| Sunflower County, Mississippi | |
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Sunflower County Courthouse
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Location in the state of Mississippi |
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Mississippi's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1844 |
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| Seat | Indianola |
| Largest city | Indianola |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
707.22 sq mi (1,832 km²) 693.79 sq mi (1,797 km²) 13.43 sq mi (35 km²), 1.90% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
29,450 49/sq mi (19/km²) |
Sunflower County is a county located in the Mississippi Delta region of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2010, the population was 29,450. Its largest city and county seat is Indianola[1].
The Indianola Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Sunflower County.
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Sunflower County was created in 1844. The land mass encampassed most of Sunflower and Leflore Counties as we know them today. The first seat of government was Clayton, located near Fort Pemberton. Later the county seat was moved to McNutt, also in the Leflore County of today. When Sunflower and Leflore Counties were separated in 1871, the new county seat for Sunflower County was moved to Johnsonville. This village was located where the north end of Mound Bayou empties into the Sunflower River. In 1882 the county seat was moved to Eureka, which was later re-named Indianola (Hemphill, Marie M. 1980. Fevers, Floods and Faith—A History of Sunflower County Mississippi, 1844–1976).
The Boyer Cemetery, located in Boyer, goes back to the early days of Sunflower County.
After many African-Americans who had migrated to the north from the 1940s to the 1970s failed to find job and socioeconomic opportunities there, they began to send their children back down to the Mississippi Delta to live with their relatives in the 1980s and 1990s. As a result gang and drug trade activity began to appear in the Mississippi Delta. As a result of this trend, crack cocaine began to be distributed in Sunflower County.[2]
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 707.22 square miles (1,831.7 km2), of which 693.79 square miles (1,796.9 km2) (or 98.10%) is land and 13.43 square miles (34.8 km2) (or 1.90%) is water.[3] Sunflower County is the longest county in Mississippi. The traveling distance from the southern boundary at Caile to its northern boundary at Rome is approximately 56 miles.
The center of the county is about 30 miles (48 km) east of the Mississippi River, about 40 miles (64 km) west of the hill section of Mississippi, 100 miles (160 km) north of Jackson, and about 100 miles (160 km) south of Memphis, Tennessee.[4]
| Bolivar County | Coahoma County | Tallahatchie County | ||
| Leflore County | ||||
| Sunflower County, Mississippi | ||||
| Washington County | Humphreys County |
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1850 | 1,102 |
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| 1860 | 5,019 | 355.4% | |
| 1870 | 5,015 | −0.1% | |
| 1880 | 4,661 | −7.1% | |
| 1890 | 9,384 | 101.3% | |
| 1900 | 16,084 | 71.4% | |
| 1910 | 28,787 | 79.0% | |
| 1920 | 46,374 | 61.1% | |
| 1930 | 66,364 | 43.1% | |
| 1940 | 61,007 | −8.1% | |
| 1950 | 56,031 | −8.2% | |
| 1960 | 45,750 | −18.3% | |
| 1970 | 37,047 | −19.0% | |
| 1980 | 34,844 | −5.9% | |
| 1990 | 32,867 | −5.7% | |
| 2000 | 34,369 | 4.6% | |
| 2010 | 29,450 | −14.3% | |
| MS Counties 1900-1990 GeoHive - 2000 & 2010 statistics |
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As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 34,369 people, 9,637 households, and 7,314 families residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile (19/km²). There were 10,338 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 28.88% White, 69.86% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races. 1.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 9,637 households out of which 38.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.30% were married couples living together, 28.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.10% were non-families. 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.50.
In the county the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 14.00% from 18 to 24, 30.30% from 25 to 44, 18.10% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 115.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $24,970, and the median income for a family was $29,144. Males had a median income of $26,208 versus $19,145 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,365. About 24.60% of families and 30.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.50% of those under age 18 and 24.10% of those age 65 or over.
Sunflower County has the ninth lowest per capita income in Mississippi and the 72nd lowest in the United States.
The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) is responsible for the state's correctional services, probation services, and parole services. MDOC operates the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP) in the unincorporated community of Parchman in Sunflower County and a probation and parole office in the Courthouse Annex in Indianola.[6]
MSP, a prison for men,[7][8] is the location of the State of Mississippi male death row and the State of Mississippi execution chamber.[9][10] Around the time of MSP's opening in 1901, Sunflower County residents objected to having executions performed at MSP because they feared that Sunflower County would be stigmatized as a "death county." Therefore the State of Mississippi originally performed executions of condemned criminals in their counties of conviction. By the 1950s residents of Sunflower County were still opposed to the concept of housing the execution chamber at MSP. In September 1954, Governor Hugh White called for a special session of the Mississippi Legislature to discuss the application of the death penalty.[11] During that year, an execution chamber was installed at MSP.[12]
Two airports are located in unincorporated Sunflower County. Indianola Municipal Airport, near Indianola,[13] is operated by the city.[14] Ruleville-Drew Airport, between Drew and Ruleville,[15] is jointly operated by the two cities.[14]
Sunflower County is the setting for the Kenny Rogers song Hoodooin' of Miss Fannie Deberry, included on his 1978 album The Gambler.
Mississippi Delta Community College has a main campus in Moorhead and other locations.
The Central Delta Academy in Inverness closed on May 21, 2010.[18]
All three of the private schools originated as segregation academies.[19][20]
The Sunflower County Library provides library services. The administration is in Indianola, and the system operates libraries in Drew, Indianola, Inverness, Moorhead, and Ruleville.[21]
The Enterprise-Tocsin, a newspaper based out of Indianola, is distributed throughout Sunflower County.[22]
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