Yazoo City

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Yazoo City, Mississippi
—  City  —
Location of Yazoo City, Mississippi
Coordinates: 32°51′23″N 90°24′27″W / 32.85639°N 90.4075°W / 32.85639; -90.4075
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Yazoo
Area
- Total	10.9 sq mi (28.3 km2)
- Land	10.8 sq mi (27.9 km2)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation	112 ft (34 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	14,550
- Density	1,349.2/sq mi (520.9/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	39194
Area code(s)	662
FIPS code	28-81520
GNIS feature ID	0679921

Yazoo City is a city in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle. "Yazoo" is said to be of Native American origin, meaning "River of Death". It is the county seat of Yazoo County and the principal city of the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Jackson–Yazoo City Combined Statistical Area. According to the 2000 census, the population was 14,550.

Geography

Yazoo City is located at 32°51′23″N 90°24′27″W / 32.85639°N 90.4075°W / 32.85639; -90.4075 (32.856458, -90.407379)^[1], 40 miles northwest of Jackson, Mississippi at the junctions of US Highways 49, 49E, and 49W, and MS Highways 3, 16, and 149, on the banks of the Yazoo River, near the Panther Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. .

US 49W provides a fairly direct link between Yazoo City and Belzoni. The old highway segment has been renamed MS 149. MS 149 passes through Panther Creek Swamp NWR and the communities of Louise and Midnight before it reconnects with the new US 49W at Silver City, 7 miles south of Belzoni. The new highway makes the town of Carter so near that it might be considered for annexation by Yazoo City in a few years. There are now two bridges across the Yazoo River at Yazoo City.

The section of MS 3 in Yazoo City is called Haley Barbour Parkway. Haley Barbour, the current governor of Mississippi, grew up in Yazoo City and has a home on Wolf Lake, a lake north of Yazoo City. US Highway 49 (part of which was formerly US 49E) through Yazoo City is named Jerry Clower Boulevard, after the famous comedian, a former resident of Yazoo City.

Yazoo City is also known as the "Gateway to the Delta" due to its location on the transition between the two great landforms that characterize the geography of Mississippi (the western part of town lies in the Mississippi delta and the eastern part lies in the loess bluffs that characterize most of eastern Mississippi). It is also known as the Couth and Cultural Center of the Southeastern United States.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.9 square miles (28.3 km²), of which, 10.8 square miles (27.9 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (1.19%) is water.

History

The community now known as Yazoo City was founded in 1824 by a. Originally with the name Hannan's Bluff. The town was later renamed Manchester then changed to Yazoo City in 1839. Yazoo City became the Yazoo County seat in 1849.

A Yellow Fever epidemic struck Yazoo City in 1853.

During the American Civil War, a makeshift shipyard was established on the Yazoo River at Yazoo City after the Confederate loss of New Orleans. The shipyard was destroyed by Union forces in 1863, then Yazoo City fell back into Confederate hands. Union forces retook the city the following year and burned most of the buildings in the city.

Yellow Fever returned to take more victims in 1878.

In 1904 a fire destroyed much of central Yazoo City. According to local legend, this fire was the result of a witch avenging her death. In actuality, a boy accidentally set a house ablaze while playing with matches. Three-fourths of the town was destroyed, including almost all the houses, as the fire quickly spread due to high winds that day. The fire stopped at a canal, sparing the courthouse (built in 1872) and ten antebellum homes located behind it. The town was rebuilt within two years.

The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 did much damage to the entire Delta, but Yazoo City was restored and is now protected by an effective flood prevention system.

Yazoo City is the childhood home of blues musician Tommy McClennan, N. A. "Bubba" Mott, former editor owner Yazoo City Herald, writer Willie Morris, and inspirational speaker Zig Ziglar. Jerry Clower, born and raised near Liberty, Mississippi, became famous while a resident of Yazoo City. Other notable Yazoo City residents include Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, William J "Joe" Fisher and Charles A. "Cholly" Jordan.

