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Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
across from
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
, Vicksburg was built by French colonists in 1719, and the outpost withstood an attack from the native Natchez people. It was incorporated as Vicksburg in 1825 after Methodist missionary Newitt Vick. During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, it was a key Confederate river-port, and its July 1863 surrender to
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
, along with the concurrent
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the ...
, marked the turning-point of the war. The city is home to three large installations of the
United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
, which has often been involved in local flood control.


Status

Vicksburg is the only
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in, and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of, Warren County,
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. Miss ...
, United States. It is located northwest of
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
at the confluence of the
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. Miss ...
and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. It is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
. The city has increased in population since 1900, when 14,834 people lived here. The population was 26,407 at the 2000 census. In 2010, it was designated as the principal city of a Micropolitan Statistical Area with a total population of 49,644, which includes all of Warren County.


History


First People

The area that is now Vicksburg was long occupied by the Natchez Native Americans as part of their historical territory along the Mississippi. The Natchez spoke a language isolate not related to the Muskogean languages of the other major tribes in the area. Before the Natchez, other indigenous cultures had occupied this strategic area for thousands of years.


European settlement

The first
Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (20 ...
who settled the area were
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
colonists who built Fort Saint Pierre in 1719 on the high bluffs overlooking the Yazoo River at present-day Redwood. They conducted fur trading with the Natchez and others, and started plantations. On 29 November 1729, the Natchez attacked the fort and plantations in and around the present-day city of Natchez. They killed several hundred settlers, including
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
missionary Paul Du Poisson. As was the custom, they took a number of women and children as captives, adopting them into their families. The Natchez War was a disaster for French Louisiana, and the colonial population of the Natchez District never recovered. Aided by the Choctaw, traditional enemies of the Natchez, though, the French defeated and scattered the Natchez and their allies, the Yazoo. The Choctaw Nation took over the area by right of conquest and inhabited it for several decades. Under pressure from the US government, the Choctaw agreed to cede nearly of land to the US under the terms of the Treaty of Fort Adams in 1801. The treaty was the first of a series that eventually led to the removal of most of the Choctaw to
Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
west of the Mississippi River in 1830. Some Choctaw remained in Mississippi, citing article XIV of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek; they became citizens of the state and the United States. They struggled to maintain their culture against the pressure of the binary slave society, which classified people as only white or black. In 1790, the Spanish founded a military outpost on the site, which they called Fort Nogales (''nogales'' meaning "walnut trees"). When the Americans took possession in 1798 following the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
and a treaty with Spain, they changed the name to Walnut Hills. The small village was incorporated in 1825 as Vicksburg, named after Newitt Vick, a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
minister who had established a Protestant mission on the site. In 1835, during the Murrell Excitement, a mob from Vicksburg attempted to expel the gamblers from the city, because the citizens were tired of the rougher element treating the city residents with nothing but contempt. They captured and hanged five gamblers who had shot and killed a local doctor. Historian Joshua D. Rothman calls this event "the deadliest outbreak of extralegal violence in the slave states between the
Southampton Insurrection Nat Turner's Rebellion, historically known as the Southampton Insurrection, was a rebellion of enslaved Virginians that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831.Schwarz, Frederic D.1831 Nat Turner's Rebellion" ''American Her ...
and the Civil War."


Civil War

During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, the city finally surrendered during the Siege of Vicksburg, after which the
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
gained control of the entire Mississippi River. The 47-day siege was intended to starve the city into submission. Its location atop a high bluff overlooking the Mississippi River proved otherwise impregnable to assault by federal troops. The surrender of Vicksburg by Confederate General
John C. Pemberton John Clifford Pemberton (August 10, 1814 – July 13, 1881) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He resigned his commission to serve as a Confederate ...
on July 4, 1863, together with the defeat of General
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nor ...
at Gettysburg the day before, has historically marked the turning point of the Civil War in the Union's favor. From the surrender of Vicksburg until the end of the war in 1865, the area was under Union military occupation. The Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, was based at his family plantation at Brierfield, just south of the city.


