a 14-year-old African Americans, African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and Lynching in the United States, lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a whi ...

that year in adjoining

Leflore County Leflore County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,317. The county seat is Greenwood. The county is named for Choctaw leader Greenwood LeFlore, who signed a treaty to cede his pe ...

. They were acquitted by an

all-white jury Racial discrimination in jury selection is specifically prohibited by law in many jurisdictions throughout the world. In the United States, it has been defined through a series of judicial decisions. However, juries composed solely of one racial ...

of the murder of Till, a teenage

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensla ...

boy from Chicago. In 1990, the courthouse was designated as a state landmark by the

Mississippi Department of Archives and History Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) is a state agency. It is the official archive of the Mississippi Government. Location The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is located in Jackson. The William F. Winter Archives ...

. That same year, in nearby

Glendora, Mississippi Glendora is a village in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. The population was 285 at the 2000 census. History Glendora was developed by White Americans as a small sawmill site. Logs were floated down the river from around the vicinity of Webb to ...

, resident Elmer Kimbrell shot and killed

Clinton Melton in front of three witnesses after an argument about how much gas Melton pumped into Kimbrell's car. He was acquitted after a short trial. Shortly before this murder, Kimbrell was involved in the

murder.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water. The county is intersected by the

Major highways

U.S. Highway 49 U.S. Route 49 (US 49) is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Piggott, Arkansas, at an intersection with US Route 62/ Highway 1/ Highway 139 (US 62/AR 1/AR 139). Its southern terminus is ...

Mississippi Highway 3 Mississippi Highway 3 (MS 3) is a north–south Mississippi state highway, located entirely within the Mississippi Delta region, running from Redwood to Lake Cormorant, both at an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61). For much of its d ...

Mississippi Highway 8 Mississippi Highway 8 (MS 8) is an east–west state highway in northern Mississippi, running from MS 1 in Rosedale to U.S. Route 278 (US 278) northeast of Aberdeen. Points of interest along the route include Great River Road State Park, De ...

Mississippi Highway 32 Mississippi Highway 32 (MS 32) is a state highway in northern Mississippi it runs from east to west for , serving the counties of Bolivar, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Yalobusha, Calhoun, and Chickasaw. The publicly accessible portion of MS 32 is ...

Mississippi Highway 35 Mississippi Highway 35 (MS 35) is a state highway in Mississippi. It runs north–south for , beginning at the Louisiana state line and ending at a junction with MS 315 at Sardis Dam. MS 35 serves the counties of Marion, Jefferson Davis, C ...

Adjacent counties

* Quitman County (north) * Panola County (northeast) * Yalobusha County (east) * Grenada County (southeast) *

(south) *

Sunflower County Sunflower County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,450. Its largest city and county seat is Indianola. Sunflower County comprises the Indianola, MS Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

(southwest) *

Coahoma County Coahoma County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 26,151. Its county seat is Clarksdale, Mississippi, Clarksdale. The Clarksdale, M ...

(northwest)

National protected areas

Coldwater River National Wildlife Refuge The Coldwater National Wildlife Refuge is located in northwest Mississippi, south of the town of Crowder. Established in 2000, this small refuge consists of within an acquisition boundary of . The centerpiece of the refuge is 25 old catfish pon ...

(part) *

Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge The Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1990 and consists of in Grenada and Tallahatchie counties. Topography is relatively flat and land has been subject to extensive clearing and drainage for commodity crops, including cot ...

(part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 12,715 people, 4,369 households, and 2,775 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, there were 15,378 people living in the county. 56.4% were Black or African American, 38.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.8% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

, 2.4% of some other race and 1.2% of two or more races. 5.6% were

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...

(of any race).

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,903 people, 5,263 households, and 3,826 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPop ...

was 23 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 5,711 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 59.43%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, 39.62%

, 0.09% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.05% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.46% from two or more races. 0.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 5,263 households, out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.50% were married couples living together, 23.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.36. In the county, the population was spread out, with 30.00% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 13.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 87.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $22,229, and the median income for a family was $26,509. Males had a median income of $24,766 versus $18,972 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $10,749. About 26.80% of families and 32.20% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 43.80% of those under age 18 and 27.80% of those age 65 or over. Tallahatchie County has the fourth lowest per capita income in Mississippi and the 46th lowest in the United States.

Government and infrastructure

Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility, a private prison operated by the

Corrections Corporation of America CoreCivic, formerly the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), is a company that owns and manages private prisons and detention centers and operates others on a concession basis. Co-founded in 1983 in Nashville, Tennessee by Thomas W. Beasle ...

on behalf of the

Mississippi Department of Corrections The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) is a state agency of Mississippi that operates prisons. It has its headquarters in Jackson. Burl Cain is the commissioner. History In 1843 a penitentiary in four city squares in central Jackson ...

, is located in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in the county, near Tutwiler.Tutwiler town, Mississippi
"

. Retrieved on October 15, 2010.Five Private Prisons
."

. Retrieved on October 15, 2010. As of 2010 the prison serves as the Tallahatchie County's jail facility, in addition to housing prison inmates sentenced in California.Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility
"
Archive of later date

. Retrieved on October 15, 2010.

Education

* Public School Districts **

East Tallahatchie School District The East Tallahatchie School District (ETSD) is a public school district based in Charleston, Mississippi (USA). In addition to Charleston it serves Tippo. History For much of the county's history, public education was only for white students. ...

(Charleston) *** Charleston High School **

West Tallahatchie School District The West Tallahatchie School District (WTSD) is a public school district with its headquarters in the Charles M. George Facility for Educational Services in unincorporated Tallahatchie County, Mississippi (USA), adjacent to Sumner. In addition t ...

(Webb) ***

West Tallahatchie High School West Tallahatchie High School (WTHS) is a public high school in unincorporated Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, near Webb. A part of the West Tallahatchie School District, its nickname is "West Tally". In addition to Webb, the district also ser ...

* Private Schools (None) ** Strider Academy (closed in 2018)

Coahoma Community College Coahoma Community College (CCC) is a public historically black community college in Coahoma County, Mississippi. The college was founded in 1949 and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. It offe ...

is the designated community college.Student Residency

Archive
. Coahoma Community College. Retrieved on July 8, 2017. "Out-of-District Resident: A student who does not live within Bolivar, Coahoma, Quitman, Tallahatchie, and Tunica Counties but does live in some other county in Mississippi."

Communities

City

* Charleston (county seat)

Towns

(county seat) * Tutwiler *

Village

* Glendora

Unincorporated communities

* Brazil * Cascilla * Cowart * Effie * Enid * Leverett * Macel * Minter City (partly in

) * Paynes *

Philipp Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (1864 ...

* Sharkey *

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

* Teasdale * Tippo * Vance (partly in Quitman County) * Whitehead

Ghost towns

* Crevi * Midway * Murphreesboro * Needmore

References

{{authority control Mississippi counties Mississippi placenames of Native American origin 1833 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1833 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Mississippi