Leland, Mississippi
Encyclopedia
Leland is a city in Washington County
, Mississippi
, United States
. The population was 4,790 at the 2008 census.
The town is located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta
on the banks of Deer Creek, which is decorated each Christmas season
with floats that bring visitors from afar to view the colorful displays.
Farming is the basis of the local economy. Mississippi State University
and the federal government maintain a huge agriculture
research
station at Stoneville, Mississippi
on Leland's outskirts. Cotton
, soybeans and catfish
are the leading crops.
Leland is in the heart of blues
country and has produced a number of national and regionally famous blues musician
s. Highway 61, famous in any number of blues recordings, runs through the town and gives its name to the community's blues museum. Leland is the burial place of the folk artist and blues musician James "Son" Thomas, who lived for many years along the railroad tracks. Thomas is buried beneath a gravestone paid for by the musician John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Th blues musician Johnny Winter was born in Leland on Feb. 23, 1944, to an Army officer and his wife. Winter is memorialized on a plaque in the community that is part of the Mississippi Blues Trail.
The community is the birthplace of Kermit the Frog
, a Muppet created by Jim Henson
, who was born in nearby Greenville, Mississippi
. The city has a museum along the banks of Deer Creek celebrating Henson's accomplishments.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), of which 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) (1.44%) is water.
of 2000, there were 5,502 people, 1,943 households, and 1,414 families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,670.2 people per square mile (1,031.2/km²). There were 2,095 housing units at an average density of 1,016.7 per square mile (392.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 32.01% White, 67.01% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.04% from other races
, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 1,943 households out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were married couples
living together, 27.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.35.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.9% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,678, and the median income for a family was $28,926. Males had a median income of $26,184 versus $20,693 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $11,681. About 24.0% of families and 27.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.1% of those under age 18 and 28.3% of those age 65 or over.
Washington County, Mississippi
-National protected areas:*Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge*Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge *Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 4,790 at the 2008 census.
The town is located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
on the banks of Deer Creek, which is decorated each Christmas season
Christmas season
Christmastide is one of the seasons of the liturgical year of most Christian churches. It tends to be defined as the period from Christmas Eve to the evening of 5 January, the day before Epiphany...
with floats that bring visitors from afar to view the colorful displays.
Farming is the basis of the local economy. Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
and the federal government maintain a huge agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
station at Stoneville, Mississippi
Stoneville, Mississippi
Stoneville is an unincorporated community located northwest of Leland in northeastern Washington County, Mississippi, United States.Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 38776.-External links:...
on Leland's outskirts. Cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, soybeans and catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
are the leading crops.
Leland is in the heart of blues
Blues
Blues 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...
country and has produced a number of national and regionally famous blues musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s. Highway 61, famous in any number of blues recordings, runs through the town and gives its name to the community's blues museum. Leland is the burial place of the folk artist and blues musician James "Son" Thomas, who lived for many years along the railroad tracks. Thomas is buried beneath a gravestone paid for by the musician John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Th blues musician Johnny Winter was born in Leland on Feb. 23, 1944, to an Army officer and his wife. Winter is memorialized on a plaque in the community that is part of the Mississippi Blues Trail.
The community is the birthplace of Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public service announcements over...
, a Muppet created by Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
, who was born in nearby Greenville, Mississippi
Greenville, Mississippi
Greenville is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 48,633 at the 2000 census, but according to the 2009 census bureau estimates, it has since declined to 42,764, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. It is the county seat of Washington...
. The city has a museum along the banks of Deer Creek celebrating Henson's accomplishments.
Geography
Leland is located at 33°24′18"N 90°53′50"W (33.405118, -90.897194).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), of which 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) (1.44%) is water.
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 5,502 people, 1,943 households, and 1,414 families residing in the city. 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 2,670.2 people per square mile (1,031.2/km²). There were 2,095 housing units at an average density of 1,016.7 per square mile (392.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 32.01% White, 67.01% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.04% 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 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 1,943 households out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% 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, 27.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.35.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.9% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,678, and the median income for a family was $28,926. Males had a median income of $26,184 versus $20,693 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 city was $11,681. About 24.0% of families and 27.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.1% of those under age 18 and 28.3% of those age 65 or over.
Notable inhabitants
- MuppetThe MuppetsThe Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
creator Jim HensonJim HensonJames Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
was from Leland. - Wadada Leo SmithWadada Leo SmithIshmael Wadada Leo Smith is a trumpeter and composer working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation.-Biography:...
, a jazz trumpeter and composer, is from Leland. - The blues musician Johnny WinterJohnny WinterJohn Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
spent part of his childhood in Leland, where his father was mayor in the 1930s. - Singer/actress Thelma HoustonThelma HoustonThelma Houston is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She scored a number-one hit in 1976 with her cover version of the song "Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.-Early life & career:Houston is the daughter of a cotton picking mother...
was born in Leland. - Douglas A. BlackmonDouglas A. BlackmonDouglas A. Blackmon is an American writer and a Pulitzer Prize winner. He won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II....
, Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning journalist for the Wall Street Journal was raised in Leland. - Johnie CooksJohnie CooksJohnie Earl Cooks is a former professional American football player who was drafted by the Baltimore Colts as the second overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft. A 6'4", . linebacker from Mississippi State University, Cooks played in ten NFL seasons from 1982-1991 for the Colts, New York Giants, and...
, former college and professional football player at Mississippi State UniversityMississippi State UniversityThe Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
and the NFL, is from Leland.