Losing of Mississippi access and commercial status

Because of Vicksburg's location on the Mississippi River, it built extensive trade from the prodigious steamboat traffic in the 19th century. It shipped out cotton coming to it from surrounding counties and was a major trading city in West Central Mississippi. However, in 1876, a Mississippi River flood cut off the large
meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ban ...
next to Vicksburg through the De Soto Point, which changed the Mississippi River's course away from the city. Vicksburg only retained access to an oxbow lake formed from the old channel of the river, which effectively isolated the city from accessing the Mississippi riverfront. The city's economy suffered greatly due to the lack of a functional river port; Vicksburg would not be a river town again until the completion of the Yazoo Diversion Canal in 1903 by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
. Between 1881 and 1894, the Anchor Line, a prominent steamboat company on the Mississippi River from 1859 to 1898, operated a steamboat called the ''City of Vicksburg''.


Political and racial unrest after Civil War

Celebrations of the 4th of July, the day of surrender, were irregular until 1947. The ''Vicksburg Evening Post'' of July 4, 1883, called July 4 "the day we don't celebrate", and another Vicksburg newspaper, the ''Daily Commercial Appeal'', in 1888 hoped that a political victory would bring an enthusiastic celebration the following year. In 1902, the 4th of July saw only "a parade of colored draymen". In 1947, the Jackson ''Clarion-Ledger'' stated that the city of Vicksburg did not celebrate the 4th of July again until 1945, and then it was celebrated as Confederate Carnival Day. A recent scholar disagrees, stating that large Fourth of July celebrations were being held by 1907, and informal celebrations before that. A large parade was held in 1890. In the first few years after the Civil War, white Confederate veterans developed the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...
, beginning in Tennessee; it had chapters throughout the South and attacked freedmen and their supporters. It was suppressed about 1870. By the mid-1870s, new white paramilitary groups had arisen in the
Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the wa ...
, including the Red Shirts in Mississippi, as whites struggled to regain political and social power over the black majority. Elections were marked by violence and fraud as white Democrats worked to suppress black Republican voting. In August 1874, a black sheriff, Peter Crosby, was elected in Vicksburg. Letters by a white planter, Batchelor, detail the preparations of whites for what he described as a "race war," including acquisition of the newest Winchester guns. On December 7, 1874, white men disrupted a black Republican meeting celebrating Crosby's victory and held him in custody before running him out of town. He advised blacks from rural areas to return home; along the way, some were attacked by armed whites. During the next several days, armed white mobs swept through black areas, killing other men at home or out in the fields. Sources differ as to total fatalities, with 29–50 blacks and 2 whites reported dead at the time. Twenty-first-century historian Emilye Crosby estimates that 300 blacks were killed in the city and the surrounding area of Claiborne County, Mississippi.Emilye Crosby, ''Little Taste of Freedom: The Black Freedom Struggle in Claiborne County, Mississippi''
Univ of North Carolina Press, 2006, p. 3
The Red Shirts were active in Vicksburg and other Mississippi areas, and black pleas to the federal government for protection were not met. At the request of Republican Governor Adelbert Ames, who had left the state during the violence, President
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
sent federal troops to Vicksburg in January 1875. In addition, a congressional committee investigated what was called the "Vicksburg Riot" at the time (and reported as the "Vicksburg Massacre" by northern newspapers.) They took testimony from both black and white residents, as reported by the ''New York Times'', but no one was ever prosecuted for the deaths. The Red Shirts and other white
insurgents An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
suppressed Republican voting by both whites and blacks; smaller-scale riots were staged in the state up to the 1875 elections, at which time white Democrats regained control of a majority of seats in the state legislature. Under new constitutions, amendments and laws passed between 1890 in Mississippi and 1908 in the remaining southern states, white Democrats disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites by creating barriers to voter registration, such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses. They passed laws imposing Jim Crow and racial segregation of public facilities. On March 12, 1894, the popular soft drink
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...
was bottled for the first time in Vicksburg by Joseph A. Biedenharn, a local confectioner. Today, surviving 19th-century Biedenharn soda
bottle A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal s ...
s are prized by collectors of Coca-Cola memorabilia. The original candy store has been renovated and is used as the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum.


