Mississippi County, Arkansas

Mississippi County, Arkansas
Location in the state of Arkansas
Arkansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	November 1, 1833
Seat	Blytheville and Osceola
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	919.73 sq mi (2,382 km²) 898.25 sq mi (2,326 km²) 21.48 sq mi (56 km²), 2.34%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	46,480 52/sq mi (19.98/km²)
Congressional district	1st

Mississippi County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 46,480. There are two county seats, Blytheville and Osceola.^[1] The county was formed on November 1, 1833, and named for the Mississippi River which borders the county to the east. Mississippi County is part of the First Congressional District in Arkansas which is the poorest Congressional District in the United States.

The Blytheville Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Mississippi County.

Jefferson W. Speck, a Mississippi County planter, was the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1950 and 1952.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 919.73 square miles (2,382.1 km²), of which 898.25 square miles (2,326.5 km²) (or 97.66%) is land and 21.48 square miles (55.6 km²) (or 2.34%) is water.^[2]

List Of Highways

• Interstate 55
• U.S. Highway 61
• Highway 14
• Highway 18
• Highway 18 Business
• Highway 77
• Highway 118
• Highway 119
• Highway 135
• Highway 136
• Highway 137
• Highway 137 Spur
• Highway 140
• Highway 150
• Highway 151
• Highway 158
• Highway 181
• Highway 239
• Highway 239 Spur
• Highway 947

Adjacent counties

• Dunklin County, Missouri (northwest)
• Pemiscot County, Missouri (north)
• Dyer County, Tennessee (northeast)
• Lauderdale County, Tennessee (east)
• Tipton County, Tennessee (southeast)
• Crittenden County (south)
• Poinsett County (southwest)
• Craighead County (west)

See also: List of counties bordering eight or more counties

National protected area

• Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	1,410		—
1850	2,368		67.9%
1860	3,895		64.5%
1870	3,633		−6.7%
1880	7,332		101.8%
1890	11,635		58.7%
1900	16,384		40.8%
1910	30,468		86.0%
1920	47,320		55.3%
1930	69,289		46.4%
1940	80,217		15.8%
1950	82,375		2.7%
1960	70,174		−14.8%
1970	62,060		−11.6%
1980	59,517		−4.1%
1990	57,525		−3.3%
2000	51,979		−9.6%
2010	46,480		−10.6%
[3][4][5]

Age pyramid Mississippi County^[6]

As of the census^[7] of 2000, there were 51,979 people, 19,349 households, and 13,911 families residing in the county. The population density was 58 people per square mile (22/km²). There were 22,310 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 64.45% White, 32.70% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.07% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. 2.25% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 19,349 households out of which 36.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.00% were married couples living together, 17.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county the population was spread out with 29.60% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,479, and the median income for a family was $32,648. Males had a median income of $29,645 versus $19,782 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,978. About 19.00% of families and 23.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.10% of those under age 18 and 19.80% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Bassett Birdsong Blytheville Burdette Dell

Dyess Etowah Gosnell Joiner

Keiser Leachville Luxora Manila

Marie Osceola Victoria Wilson

Townships

Townships in Mississippi County, Arkansas as of 2010

Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas and some may have incorporated towns or cities within part of their space. Townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the US Census does list Arkansas population based on townships (often referred to as "minor civil divisions"). Townships are also of value for historical purposes in terms of genealogical research. Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps. The townships of Mississippi County are listed below with the town(s) and/or city that are fully or partially inside them listed in parentheses. ^[8][9]

• Big Lake (Manila)
• Bowen (Gosnell)
• Burdette (Burdette)
• Canadian
• Carson (Marie)
• Chickasawba (Blytheville)
• Dyess (Dyess)
• Fletcher (Luxora, Victoria)
• Golden Lake (Wilson)
• Half Moon Lake
• Hector (Dell)
• Little River
• McGavock (Joiner)
• Monroe (Keiser, Osceola)
• Neal (Leachville)
• Scott (Bassett)
• Whitton (Birdsong)

See also

• Island 35 Mastodon
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Mississippi County, Arkansas

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
3. ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/ar190090.txt
4. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov
5. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
6. ^ Based on 2000 census data
7. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
8. ^ US Census Bureau. 2011 Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS): Mississippi County, AR (Map). http://www2.census.gov/geo/pvs/bas/bas11/st05_ar/cou/c05093_mississippi/BAS11C20509300000_000.pdf. Retrieved 20110819. 
9. ^ http://www.census.gov/geo/www/maps/DC10_GUBlkMap/cousub/dc10blk_st05_cousub.html#M

Coordinates: 35°46′36″N 90°03′16″W / 35.77667°N 90.05444°W / 35.77667; -90.05444