| Beulah, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
| Location of Beulah, Mississippi | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Bolivar |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.5 sq mi (1.2 km2) |
| • Land | 0.5 sq mi (1.2 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 144 ft (44 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 473 |
| • Density | 1,027.5/sq mi (396.7/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 38726 |
| Area code(s) | 662 |
| FIPS code | 28-05820 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0667037 |
Beulah is a town in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 473 as of the 2000 census.
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Beulah is located at (33.790487, -90.980502).[1]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2), all land.
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 473 people, 139 households, and 108 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,027.5 people per square mile (397.0/km²). There were 151 housing units at an average density of 328.0 per square mile (126.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 2.54% White, 95.98% African American, 0.85% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, and 0.42% from two or more races.
There were 139 households out of which 46.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.1% were married couples living together, 38.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.40 and the average family size was 3.83.
In the town the population was spread out with 38.9% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 12.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $24,861, and the median income for a family was $25,341. Males had a median income of $22,500 versus $19,205 for females. The per capita income for the town was $8,631. About 31.8% of families and 33.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.3% of those under age 18 and 44.0% of those age 65 or over.
The Town of Beulah is served by the West Bolivar School District.
This area in the nineteenth century was one of extensive cotton plantations, worked by enslaved laborers. After the American Civil War, freedmen often moved from plantations to their own communities, to escape white supervision. Beulah was established as a black community.[3] After the war, numerous freedmen managed to clear and buy land in the bottomlands away from the river, with many becoming landowners in the state before the end of the nineteenth century. By 1910, declining financial and social conditions had forced most to lose their land.[4] Others stayed to work as sharecroppers and laborers.
Beginning in the early twentieth century, thousands of blacks left Mississippi as part of the Great Migration, north by railroad to Chicago and other Midwestern industrial cities, but others remained where they had been for generations, with strong local ties. In decades past, Beulah had a revival in the pearl button industry as a result of Mississippi River freshwater clam harvesting -- "clammin'", as it is known to the residents who still make their living in this way. While pearl button production levels in Beulah would never have been competitive with the self-proclaimed "Pearl Button Capital of the World" at Muscatine, Iowa at the height of industry in that city in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Beulah shares in the rich heritage of this industry.
Freshwater clam harvesting in Beulah declined significantly during the 19th century as a direct result of the natural evolution of the river and water control projects. Most freshwater clam species tend to concentrate in the bends of the river. Since the 1800s, this section of the Mississippi has abandoned its bends to oxbow lakes and straightened its course, and levees have been constructed. Many families still participate in clam harvesting further along the length of the river. Pearl button production has not been a part of this industry for a number of years.
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