20th century to present

The exclusion of most blacks from the political system lasted for decades until after Congressional passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s. Lynchings of blacks and other forms of white racial terrorism against them continued to occur in Vicksburg after the start of the 20th century. In May 1903, for instance, two black men charged with murdering a planter were taken from jail by a mob of 200 farmers and lynched before they could go to trial. In May 1919, as many as a thousand white men broke down three sets of steel doors to abduct, hang, burn and shoot a black prisoner, Lloyd Clay, who was falsely accused of raping a white woman. From 1877 to 1950 in Warren County, 14 African Americans were lynched by whites, most in the decades near the turn of the century. The
United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
diverted the Yazoo River in 1903 into the old, shallowing channel to revive the waterfront of Vicksburg. The port city was able to receive steamboats again, but much freight and passenger traffic had moved to railroads, which had become more competitive. Railroad access to the west across the river continued to be by transfer steamers and ferry
barges Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...
until a combination railroad-highway bridge was built in 1929. After 1973, Interstate 20 bridged the river. Freight rail traffic still crosses by the old bridge. North-south transportation links are by the Mississippi River and
U.S. Highway 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated ...
. Vicksburg has the only crossing over the Mississippi River between Greenville and Natchez, and the only interstate highway crossing of the river between Baton Rouge and Memphis. During the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, in which hundreds of thousands of acres were inundated, Vicksburg served as the primary gathering point for refugees. Relief parties put up temporary housing, as the flood submerged a large percentage of 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 Yaz ...
. Because of the overwhelming damage from the flood, the US Army Corps of Engineers established the Waterways Experiment Station as the primary hydraulics laboratory, to develop protection of important croplands and cities. Now known as the Engineer Research and Development Center, it applies military engineering, information technology, environmental engineering, hydraulic engineering, and geotechnical engineering to problems of flood control and river navigation. In December 1953, a severe tornado swept across Vicksburg, causing 38 deaths and destroying nearly 1,000 buildings. During World War II, cadets from the Royal Air Force, flying from their training base at Terrell, Texas, routinely flew to Vicksburg on training flights. The town served as a stand-in for the British for Cologne, Germany, which is the same distance from London, England as Vicksburg is from Terrell. Particularly after World War II, in which many blacks served, returning veterans began to be active in the civil rights movement, wanting to have full citizenship after fighting in the war. In Mississippi, activists in the Vicksburg Movement became prominent during the 1960s.


Contemporary Vicksburg

In 2001, a group of Vicksburg residents visited the Paducah, Kentucky, mural project, looking for ideas for their own community development. In 2002, the Vicksburg Riverfront
mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...
s program was begun by
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
mural artist
Robert Dafford Robert Dafford (born May 14, 1951) is an American muralist. Life and work Robert Dafford is a current resident of Lafayette, Louisiana. He has painted over 400 works of public art across the United States, Canada, France, Belgium, and Englan ...
and his team on the floodwall located on the waterfront in downtown."Celebrating Vicksburg: A Great American Community"
Vicksburg Riverfront Murals
Subjects for the murals were drawn from the history of Vicksburg and the surrounding area. They include President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
's bear hunt, the ''Sultana'', the ''Sprague'', the Siege of Vicksburg, the Kings Crossing site, Willie Dixon, the Flood of 1927, the 1953 Vicksburg, Mississippi tornado, Rosa A. Temple High School (known for integration activism) and the Vicksburg National Military Park. The project was finished in 2009 with the completion of the Jitney Jungle/Glass Kitchen mural. In the fall of 2010, a new 55-foot mural was painted on a section of wall on Grove Hill across the street from the original project by former Dafford muralists Benny Graeff and Herb Roe. The mural's subject is the annual "Run thru History" held in the Vicksburg National Military Park. On December 6–7, 2014, a symposium was held on the 140th anniversary of the 1874 riots. A variety of scholars gave papers and an open panel discussion was held on the second day at the Vicksburg National Military Park, in collaboration with the Jacqueline House African American Museum.


