Sunflower County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,450. Its largest city and

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 ...

is Indianola. Sunflower County comprises the Indianola, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

-Indianola, MS

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

. It 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 Yaz ...

region. Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm) is located in Sunflower County.

History

Sunflower County was created in 1844. The land mass encompassed most of Sunflower and Leflore Counties as we know them today. The first seat of government was Clayton, located near Fort Pemberton. Later the county seat was moved to McNutt, also in the Leflore County of today. When Sunflower and Leflore Counties were separated in 1871, the new county seat for Sunflower County was moved to Johnsonville. This village was located where the north end of Mound Bayou empties into the Sunflower River. In 1882 the county seat was moved to Eureka, which was later renamed Indianola. The Boyer Cemetery, located in Boyer, goes back to the early days of Sunflower County. After the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, across several decades

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 ens ...

s migrated to Sunflower County to work in the

. In 1870, 3,243 black people lived in Sunflower County. This increased to 12,070 in 1900, making up 75% of the residents in Sunflower County. Between 1900 and 1920, the black population almost tripled.Moye, J. Todd. '' Let the People Decide: Black Freedom and White Resistance Movements in Sunflower County, Mississippi, 1945-1986''. University of North Carolina Press, November 29, 2004
28
Retrieved from

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

on February 26, 2012. , .

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 (1.3%) is water. Sunflower County is the longest county in Mississippi. The traveling distance from the southern boundary at Caile to its northern boundary at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

is approximately 71 miles. The center of the county is about east 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 ...

, about west of the hill section of Mississippi, north of Jackson, and about south of

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 ...

Adjacent counties

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 ...

(north) * Tallahatchie County (northeast) *

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 ...

(east) * Humphreys County (south) * Washington County (southwest) * Bolivar County (northwest)

Demographics

The county reached its peak population in 1930. After that, population declined from 1940 to 1990. There was considerable migration out of the rural county, especially as mechanization reduced the need for farm labor. Both whites and blacks left the county. Many African Americans migrated north or west to industrial cities to escape the social oppression and violence of Jim Crow, especially moving in the Great Migration during and after World War II, when the defense industry on the West Coast attracted many.

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 25,971 people, 8,322 households, and 5,292 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 serving ...

, there were 29,450 people living in the county. 72.9% were black or African American, 25.4%

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 ...

, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% of some other race and 0.5% of two or more races. 1.4% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

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, there were 34,369 people, 9,637 households, and 7,314 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 50 people per square mile (19/km²). There were 10,338 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 69.86%

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 ha ...

, 28.88%

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 ...

, 0.09% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races. 1.30% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race.

1990 census

As of the

of 1990, there were 32,341 people. The racial makeup of the county was 71.89%

, 26.40%

or European American, 0.12% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.50% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races. 1.31% of the population were

or Latino of any race.

1980 census

As of the

of 1980, there were 30,402 people. The racial makeup of the county was 73.88%

, 24.45%

or European American, 0.15% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.52% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races. 1.32% of the population were

or Latino of any race. As of the

of 2000, there were 9,637 households, out of which 38.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.30% were married couples living together, 28.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.10% were non-families. 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.50. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.90% under the age of 18, 14.00% from 18 to 24, 30.30% from 25 to 44, 18.10% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 115.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $24,970, and the median income for a family was $29,144. Males had a median income of $26,208 versus $19,145 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 $11,365. About 24.60% of families and 30.00% 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 39.50% of those under age 18 and 24.10% of those age 65 or over. Sunflower County has the ninth-lowest per capita income in Mississippi and the 72nd-lowest in the United States.

Government

The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) is responsible for the state's correctional services, probation services, and parole services. MDOC operates the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP; colloquially known as 'Parchman Farm') in the

unincorporated community 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 have ...

of Parchman in Sunflower County and a probation and parole office in the Courthouse Annex in Indianola. MSP, a prison for men,State Prisons
." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on May 21, 2010. is the location of the State of Mississippi male death row and the State of Mississippi execution chamber.Division of Institutions State Prisons
." Mississippi Department of Corrections. April 21, 2010. Retrieved on May 21, 2010. Around the time of MSP's opening in 1901, Sunflower County residents objected to having executions performed at MSP because they feared that Sunflower County would be stigmatized as a "death county." Therefore, the State of Mississippi originally performed executions of condemned criminals in their counties of conviction. By the 1950s residents of Sunflower County were still opposed to the concept of housing the execution chamber at MSP. In September 1954, Governor Hugh White called for a special session of the Mississippi Legislature to discuss the application of the death penalty.Cabana, Donald A.
The History of Capital Punishment in Mississippi: An Overview
." ''Mississippi History Now''. Mississippi Historical Society. Retrieved on August 16, 2010. During that year, an execution chamber was installed at MSP.Mississippi and the Death Penalty
." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 12, 2010.

