Coahoma County, Mississippi
Encyclopedia
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 30,622 people, 10,553 households, and 7,482 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 55 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 11,490 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 29.28% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 69.21% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.09% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.47% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.02% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.34% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.60% from two or more races. 0.90% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 10,553 households out of which 36.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.20% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 28.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.10% were non-families. 26.20% 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 2.83 and the average family size was 3.42.
In the county the population was spread out with 33.00% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 84.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $22,338, and the median income for a family was $26,640. Males had a median income of $26,841 versus $19,611 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the county was $12,558. About 29.80% of families and 35.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.90% of those under age 18 and 31.50% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
- Cities
- ClarksdaleClarksdale, MississippiClarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 20,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Coahoma County....
- Clarksdale
- Towns
- CoahomaCoahoma, MississippiCoahoma is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 325 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Coahoma is located at ....
- Friars PointFriars Point, MississippiFriars Point is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,480 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Friars Point is located at ....
- Jonestown
- LulaLula, MississippiLula is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 370 at the 2000 census.Lula was the birthplace of Dr. Ransom Myers , a renowned Canadian-based marine biologist/conservationist who published a seminal study on overfishing revealing the dramatic loss of nearly 90% of...
- LyonLyon, MississippiLyon is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 418 at the 2000 census.-History:The village is named after the French city of Lyon, Rhône-Alpes. Lyon's biggest claim to fame is it is the site of Robert Johnson's murder. Robert Johnson was playing at a nightclub in...
- Coahoma
- Unincorporated places
- BoboBobo, Coahoma County, MississippiBobo is an unincorporated community in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Bobo is located on U.S. Route 278 and U.S. Route 61 southwest of Clarksdale....
- ClaremontClaremont, MississippiClaremont is an unincorporated community located in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Claremont is approximately north of Mattson and approximately south of Clarksdale....
- Clover HillClover Hill, MississippiClover Hill is an unincorporated community located in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Clover Hill is approximately north of Lyon and approximately south of Rudyard....
- DublinDublin, MississippiDublin is an unincorporated community located along U.S. Highway 49 in southeastern Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 38739.-External links:...
- FarrellFarrell, MississippiFarrell is an unincorporated community located in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Farrell is approximately south of Stovall and north of Sherard on Mississippi Highway 1....
- HillhouseHillhouse, MississippiHillhouse is an unincorporated community located in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Hillhouse is approximately south of Rena Lara and north of Gunnison on Mississippi Highway 1....
- Lu-Rand
- MattsonMattson, MississippiMattson is an unincorporated community located near U.S. Highway 49 in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States.Mattson is south of Clarksdale and north of Dublin....
- Moon Lake (community)
- Rena LaraRena Lara, MississippiRena Lara is an unincorporated community located along Highway 1 in southwestern Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 38767.-External links:...
- RichRich, MississippiRich is an unincorporated community within Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Although it is unincorporated, the zip code is 38617. Thomas Harris grew up in the community. The elevation is 180 feet....
- RoundawayRoundaway, Coahoma County, MississippiRoundaway is an unincorporated community located in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Roundaway is approximately south of Clarksdale and north of Baltzer on New Africa Road....
- RudyardRudyard, MississippiRudyard is an unincorporated community located near U.S. Highway 61 in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States.Rudyard is 10 miles north of Clarksdale and 2 miles south of Coahoma along Old Highway 61....
- SherardSherard, MississippiSherard is an unincorporated community located in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Sherard is located along Mississippi Highway 1 west of Clarksdale.Although Sherard is unincorporated, it has a post office and a zip code of 38669....
- StovallStovall, MississippiStovall is an unincorporated community located in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Stovall is located along Mississippi Highway 1 north of Sherard and approximately south of Friars Point....
- Bobo
Education
- Colleges
- Coahoma Community CollegeCoahoma Community CollegeCoahoma Community College is a community college and HBCU located in Coahoma County, Mississippi, approximately four miles north of the city of Clarksdale...
(Clarksdale)
- Coahoma Community College
Coahoma County was previously in the service area of the Mississippi Delta Community College
Mississippi Delta Community College
Mississippi Delta Community College is a community college based in Moorhead, Mississippi which is located in Sunflower County. It also offers courses at locations in Drew, Greenville, Greenwood, and Indianola, Mississippi. Its mascot is the Trojan warrior. The college's president is Dr. Larry G....