Geography

According to the
United States 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 th ...
, the city has a total area of , of which are land and (6.78%) are covered by water. Vicksburg is located at the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
of the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. Much of the city is on top of a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River. Vicksburg is also served by Interstate 20. The interstate opens Vicksburg with a Cloverleaf interchange that heads out to U.S. Route 61 North towards Rolling Fork, Mississippi, Clarksdale, Mississippi, and stretches out for another 77 miles towards
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...
. On the south part of the exit, it heads on
Mississippi Highway 27 Mississippi Highway 27 (MS 27) is a state highway in Mississippi. It runs from south to north for across the western and south-central parts of the state, serving 5 counties: Walthall, Lawrence, Copiah, Hinds, and Warren. The segment between ...
towards Utica, Mississippi. As the interstate goes on it makes interchanges with Clay Street, Indiana Avenue, and Halls Ferry Road. After the downtown interchanges are over, before finally crossing in Louisiana with a Cloverleaf interchange, I-20 makes a
Directional T interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...
with US-61, and US-61 heads south toward Port Gibson, Mississippi,
Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, ...
, and then continues for another 92 miles into
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the county seat, parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, E ...
, Louisiana's capital city. Interstate 20 then continues to head west towards Monroe, Louisiana,
Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is ...
,
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
, and lastly after 445 miles, making a Trumpet interchange with Interstate 10 in
Toyah, Texas Toyah is a town in Reeves County, Texas, United States. The population was 90 at the 2010 census. History On October 25, 1906 a black man in Toyah named J. I. "Slab" Pitts was dragged to death and then hanged for living with his white wife, Eva ...
.


Climate

Vicksburg has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
with mild winters and hot, humid summers.


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 21,573 people, 8,969 households, and 4,864 families residing in the city.


2000 census

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
of 2000, 26,407 people, 10,364 households, and 6,612 families resided in the city, with a metropolitan population of 49,644. 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 RosenberPopu ...
was 803.1 people per square mile (310.1/km). The 11,654 housing units averaged 354.4 per square mile (136.9/km). The
racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 60.43% African American, 37.80% White, 0.15% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.43% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.04% of the population. Of the 10,364 households, 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.9% were married couples living together, 24.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were not families. About 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.15. In the city, the population was distributed as 28.4% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,466, and for a family was $34,380. Males had a median income of $29,420 versus $20,728 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 city was $16,174. About 19.3% of families and 23.0% 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 ...
, including 34.8% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

In 2017, Emma Green of ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' stated, "The Army Corps of Engineers sustains the town economically".


Casinos

Vicksburg is the home of four casinos along the Mississippi River. *
Ameristar Casino Vicksburg Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg is a riverboat casino located in Vicksburg, Mississippi on the Mississippi River. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Penn Entertainment Penn Entertainment, Inc., formerly Penn Nationa ...
* Casino Vicksburg (formerly Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg) * Riverwalk Casino Hotel * Water View Casino


Transportation

The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad and then the
Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line al ...
for several decades had passenger service through the city, at two different stations, one on Levee Street, and the other on Cherry Street. The IC's ''Planter'' went north to
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...
and south to
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
. The Chery Street station hosted the '' Northeastern Limited'' and an unnamed train east to Jackson and Meridian (sleeping car passengers could continue to New York; coach passengers could transfer at Meridian's Union Station to an Atlanta and New York bound train there), and the '' Southwestern Limited'' and another train west to Monroe and Shreveport's Union Station. The final train serving Vicksburg was the ''Southwestern Limited/Northeastern Limited'' in 1967. Interstate 20 runs east-west through the southern part of Vicksburg.
U.S. Highway 80 U.S. Route 80 or U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Southern United States, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the rou ...
runs east-west through the city.
U.S. Highway 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated ...
runs north-south through the city. The nearest airport with commercial flights is Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport, 53.2 miles to the east of Vicksburg. Vicksburgh Tallulah Regional Airport and Vicksburg Municipal Airport, to the west and to the south of Vicksburg, are two
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airports.