Economy

In December 2011, Sunflower County's unemployment rate was 16.2%. The Mississippi statewide rate was 9.9%, and the U.S. overall unemployment rate was 8.3%. it was one of the poorest counties in the state, and one of the poorest in the United States.Wright, Chance.
Bryant signs school merger
", ''

The Bolivar Commercial ''The Bolivar Commercial'' was a newspaper in Cleveland, Mississippi from 1916 to 2020. It was owned by Walls Newspapers. Amid large revenue losses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, ''Commercial'' owner Lee Walls in April 2020 announced t ...

''; retrieved June 13, 2012.

Transportation

Major highways

U.S. Highway 49W * US 82

U.S. Highway 82 * Circle sign 3

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 * Circle sign 32

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 ...

Airports

Two airports are located in unincorporated Sunflower County.

Indianola Municipal Airport Indianola Municipal Airport is a public use airport in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The airport is owned by the City of IndianolaIndianola, - Retrieved on September 23, 2010. is operated by the city.Poplarville, Hattiesburg among airports receiving grants
."

WDAM WDAM-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Laurel, Mississippi, United States, serving the Hattiesburg area as an affiliate of NBC and ABC. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on US 11 ...

. March 12, 2010. Retrieved on September 23, 2010.

Ruleville-Drew Airport Ruleville-Drew Airport is a public use airport in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. Jointly operated by the cities of Drew and Ruleville,

, between Drew and Ruleville, - Retrieved on September 23, 2010. is jointly operated by the two cities.

Education

Colleges and universities

Mississippi Delta Community College has a main campus in Moorhead and other locations.

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

* Public School Districts **

Sunflower County Consolidated School District The Sunflower County Consolidated School District (SCCSD), formerly the Sunflower County School District (SCSD), is a public school district with its headquarters in Indianola, Mississippi in the Mississippi Delta. The district serves all of Sunf ...

- The district is the only school district in Sunflower County. ** Former districts: Drew School District, Indianola School District, Sunflower County School District Between 2010 and 2012, the State of Mississippi had taken over all three Sunflower County school districts and put them under the conservatorship of the

Mississippi Department of Education The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) is the state education agency of Mississippi. It is headquartered in the former Central High School Building at 359 North West Street in Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional charact ...

,Wright, Chance.
Senate passes school merger
." ''

Bolivar Commercial ''The Bolivar Commercial'' was a newspaper in Cleveland, Mississippi from 1916 to 2020. It was owned by Walls Newspapers. Amid large revenue losses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, ''Commercial'' owner Lee Walls in April 2020 announced t ...

''. February 2012. Retrieved on March 25, 2012. due to academic and financial reasons.Amy, Jeff.
Miss. bill would force 6 Bolivar County school districts to merge into 3 or fewer
" '' The Republic''. March 14, 2012. Retrieved on March 24, 2012. In February 2012 the Mississippi Senate voted 43–4 to pass Senate Bill 2330, to consolidate the three school districts into one school district. The bill went to the Mississippi House of Representatives. ''

The Greenwood Commonwealth ''The Greenwood Commonwealth'' is a newspaper serving in and operating out of Greenwood, Mississippi Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta ...