(MDCC). As a result of the 1995 Mississippi Legislature
Mississippi Legislature
The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi Senate, with 52 members. Both Representatives and Senators serve four-year...
session, Coahoma County is no longer in the MDCC service area.
- Public School Districts
- Clarksdale Municipal School DistrictClarksdale Municipal School DistrictThe Clarksdale Municipal School District is a public school district based in Clarksdale, Mississippi .-High School:*Clarksdale High SchoolHigh school students also have the option of attending Coahoma Agricultural High School.-Elementary Schools:...
- Coahoma County School DistrictCoahoma County School DistrictThe Coahoma County School District is a public school district based in Coahoma County, Mississippi .The district serves the towns of Coahoma, Friars Point, Jonestown, Lula, and Lyon as well as the unincorporated community of Sherard.-Schools:...
- Clarksdale Municipal School District
- Private Schools
- Lee AcademyLee AcademyLee Academy is a private boarding and day high school in Lee, Maine. Lee Academy was founded in 1845 as a teacher training school and now serves grades 9–13.-Overseas expansion:...
(Clarksdale)
- Lee Academy
Notable residents
- James L. AlcornJames L. AlcornJames Lusk Alcorn was a prominent American political figure in Mississippi during the 19th century. He was a leading southern white Republican or "scalawag" during Reconstruction in Mississippi, where he served as governor and U.S. Senator...
, United States Senator from Mississippi, owned and died at "Eagle Nest" in Coahoma County - Thomas HarrisThomas HarrisThomas Harris is an American author and screenwriter, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter...
, author of Hannibal LecterHannibal LecterHannibal Lecter M.D. is a fictional character in a series of horror novels by Thomas Harris and in the films adapted from them.Lecter was introduced in the 1981 thriller novel Red Dragon as a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer...
novels; he was born in Jackson, TennesseeJackson, TennesseeJackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
, but raised in Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated community in Coahoma County. - John Lee HookerJohn Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
(1917–2001), influential bluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer, was born on August 22, 1917 in Coahoma County into a sharecropper and BaptistBaptistBaptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
preacher family. - Ransom A. MyersRansom A. MyersDr. Ransom Aldrich "Ram" Myers, Jr. was a world-renowned marine biologist and conservationist.He was the son of cotton planter, Ransom Aldrich Myers, Sr. and Fay A. Mitchell Myers...
(b. Lula, MississippiLula, MississippiLula is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 370 at the 2000 census.Lula was the birthplace of Dr. Ransom Myers , a renowned Canadian-based marine biologist/conservationist who published a seminal study on overfishing revealing the dramatic loss of nearly 90% of...
, 1952 - d. Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2007) was a renowned Canada-based marine biologist, conservationist and scholar at Dalhousie UniversityDalhousie UniversityDalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
who published a seminal study on overfishing. - Rick RossRick Ross (rapper)William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...
the rapper was born in Coahoma County in 1976. Soon moved to Miami-Dade County, FloridaMiami-Dade County, FloridaMiami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
. - Ike TurnerIke TurnerIsaac Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk...
was born in ClarksdaleClarksdale, MississippiClarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 20,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Coahoma County.... - Nate DoggNate DoggNathaniel Dwayne Hale , better known by his stage name Nate Dogg, was an American musician. He is noted for his membership of rap trio 213 and his solo career in which he collaborated with Dr. Dre, Warren G, Tupac and Snoop Dogg on many hit releases. Nate Dogg released three solo albums, G-Funk...
spent his childhood in ClarksdaleClarksdale, MississippiClarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 20,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Coahoma County....
. - Tennessee WilliamsTennessee WilliamsThomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
spent much of his childhood in Clarksdale and Coahoma County. A Tennessee Williams Festival is held annually in Clarksdale. - Blac ElvisBlac ElvisElvis Williams, better known as Blac Elvis, is an award-winning American record producer, musician and song writer. He rose to fame in 1999 co-producing alongside Polow da Don. Producing hits for Ludacris, Ciara, Kelly Rowland, Fergie, Rich Boy, Kelis, Nelly, Pussycat Dolls and Mario. Recently he...
was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Award-winning music producer/song-writer.
External links
- http://www.clarksdale.com/chamber/
- Coahoma County Courthouse Pictures
- Delta News Online: Hometown News for the Mississippi Delta