Clarke County, Mississippi

Clarke County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,615.[2] Its county seat is Quitman.[3] Clarke County is named for Joshua G. Clarke,[4] the first Mississippi state chancellor and judge.

Clarke County
County
Clarke County courthouse and Confederate monument in Quitman
Clarke County courthouse and Confederate monument in Quitman
Map of Mississippi highlighting Clarke County
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Map of the United States highlighting Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°02′N 88°41′W
Country United States
State Mississippi
FoundedDecember 23, 1833[1]
SeatQuitman
Largest cityQuitman
Area
 • Total694 sq mi (1,800 km2)
 • Land692 sq mi (1,790 km2)
 • Water2.0 sq mi (5 km2)  0.3%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total15,615
 • Density23/sq mi (8.7/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts3rd, 4th
Website"Visit Clarke County".

The county is part of the Meridian, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Before white men first arrived, the Choctaw Indians inhabited the land that would later be known as the Clarke County, Mississippi. Clarke County is only a portion of what was known as Okla Hannali or Six Town District of the Choctaws. Okla Hannali or Six Towns District existed at the time of the Dancing Rabbit Treaty in 1830.[5]

David Gage, who came to the area in about 1820, was a Presbyterian minister. Traveling with him was Moses Jewel and Miss Skinner, who were both teachers. He settled at a place called Eewennans in the Choctaw Nation. David Gage, Moses Jewel, and Miss Skinner came to the territory for the purpose of educating the Indians some domestic habits.[6]

At the beginning of 1832, settlers began to appear in what was known as the “New Purchase”. One of the first families to arrive was Jehu and Sarah Pagaus Evans, who arrived in February 1832, and settled east of Buckatunna Swamp. By the fall of 1832, the “New Purchase” began to fill up quickly with arrivals. Among the early settlers were George Evans, Richard Wagster, Henry Hailes, Alex Hailes, Michael McCarty, James Bankston, Calvin M. Ludlow, John Williford, William Williford, James Risher, J. A. Fontain, John Gunn, Robert Fleming, John Fleming, Hiram Fleming, Norman Martin, Stephen Grice, Thomas F. Hicks, Alex McLendon, Roland B. Crosby, Cameron Grayson, Jesse C. Mott, David Neely, David B. Thompson, Dabney Edwards, Jacob Slack, John Johnston, Alex Trotter, Richard N. Hough, Robert McLaughlin, L. D. Phillips, Samuel Lee, Jesse Sumrall, Jeremiah Crane, Howell Sumrall, William Goleman, Thomas Goleman, Samuel K. Lewis and Thomas Watts.[7]

The county was founded in 1833. Quitman, named for General John A. Quitman.[4][7]

After the organization of Clarke County, the first school was built close to the old Tennessee Trace. Mr. Hennessy was the teacher and he came from Kinsale, Ireland. Religious services were held in the pioneer families’ home and on days of good weather, outside. The first actual church built was Cedar Creek Church, a Methodist church, and Elim Baptist Church followed in the 1840s.

In the Spring of 1834, Joel Nail, a quadroon Indian, began moving the Choctaw Indians to Muskalresha, an old town in Neshoba County, Mississippi. These journeys continued through 1838 for all that would go. Some of the Choctaw Indians returned to their homes in Clarke County after arriving at Muskalresha.[6]

In the 1830s there were no postal routes in Clarke County. However, there was a stagecoach line from Columbus, Mississippi to Winchester, Wayne County, Mississippi. The settlers of Clarke County would have to travel to Winchester, 25 miles away to receive their mail.[6]

Ten black people were lynched in Clarke County, as documented in The Hanging Bridge by Jason Morgan Ward.[8]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 694 square miles (1,800 km2), of which 692 square miles (1,790 km2) is land and 2.0 square miles (5.2 km2) (0.3%) is water.[9] The Chickasawhay River flows north to south through the eastern portion of the county; it eventually meets the Pascagoula River.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18402,986—
18505,47783.4%
186010,77196.7%
18707,505−30.3%
188015,021100.1%
189015,8265.4%
190017,74112.1%
191021,63021.9%
192017,927−17.1%
193019,6799.8%
194020,5964.7%
195019,362−6.0%
196016,493−14.8%
197015,049−8.8%
198016,94512.6%
199017,3132.2%
200017,9553.7%
201016,732−6.8%
202015,615−6.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12]
1990-2000[13] 2010-2013[14]
Clarke County by race as of 2020[15]
Race Num. Perc.
White 9,950 63.72%
Black or African American 5,103 32.68%
Native American 16 0.1%
Asian 8 0.05%
Pacific Islander 6 0.04%
Other/Mixed 400 2.56%
Hispanic or Latino 132 0.85%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 15,615 people, 6,237 households, and 4,397 families residing in the county.

