| Holmes County, Mississippi | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Mississippi |
|
 Mississippi's location in the U.S. |
|
| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1833 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Lexington |
| Largest city | Durant |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
764 sq mi (1,979 km²) 756 sq mi (1,958 km²) 8 sq mi (21 km²), 1.07% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
21,609 28/sq mi (11/km²) |
Holmes County is a county located in the Mississippi Delta region of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2000, the population was 21,609. It is named in honor of David Holmes, the first governor of the state of Mississippi. Its county seat is Lexington.[1]
Contents |
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 764 square miles (1,979 km²), of which, 756 square miles (1,958 km²) of it is land and 8 square miles (21 km²) of it (1.07%) is water.
Holmes County State Park is located here.
Major highways
Interstate 55
U.S. Highway 49
U.S. Highway 51
Mississippi Highway 12
Mississippi Highway 14
Mississippi Highway 17
Mississippi Highway 19
Adjacent counties
- Carroll County (north)
- Attala County (east)
- Yazoo County (south)
- Humphreys County (west)
- Leflore County (northwest)
 |
Leflore County | Carroll County | |
|
| Humphreys County |  |
Attala County | ||
 Holmes County, Mississippi  |
||||
 |
||||
| Yazoo County |
National protected areas
- Hillside National Wildlife Refuge (part)
- Mathews Brake National Wildlife Refuge (part)
- Morgan Brake National Wildlife Refuge
- Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1840 | 9,452 |
|
|
| 1850 | 13,928 | 47.4% | |
| 1860 | 17,791 | 27.7% | |
| 1870 | 19,370 | 8.9% | |
| 1880 | 27,164 | 40.2% | |
| 1890 | 30,970 | 14.0% | |
| 1900 | 36,828 | 18.9% | |
| 1910 | 39,088 | 6.1% | |
| 1920 | 34,513 | −11.7% | |
| 1930 | 38,534 | 11.7% | |
| 1940 | 39,710 | 3.1% | |
| 1950 | 33,301 | −16.1% | |
| 1960 | 27,096 | −18.6% | |
| 1970 | 23,120 | −14.7% | |
| 1980 | 22,970 | −0.6% | |
| 1990 | 21,604 | −5.9% | |
| 2000 | 21,609 | 0% | |
| Est. 2008 | 20,595 | −4.7% | |
| MS Counties 1900-1990 | |||
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 21,609 people, 7,314 households, and 5,229 families residing in the county. The population density was 29 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 8,439 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 20.47% White, 78.66% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. 0.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,314 households out of which 11.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.10% were married couples living together, 21.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.50% were non-families. 16.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.48.
In the county the population was spread out with 32.10% under the age of 18, 12.40% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 18.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 87.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $17,235, and the median income for a family was $21,757. Males had a median income of $23,720 versus $17,883 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,683. About 35.90% of families and 41.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 52.30% of those under age 18 and 36.40% of those age 65 or over.
Holmes County has the third lowest per capita income in Mississippi and the 41st lowest in the United States.
Politics
| Year | GOP | DEM | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 18.0% 1,714 | 81.4% 7,765 | 0.7% 64 |
| 2004 | 23.4% 1,961 | 75.9% 6,366 | 0.7% 56 |
| 2000 | 26.1% 1,937 | 73.4% 5,447 | 0.5% 38 |
| 1996 | 24.0% 1,536 | 73.6% 4,720 | 2.4% 155 |
| 1992 | 28.2% 1,694 | 68.0% 4,092 | 3.8% 228 |
| 1988 | 33.7% 2,737 | 65.8% 5,350 | 0.5% 39 |
| 1984 | 35.4% 3,102 | 64.4% 5,641 | 0.1% 10 |
| 1980 | 32.3% 2,693 | 65.5% 5,463 | 2.2% 180 |
| 1976 | 33.8% 2,438 | 64.1% 4,616 | 2.1% 149 |
| 1972 | 47.2% 3,158 | 51.7% 3,459 | 1.0% 69 |
| 1968 | 7.0% 520 | 52.4% 3,881 | 40.6% 3,008 |
| 1964 | 96.6% 3,115 | 3.4% 110 | 0.0% 0 |
| 1960 | 17.7% 455 | 24.5% 628 | 57.8% 1,484 |
Holmes is a heavily Democratic county in Presidential and Congressional elections. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was Barry Goldwater in 1964. In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama won 81% of the county's vote.
Holmes is part of Mississippi's 2nd congressional district, which is held by Democrat Bennie Thompson.
Communities
- Unincorporated places
- Acona
- Coxburg
- Ebenezer
- Thornton
Education
- Colleges
- Holmes Community College (Goodman)
- Public Schools
- Durant Public School District
- Durant Public School
- Holmes County School District (Lexington)
- J.J. McClain High School
- S.V. Marshall High School
- William-sullivan high School
- J.J. McClain Middle School
- Mileston Middle School
- Goodman-Pickens Elementary School
- Lexington Elementary School
- S.V. Marshall Elementary School
- Williams-Sullivan Elementary School
- The Learning Center
- Vocational-Technical Center
- Durant Public School District
- Private Schools
- Central Holmes Christian School (Lexington)
- East Holmes Academy (West)
Miscellaneous
The local 4-H club had its beginnings at the "Little Red Scoolhouse" located on Mississippi Highway 17.[citation needed]
The county newspaper is the Holmes County Herald.
See also
References
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
- Holmes County Herald
- Library of Congress - The Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection - Photos of life in 1930s-era Holmes County
|
|||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
