Clarke County, Mississippi

History

Before Europeans 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.

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.

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.

The county was founded in 1833. Quitman, named for General John A. Quitman.

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.

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.

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

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 694 sqmi, of which 692 sqmi is land and 2.0 sqmi (0.3%) is water. The Chickasawhay River flows north to south through the eastern portion of the county; it eventually meets the Pascagoula River.

Major highways

• [[File:I-59.svg|20px]] Interstate 59
• [[File:US 11.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 11
• [[File:US 45.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 45
• [[File:Circle sign 18.svg|20px]] Mississippi Highway 18

Adjacent counties

• Lauderdale County (north)
• Choctaw County, Alabama (east)
• Wayne County (south)
• Jasper County (west)

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 15,615. The median age was 42.5 years. 23.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.0 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 64.0% White, 32.8% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian,

There were 6,448 households in the county, of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.3% were married-couple households, 18.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 7,575 housing units, of which 14.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 79.0% were owner-occupied and 21.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.3%.

Ancestry/Ethnicity

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

Communities

Cities

• Quitman (county seat)

Towns

• Enterprise
• Pachuta
• Shubuta
• Stonewall

Census-designated place

• De Soto

Unincorporated communities

• Barnett
• Basic
• Carmichael
• Energy
• Sykes
• Wautubbee

Ghost town

• Gin

Politics

Education

There are two school districts in the county: Quitman School District and Enterprise School District.

The county is in the zone for Jones College.

References

References

1. "Clarke County, Mississippi Genealogy & History Network".
2. "Census - Geography Profile: Clarke County, Mississippi". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
4. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". Govt. Print. Off..
5. (1893). "Okla Hannali: Or the Six towns District of the Choctaws". Jameson & Morse.
6. Recollections of John Hicks Evans, Personal Manuscript, 1902, Department of Archive & History, Washington, D.C.
7. (1891). "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.
8. Ward, Jason Morgan. (2018). "Hanging Bridge: Racial Violence and America's Civil Rights Century". Oxford University Press.
9. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
10. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau.
11. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
13. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
14. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
15. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
16. "Explore Census Data".
17. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
18. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
19. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
20. "American FactFinder - Results".
21. "The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States - Statistical Atlas".
22. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
23. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Clarke County, MS". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
24. "Profile". [[Jones College (Mississippi).