Arts and culture


Annual cultural events

Every summer, Vicksburg plays host to the Miss Mississippi Pageant and Parade. Also every summer, the Vicksburg Homecoming Benevolent Club hosts a homecoming weekend/reunion that provides scholarships to graduating high-school seniors. Former residents from across the country return for the event. Every spring and summer, Vicksburg Theatre Guild hosts Gold in the Hills, which holds the Guinness World Record for longest-running show.


Places of interest

* City Hall, a 1902 Beaux-Arts Classical Revival design by the architect James Riely Gordon. * Anchuca Mansion * Balfour House * McRaven House * Old Court House Museum * Vicksburg National Military Park ** Pemberton's Headquarters ** U.S.S. Cairo Gunboat & Museum * Vicksburg Riverfront Murals * Vicksburg Theatre Guild


Government

The city government consists of a mayor who is elected
at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...
and two aldermembers. The current mayor is George Flaggs Jr., who defeated former mayor Paul Winfield in the June 2013 election. The two aldermembers are elected from
single-member districts A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner v ...
, known as wards. The city is home to three large US Army Corps of Engineers installations: the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), which also houses the ERDC's Waterways Experiment Station; the Mississippi Valley Division headquarters; and the Vicksburg District headquarters. The 412th Engineer Command of the US Army Reserve and the 168th Engineer Brigade of the Mississippi Army National Guard are also located in Vicksburg. The
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...
's 8th District/Lower Mississippi River sector has an Aids To Navigation unit located in Vicksburg, operating the buoy tending vessel USCGC Kickapoo.


Education

The City of Vicksburg is served by the Vicksburg-Warren School District.


High schools

* Vicksburg High School ** 1988–1989
National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures ...
* Warren Central High School


Junior high schools

* Vicksburg Junior High School * Warren Central Junior High School * Academy of Innovation


Elementary schools

* Beechwood Elementary School * Bovina Elementary School * Bowmar Avenue Magnet School * Dana Road Elementary School * Redwood Elementary School * Sherman Avenue Elementary School * South Park Elementary School * Warrenton Elementary School * Vicksburg Intermediate School * Warren Central Intermediate School


Private schools

* Porters Chapel Academy * Vicksburg Catholic School - St. Francis Xavier Elementary and Saint Aloysius Catholic High School (of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson) * Vicksburg Christian Academy * Vicksburg Buddhist Fellowship * Vicksburg Community School (K-12)


Former schools

* Hall's Ferry Road Elementary School ** 1985–1986,
National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures ...
* Culkin Elementary School * Jett Elementary School * Cedars Elementary School * Vicksburg Middle School * All Saints' Episcopal School was a local boarding school located on Confederate Avenue, which closed in 2006 after 98 years in operation. The historic school is now a regional campus for AmeriCorps NCCC. * St. Mary's Catholic School served the African-American community. * McIntyre Elementary School served the African-American community. * Magnolia Avenue School serviced the African-American community and was renamed Bowman High School to honor a former principal. * Rosa A. Temple High School served the African-American community. * King's Elementary School served the African-American community. * Carr Central High School. * J.H. Culkin Academy (grades 1-12 until 1965, thereafter Culkin Elementary School). * H.V. Cooper High School. First graduating class 1959. * Jefferson Davis School. * Oak Ridge School. * Eliza Fox School (a.k.a. Grove Street School). * All Saints' College. An Episcopal college for white women. Opened in 1908 and closed in 1962.


Media


Newspapers

''Vicksburg Daily News'', Vicksburg's only locally owned news source. ''The Vicksburg Post'', formerly the ''Vicksburg Evening Post'.


