Neshoba County, Mississippi

History

Neshoba County is known as the site of one of the most infamous race-related crimes in American history. In 1964, three civil rights workers were murdered brutally by white supremacists, allegedly including a deputy county sheriff, in Philadelphia, the county seat. The crime and decades-long legal aftermath inspired the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning.

President Ronald Reagan launched his 1980 presidential campaign from the Neshoba County Fair, delivering a speech about economic policy that drew attention for the use of the phrase "states' rights" in an area associated with the 1964 murders.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 572 square miles (1,480 km²), of which 570 square miles (1,500 km²) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) (0.3%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,684 people, 10,694 households, and 7,742 families residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile (19/km²). There were 11,980 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.50% White, 19.33% Black or African American, 13.80% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. 1.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 28.6% were of American, 8.8% Irish and 6.1% English ancestry according to Census 2000. Those who self-identify as having "American" ancestry are predominantly of English descent, but have ancestry that has been in North America for so long that they choose to identify simply as American. 88.7% spoke English and 10.2% Choctaw as their first language.

There were 10,694 households out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.50% were married couples living together, 15.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the county, the population was spread out with 28.20% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 91.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,300, and the median income for a family was $33,439. Males had a median income of $28,112 versus $19,882 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,964. About 17.90% of families and 21.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.20% of those under age 18 and 22.00% of those age 65 or over.

Cities

Town

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities