Jefferson County, Mississippi

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi; its western border is formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,260,[1] making it the fourth-least populous county in Mississippi. Its county seat is Fayette.[2] The county is named for U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.[3]

Jefferson County
County
Historic Christ Church, Church Hill, Mississippi.
Historic Christ Church, Church Hill, Mississippi.
Map of Mississippi highlighting Jefferson County
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Map of the United States highlighting Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°44′N 91°02′W
Country United States
State Mississippi
Founded1799
Named forThomas Jefferson
SeatFayette
Largest cityFayette
Area
 • Total527 sq mi (1,360 km2)
 • Land520 sq mi (1,300 km2)
 • Water7.3 sq mi (19 km2)  1.4%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total7,260
 • Density14/sq mi (5.3/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district2nd
Websitewww.jeffersoncountyms.com

Originally developed as cotton plantations in the antebellum era, the rural county has struggled with a declining economy and reduced population since the mechanization of agriculture and urbanization of other areas. In 2020, its population of 7,260 was roughly one-third of the population peak in 1900. Within the United States, in 2009 rural Jefferson County had the highest percentage of African-Americans of any county. It was the fourth-poorest county in the nation.[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 527 square miles (1,360 km2), of which 520 square miles (1,300 km2) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km2) (1.4%) is water.[5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18002,940—
18104,00136.1%
18206,82270.5%
18309,75543.0%
184011,65019.4%
185013,19313.2%
186015,34916.3%
187013,848−9.8%
188017,31425.0%
189018,9479.4%
190021,29212.4%
191018,221−14.4%
192015,946−12.5%
193014,291−10.4%
194013,969−2.3%
195011,306−19.1%
196010,142−10.3%
19709,295−8.4%
19809,181−1.2%
19908,653−5.8%
20009,74012.6%
20107,726−20.7%
20207,260−6.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2013[10]
Jefferson County by race as of 2020[11]
Race Num. Perc.
White 891 12.27%
Black or African American 6,138 84.55%
Native American 10 0.14%
Asian 14 0.19%
Pacific Islander 5 0.07%
Other/Mixed 128 1.76%
Hispanic or Latino 74 1.02%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 7,260 people, 2,448 households, and 1,488 families residing in the county.

Education

Jefferson County School District operates public schools in all of the county.[12]

Communities

City

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns or defunct

Politics

Jefferson County is overwhelmingly Democratic, and has supported Democratic candidates in presidential elections with at least 80% of the vote since Bill Clinton in 1992, who won 79%. Republicans have not garnered even 25% of the vote in presidential elections since 1972 (when Jefferson was one of only three counties in Mississippi to vote for George McGovern).

The last Republican to win the county was Barry Goldwater. Although Goldwater lost nationally in a landslide, he carried the state of Mississippi (and also Jefferson County) in a landslide, winning over 87% of the vote and carrying every county. Jefferson County supported him with 95% of the vote. Goldwater's lopsided victory was the result of Mississippi's decades-long suppression of the voting rights of African Americans, which only began to be reversed with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

United States presidential election results for Jefferson County, Mississippi[13]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 531 13.59% 3,327 85.13% 50 1.28%
2016 490 12.69% 3,337 86.45% 33 0.85%
2012 468 10.56% 3,951 89.13% 14 0.32%
2008 551 12.30% 3,883 86.71% 44 0.98%
2004 630 18.16% 2,821 81.32% 18 0.52%
2000 600 17.61% 2,786 81.75% 22 0.65%
1996 489 15.68% 2,531 81.15% 99 3.17%
1992 562 15.96% 2,796 79.39% 164 4.66%
1988 702 20.64% 2,693 79.18% 6 0.18%
1984 856 21.88% 3,049 77.94% 7 0.18%
1980 751 20.17% 2,871 77.09% 102 2.74%
1976 782 22.83% 2,562 74.78% 82 2.39%
1972 1,131 43.37% 1,457 55.87% 20 0.77%
1968 147 4.35% 2,121 62.75% 1,112 32.90%
1964 1,258 94.80% 69 5.20% 0 0.00%
1960 137 12.52% 229 20.93% 728 66.54%
1956 189 19.65% 440 45.74% 333 34.62%
1952 610 53.09% 539 46.91% 0 0.00%
1948 14 1.41% 15 1.51% 967 97.09%
1944 25 3.16% 766 96.84% 0 0.00%
1940 7 0.87% 801 99.13% 0 0.00%
1936 9 1.01% 884 98.88% 1 0.11%
1932 24 3.07% 753 96.29% 5 0.64%
1928 63 7.05% 830 92.95% 0 0.00%
1924 50 9.14% 497 90.86% 0 0.00%
1920 14 3.15% 430 96.63% 1 0.22%
1916 3 0.65% 456 99.13% 1 0.22%
1912 2 0.46% 408 94.66% 21 4.87%

Notable people
  • Abijah Hunt, merchant who lived in Old Greenville during the Territorial Period, and owned a chain of stores and public cotton gins along the Natchez Trace[14]
  • David Hunt, Antebellum planter who lived on Woodlawn Plantation in Jefferson County, and became one of 12 planter millionaires in the Natchez District before the American Civil War.
  • Zachary Taylor, U.S. president, planter, and soldier who often stayed on his plantation, Cypress Grove in Jefferson County, between 1840 and 1848.

See also

References
  1. "Census - Geography Profile: Jefferson County, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 168.
  4. "King: They'll take small victories in struggling Mississippi county." CNN. 25 September 2009, Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  5. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  8. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  9. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  10. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  11. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  12. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Jefferson County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022. - Text list
  13. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  14. A Guide to the Abijah Hunt Papers, 1800-1821, 1880, The University of Texas at Austin: Briscoe Center for American History

31.73°N 91.03°W / 31.73; -91.03

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