Radio

AM Station FM Stations


Notable people

* William Wirt Adams, Confederate Army officer and member of the Mississippi House of Representatives *
Katherine Bailess Katherine Bailess (born April 24, 1980) is an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for playing the role of Erica Marsh on the CW's hit show '' One Tree Hill'', Life and Death Brigade member Stephanie on ''Gilmore Girls'', and Kyle H ...
, actress, singer and dancer * Earle Basinsky, crime novelist * Edwin C. Bearss, historian * Joseph A. Biedenharn (1866–1952), entrepreneur: first bottled
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...
in 1894 at a location in Vicksburg *
Johnny Brewer Johnny Lee Brewer (March 8, 1937 – May 27, 2011) was an American football tight end and linebacker in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints. He played college football at the University of Mississippi. Brewer was a fourth r ...
, football player * Margaret Hunt Brisbane (1858–1925), poet * Roosevelt Brown, former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
outfielder for the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
* William Denis Brown, III, lawyer, businessman,
state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...
from Monroe,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
; born in Vicksburg in 1931 * Ellis Burks, former MLB outfielder * Charles Burnett, filmmaker *
Malcolm Butler Malcolm Terel Butler (born March 2, 1990) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played his first four seasons with the Patriots, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2014. After leaving New England, he was a member ...
, cornerback for the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
and Tennessee Titans *
Odia Coates Odia Coates (November 13, 1941 – May 19, 1991) was an African-American singer, best known for her high-profile hits with Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka. Early life The daughter of an evangelical minister, Odia Coates was born in Vi ...
, pop singer * Rod Coleman, defensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons * Caroline Russell Compton, Mississippi artist * Mart Crowley, playwright, TV executive * Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America (previously U.S. Congressman, Senator, Secretary of War) * Bobby DeLaughter, Mississippi state judge and prosecutor * Willie Dixon, blues bassist, singer, songwriter, and producer * John "Kayo" Dottley, college All-American and professional football player * Myrlie Evers-Williams, civil rights activist and journalist * Mark Gray, country music singer, born in Vicksburg in 1952 *
Louis Green Louis Edward Green (born September 23, 1979) is a former American football player. Green attended Jefferson County High School in Fayette, Mississippi and was a letterman in football. A linebacker who played for the Denver Broncos, he previousl ...
, linebacker for the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
* DeMichael Harris, wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts * Milt Hinton, jazz bassist * Jay Hopson, football head coach, University of Southern Mississippi * Joseph Holt, longest-serving Judge Advocate General of the Army * Delbert Hosemann, Jr., Lt Governor of Mississippi and former Secretary of State * Hank Jones, jazz pianist, born in Vicksburg * Martin F. Jue, amateur radio products inventor, entrepreneur *
Patrick Kelly Patrick or Paddy Kelly may refer to: Politicians * Patrick Kelly (Irish politician) (1875–1934), Irish soldier, farmer and politician, Teachta Dála (TD) for Clare 1927–1932 * Patrick Kelly (Canadian politician) (1846–1916), Prince Edward ...
, fashion designer * Brad Leggett, football player,
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
center *
George McConnell George McConnell is an American singer from Vicksburg, Mississippi. He played for the bands Widespread Panic, Kudzu Kings, and Beanland. History George McConnell attended the University of Mississippi, where he was in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon ...
, former guitarist for
Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and g ...
, Kudzu Kings, and Beanland *
William Michael Morgan William Michael Morgan (born May 13, 1993) is an American country music singer from Vicksburg, Mississippi. He was signed to Warner Bros. Nashville. His debut single " I Met a Girl", reached number two on the Country Airplay chart and number e ...
, country music singer * Michael Myers, defensive tackle for the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
* Key Pittman, U.S. Senator from Nevada, 1913–40; born in Vicksburg *
Vail M. Pittman Vail Montgomery Pittman (September 17, 1880 – January 29, 1964) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 19th governor of Nevada. Biography Pittman was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the youngest of fou ...
, 19th Governor of Nevada * Evelyn Preer, African-American film actress * George Reed, former running back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders,
CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
Hall of Fame member,
Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...
member, Saskatchewan Order of Merit member *
Beah Richards Beulah Elizabeth Richardson (July 12, 1920 – September 14, 2000), known professionally as Beah Richards and Bea Richards, was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was also a poet, playwright, author and activist. Rich ...
, African-American film and television actress *
Kee Sloan John McKee "Kee" Sloan (born November 13, 1955) is an American prelate who served most recently as the eleventh Bishop of Alabama. Biography A native of Vicksburg, Mississippi, Sloan received his Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Mi ...
, Episcopal priest and eleventh
Bishop of Alabama The Episcopal Diocese of Alabama is located in Province IV of the Episcopal Church and serves the state of Alabama with the exception of the extreme southern region, including Mobile, which forms part of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast ...
* Roy C. Strickland, businessman and politician in
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
and
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, born in Vicksburg in 1942 *
Taylor Tankersley Taylor Mark Tankersley (born March 7, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins. Career Amateur During his senior year at Warren Central High School in Vicksburg ...
, Florida Marlins relief pitcher * John Thomas, former MLB player ( Colorado Rockies,
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...
, Texas Rangers,
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...
,
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
) * Mary T. Washington, the first African-American woman CPA * Carl Westcott, entrepreneur, founder of 1-800-Flowers and Westcott Communications * Delmon Young, outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies * Dmitri Young, first baseman for the Washington Nationals * Jaelyn Young, pleaded guilty to charges relating to her attempts to join
ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...


