Rosedale, Mississippi

Rosedale, Mississippi
City
Motto: The Delta City of Brotherly Love

Location of Rosedale, Mississippi
Coordinates: 33°51′13″N 91°1′37″W / 33.85361°N 91.02694°WCoordinates: 33°51′13″N 91°1′37″W / 33.85361°N 91.02694°W
Country United States
State Mississippi
County Bolivar
Area
 • Total 5.5 sq mi (14.2 km2)
 • Land 5.4 sq mi (14.0 km2)
 • Water 0.08 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation 151 ft (46 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 1,873
 • Density 346/sq mi (133.6/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 38769
Area code(s) 662
FIPS code 28-63720
GNIS feature ID 0676870
Website www.cityofrosedalems.com

Rosedale is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,873 at the 2010 census,[1] down from 2,414 in 2000.

It is the same "Rosedale" that bluesman Robert Johnson referenced in his song "Travelling Riverside Blues". Locals claim that Johnson sold his soul to the Devil at the intersection of Mississippi state highways 1 and 8, on the south end of town, and that he tells this story metaphorically in "Cross Road Blues".[2] However, a number of other Delta municipalities claim that the transaction took place in or near their boundaries.

History

Grace Episcopal Church in Rosedale is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This area in the nineteenth century was one of extensive cotton plantations, with enslaved laborers. After the Civil War, some freedmen managed to clear and buy land in the bottomlands, with many becoming landowners before the end of the nineteenth century. By 1910, declining conditions had forced most to lose their land.[3] 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.

The Mississippi Blues Commission placed a historic marker at Rosedale's former Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad depot site, designating it as a site on the Mississippi Blues Trail. The marker commemorates the sites in the original lyrics of legendary blues artist Robert Johnson's "Travelling Riverside Blues". He traced the railway route which ran south from Friars Point to Rosedale among other stops, including Vicksburg and north to Memphis. The marker emphasizes that a common theme of blues songs was riding on the railroad, which was seen as a metaphor for travel and escape. It also commemorates another common blues theme, life on the banks of a moody river bank, a theme heard in Charlie Patton's "High Water Everywhere".

Geography

Rosedale is located at 33°51′13″N 91°1′37″W / 33.85361°N 91.02694°W (33.853747, -91.026829).[4] It is 19 miles (31 km) northwest of Cleveland.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Rosedale has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14.2 km2), of which 5.4 square miles (14.0 km2) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.2 km2), or 1.14%, is water.[1]

Rosedale is situated on the eastern side of the Mississippi River, approximately midway between the mouths of the Arkansas and White rivers, which flow into the Mississippi from the Arkansas (western) side.

Demographics

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 2,414 people, 780 households, and 567 families residing in the city. The population density was 444.2 people per square mile (171.6/km²). There were 842 housing units at an average density of 154.9 per square mile (59.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 16.86% White, 82.02% African American, 0.37% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.

There were 780 households out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.2% were married couples living together, 37.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.56.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.9% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $17,955, and the median income for a family was $18,810. Males had a median income of $24,922 versus $15,714 for females. The per capita income for the city was $8,534. About 43.3% of families and 46.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 58.6% of those under age 18 and 34.6% of those age 65 or over.

In 2010, Rosedale had the 22nd-lowest median household income of all places in the United States with a population over 1,000.[6]

Education

Rosedale is served by the West Bolivar School District. The case of Gong Lum v. Rice, wherein it was held that a Chinese student was ineligible to attend the school for white children, and instead, was required to attend the school for colored children, originated in Rosedale.

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Rosedale city, Mississippi". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  2. ↑ Tributes to these songs have been recorded by many artists, notably a live performance titled "Crossroads" by Cream in 1968, and one of "Traveling Riverside Blues" by Led Zeppelin in 1997 on their BBC Sessions album. Johnson's deal with the Devil is mentioned as occurring in Rosedale in 1930 in an episode of the TV series Supernatural.
  3. ↑ John C. Willis, Forgotten Time: The Yazoo-Mississippi Delta after the Civil War. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2000
  4. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  5. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. ↑ "US Census". Retrieved 18 January 2014.

External links