'' said that the county was an "easy target" for school merging due to the difficulties in all three school districts, and that the scenario "doesn’t leave them with much leverage to argue in favor of the status quo. And because none of them does well, none of them can object to assuming someone else's headaches. All three are beset with them." Later that month, the State Board of Education approved the consolidation of the Drew School District and the Sunflower County School District, and if Senate Bill 2330 is approved, Indianola School District will be added. In May 2012 Governor of Mississippi Phil Bryant signed the bill into law, requiring all three districts to consolidate. SB2330 stipulates that if a county has three school districts all under conservatorship by the Mississippi Department of Education will have them consolidated into one school district serving the entire county.Doyle, Rory.
Drew, Ruleville prepare to merge
." ''

''. Retrieved on August 30, 2012. As of July 1, 2012, the Drew School District was consolidated with the Sunflower County School District.Amy, Jeff.
Mississippi to return Okolona schools to local control; district merger ends Drew High School
" ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

'' at '' The Republic''. May 17, 2012. Retrieved on June 12, 2012.

Private schools

* Private School ** Indianola Academy (Indianola) ** North Sunflower Academy (''

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 ...

'') ** Restoration Ministries Christian Academy The Central Delta Academy in Inverness closed on May 21, 2010. All three of the private schools originated as segregation academies. Pillow Academy in unincorporated

, near Greenwood, enrolls some students from Sunflower County.Profile of Pillow Academy 2010-2011
." Pillow Academy. Retrieved on March 25, 2012. It originally was a segregation academy.

Public libraries

The Sunflower County Library provides library services. The administration is in Indianola, and the system operates libraries in Drew, Indianola, Inverness, Moorhead, and Ruleville.

Media

The Enterprise-Tocsin ''The Enterprise-Tocsin'' is a newspaper in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The newspaper offices are in Indianola. The newspaper is distributed in Sunflower County Sunflower County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of th ...

'', a newspaper based out of Indianola, is distributed throughout Sunflower County. ''

'' is also distributed in Sunflower County.

Communities

J. Todd Moye, author of '' Let the People Decide: Black Freedom and White Resistance Movements in Sunflower County, Mississippi, 1945-1986'', said "Sunflower County has always been overwhelmingly rural." At the end of the 20th century, the county had just four "main towns of any size."

Cities

* Indianola (county seat) * Drew * Moorhead * Ruleville * Shaw (mostly in Bolivar County)

Towns

* Doddsville * Inverness *

Sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), ...

Unincorporated communities

* Baird * Baltzer * Blaine * Boyer * Caile * Dockery * Dwyer * Fairview * Heathman * Holly Ridge * Kinlock * Linn *

Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...

Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the ...

* Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman) *

* Roundaway * Steiner * Stephenville

Ghost towns

* Cottondale * Inwood *

Promised Land The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...

Notable people

* Jerry Butler (Soul singer, inductee Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, born 1939) * Willie Best (actor, 1916–1962) * Craig Claiborne (Food Editor, New York Times, 1920–2000) *

James Eastland James Oliver Eastland (November 28, 1904 February 19, 1986) was an American attorney, plantation owner, and politician from Mississippi. A Democrat, he served in the United States Senate in 1941 and again from 1943 until his resignation on De ...

(U.S. Senator from Mississippi, 1904–1986) *

C. L. Franklin Clarence LaVaughn Franklin ( ''né'' Walker; January 22, 1915 – July 27, 1984) was an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist. Known as the man with the "Million-Dollar Voice", Franklin served as the pastor of New Bethel Baptist ...

, father of

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in '' Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wit ...

(minister, civil rights activist, 1915–1984) * Fannie Lou Hamer (Civil Rights Activist, Philanthropist, 1917–1977)Barnwell, p
225
* B.B. King (bluesman, 1925–2015) * Sam Lacey (retired NBA basketball player, 1948–present) * Archie Manning (NFL quarterback, 1971–1984); father of Peyton Manning, Cooper Manning and Eli Manning * Charlie Patton (bluesman, 1891–1934) * Johnny Russell (singer), Johnny Russell, country singer

References

;Specific ;General * Excerpt of: Mills, Kay ''This Little Light of Mine''. In: Barnwell, Marion (editor) ''A Place Called Mississippi: Collected Narratives''. University Press of Mississippi, 1997. , 9781617033391.

External links

Sunflower County
- State of Mississippi

{{Coord, 33.61, -90.60, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MS_source:UScensus1990 Sunflower County, Mississippi, Mississippi counties 1844 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1844 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Mississippi

History

Geography

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 census

1990 census

1980 census

Government

Economy

Transportation

Major highways

Airports

Education

Colleges and universities

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Private schools

Public libraries

Media

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Notable people

See also

References

External links