Rail Transportation

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Yazoo City. The Amtrak station is located at 222 West Broadway.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 14,550 people, 4,271 households, and 2,968 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,349.2 people per square mile (521.1/km²). There were 4,676 housing units at an average density of 433.6/sq mi (167.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 28.73% White, 69.68% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.23% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.47% of the population.

There were 4,271 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.5% were married couples living together, 32.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.49.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 112.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,893, and the median income for a family was $22,470. Males had a median income of $26,109 versus $18,650 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,251. About 35.0% of families and 40.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 52.5% of those under age 18 and 23.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Thea Bowman, Roman Catholic sister, Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration

• Jerry Clower, comedian who lived much of his life in Yazoo City.

• Lawrence Gordon, producer of Die Hard and other films.

• Lynn Hamilton, actress.

• Michael Henderson, R&B singer.

• T. J. Huddleston, Sr., entrepreneur.

• Tommy McClennan, blues musician.

• Mike Miley, MLB player and Louisiana State Quarterback

• Willie Morris, writer who was born in Jackson, MS but grew up in Yazoo City.

• Della Reese, jazz singer.

• Stella Stevens, actress,

• Michael Passons, "Contemporary Christian Musician," founding former member of the Christian music group, Avalon.

• Haley Barbour, current Governor of Mississippi

• Zig Ziglar, Personal development speaker and trainer.

Education

Yazoo City is served by the Yazoo City Municipal School District.

Yazoo County High School and Yazoo City High School serve as the main public schools.

There are four private schools: Thomas Christian Academy (Pre-K - 12), Manchester Academy (Pre-K - 12) Covenant Christian School (K - 6th grade), Benton Academy (Pre-k-12).

Media

WBYP-FM, WJNS-FM and WYAB-FM, three local radio stations

The Yazoo Herald, Yazoo County's only daily newspaper

Trivia

Yazoo City is shown in the background in the movie Borat. It is in the scene where Borat visits the news station, WAPT 16 in Jackson. Specifically, Yazoo City is mentioned by the weatherman. However, on the U.S. map which shows Borat's travels through America, it is implied that this scene happened in either Georgia or Alabama.

Yazoo City is referenced in the 1986 movie Crossroads. Yazoo is also referenced as the lone non-New Jersey site that makes toxic waste in the United States in the 1989 movie Fletch Lives. Chevy Chase's character, Irwin M. Fletcher, flew to Yazoo to visit Bly Bio Chem, where he was greeted by Hedley Dan Duke, played by Phil Hartman. (It was the scene where Fletch delivered the classic "I.R. Pissed" line.)

In the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? character "Delmar O'Donnell" (Tim Blake Nelson), refers to Yazoo as the place where he robbed a Piggly Wiggly. Also, the movie's Woolworth's scene was filmed in what used to be a hardware store in Yazoo City. Finally, in the movie, "George 'Baby Face' Nelson" robbed a bank, which he said is located in Itta Bena, Mississippi, but actually that was filmed in the old Bank of Yazoo City building in downtown Yazoo City.

Miss Firecracker was filmed on location in Yazoo City in the 1980s. The movie featured Holly Hunter, Tim Robbins, Mary Steenbergen, Scott Glenn and Alfre Woodard.

Yazoo City was the main location for the book and the movie, My Dog Skip. However, the movie was not filmed in Yazoo City, but rather in Canton, Mississippi, which is located in Madison County, Mississippi, and is about 30 miles southeast of Yazoo City.

References

1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• History of Yazoo City's Jewish community (from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life)

• Yazoo City, Mississippi is at coordinates 32°51′23″N 90°24′27″W / 32.856458°N 90.407379°W / 32.856458; -90.407379 (Yazoo City, Mississippi)Coordinates: 32°51′23″N 90°24′27″W / 32.856458°N 90.407379°W / 32.856458; -90.407379 (Yazoo City, Mississippi)

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