Cultural references

* Vicksburg is mentioned in the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
winning play '' Crimes of the Heart'' by Beth Henley. * Several
delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of th ...
songs mention Vicksburg, for instance Charley Patton's " High Water Everywhere" and Robert Johnson's " Traveling Riverside Blues" * The city is mentioned multiple times in the series of books surrounding the Logan family, including ''
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry ''Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'' is a 1977 novel by Mildred D. Taylor. Part of her Logan family series, it is a sequel to her 1975 novella '' Song of the Trees''. It won the 1977 Newbery Medal. The novel is the first book in the Logan family sa ...
'' (1976) and ''
Let The Circle Be Unbroken ''Let The Circle Be Unbroken'' is the 1981 sequel to ''Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'' (1976), written by Mildred D. Taylor. T.J.'s punishment is approaching, Stacey runs away to find work, and the Logan children's cousin, Suzella Rankin, tries ...
'' (1981), by Mildred Taylor. * A made-for-TV movie version of '' I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'', based on Maya Angelou's memoir, was filmed in Vicksburg. * '' O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' was filmed in Vicksburg. The Stokes campaign dinner was filmed in the Southern Cultural Heritage Center's auditorium. * The hospital stairway scene from '' Mississippi Burning'' was filmed in the Southern Cultural Heritage Convent (with
Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs ...
and Willem Dafoe). * Vicksburg is featured in Robert A. Heinlein's 1982 science fiction novel ''
Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth d ...
'' as a town in the Lone Star Republic, a leading smugglers' port between Texas and the Chicago Imperium. The book's protagonist Friday Baldwin stayed there, particularly in the riverfront Lowtown, while trying to find a way into the Imperium. * In the novel ''
Underground to Canada ''Underground to Canada'' is an historical novel for young readers by Barbara Smucker. It was first published in Canada in 1977 and published in the United States the following year as ''Runaway to Freedom: A Story of the Underground Railway''. ...
'' the protagonists Julilly and Liza are slaves on a cotton plantation near Vicksburg. * Vicksburg was the focus o
four episodes
of the American television series '' Ghost Adventures'' during Season 19, with one episode dedicated to Champion Hill Battlefield. *On
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
’s 1974 album ‘‘ Caribou, the song Dixy Lily contains the lyrics “Down from Louisiana on the Vicksburg run.” in the chorus.


See also


References


Further reading

* Rothman, Joshua D.: Flush Times and Fever Dreams: A Story of Capitalism and Slavery in the Age of Jackson. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2010. * * Cox, James L. ''The Mississippi Almanac''. (2001). .
History of Vicksburg's Jewish community


External links


City of Vicksburg

Vicksburg Chamber of Commerce
* {{Authority control Cities in Mississippi Cities in Warren County, Mississippi Mississippi populated places on the Mississippi River County seats in Mississippi Populated places established in the 1790s Micropolitan areas of Mississippi 1826 establishments in Mississippi French-American culture in Mississippi