Ancestry/Ethnicity

As of 2017 the largest self-identified ancestry groups/ethnic groups in Clarke County, Mississippi were:[16][17]

Largest ancestries (2017)Percent
English22.37%
"American"10.6%
Irish7.04%
German2.65%
Dutch1.4%
Scots-Irish1.3%
Scottish1.1%
French (except Basque)0.6%

[16]

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

Politics
United States presidential election results for Clarke County, Mississippi[18]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 5,417 64.97% 2,838 34.04% 83 1.00%
2016 5,137 65.94% 2,585 33.18% 69 0.89%
2012 5,049 61.18% 3,111 37.70% 93 1.13%
2008 5,229 62.27% 3,121 37.17% 47 0.56%
2004 5,068 67.51% 2,402 32.00% 37 0.49%
2000 4,503 65.08% 2,368 34.22% 48 0.69%
1996 3,470 56.04% 2,337 37.74% 385 6.22%
1992 4,207 60.67% 2,259 32.58% 468 6.75%
1988 4,522 63.71% 2,576 36.29% 0 0.00%
1984 4,551 66.61% 2,262 33.11% 19 0.28%
1980 3,303 49.14% 3,303 49.14% 115 1.71%
1976 2,935 48.96% 2,816 46.97% 244 4.07%
1972 4,561 81.56% 954 17.06% 77 1.38%
1968 298 5.53% 878 16.29% 4,214 78.18%
1964 3,591 93.42% 253 6.58% 0 0.00%
1960 586 17.71% 1,244 37.61% 1,478 44.68%
1956 500 20.77% 1,763 73.24% 144 5.98%
1952 754 27.38% 2,000 72.62% 0 0.00%
1948 17 0.88% 144 7.47% 1,767 91.65%
1944 95 5.31% 1,694 94.69% 0 0.00%
1940 42 2.40% 1,711 97.60% 0 0.00%
1936 31 1.46% 2,089 98.40% 3 0.14%
1932 53 3.44% 1,482 96.11% 7 0.45%
1928 563 33.23% 1,131 66.77% 0 0.00%
1924 87 6.24% 1,306 93.62% 2 0.14%
1920 47 5.35% 807 91.91% 24 2.73%
1916 49 4.19% 1,092 93.33% 29 2.48%
1912 17 2.29% 638 85.87% 88 11.84%

See also

References
  1. "Clarke County, Mississippi Genealogy & History Network". Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  2. "Census - Geography Profile: Clarke County, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 83.
  5. Halbert, H. L. (1893). Peet, Stephen Denison (ed.). "Okla Hannali: Or the Six towns District of the Choctaws". The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal. Jameson & Morse. 15: 146–149. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  6. Recollections of John Hicks Evans, Personal Manuscript, 1902, Department of Archive & History, Washington, D.C.
  7. Lowry, Robert; McCardle, William H. (1891). "XXIV, Clarke County". A History of Mississippi: From the Discovery of the Great River by Hernando DeSoto, Including the Earliest Settlement Made by the French Under Iberville, to the Death of Jefferson Davis. R. H. Henry & Company. pp. 460–462. ISBN 978-0-7884-4821-8. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  8. Ward, Jason Morgan (2018) [2016]. Hanging Bridge: Racial Violence and America's Civil Rights Century. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190905842.
  9. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  10. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  12. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  13. "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 3, 2014.
  14. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  15. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  16. "American FactFinder - Results". Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  17. "The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States - Statistical Atlas".
  18. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 4, 2018.

32.04°N 88.69°W / 32.04; -88.69

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