Yazoo City, Mississippi

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Yazoo City, Mississippi
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Yazoo City, Mississippi


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Mississippi
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Yazoo
government_footnotes =
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leader_title =
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unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 28.3
area_land_km2 = 27.9
area_water_km2 = 0.3
area_total_sq_mi = 10.9
area_land_sq_mi = 10.8
area_water_sq_mi = 0.1

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 14550
population_density_km2 = 520.9
population_density_sq_mi = 1349.2

timezone = Central (CST)
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 34
elevation_ft = 112
latd = 32 |latm = 51 |lats = 23 |latNS = N
longd = 90 |longm = 24 |longs = 27 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 39194
area_code = 662
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 28-81520
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0679921
website =
footnotes =

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 coor dms|32|51|23|N|90|24|27|W|city (32.856458, -90.407379)GR|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, 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 [http://www.yazoo.org/Wtchgrav.htm 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 in Liberty, Mississippi, became famous while a resident of Yazoo City. Other notable Yazoo City residents include Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Joe Fisher, Tally McGraw, Skinner Anderson, Tom Rainer, Son Gooch, James Robert Simmons, Chad Langdon and Ed Cortright.

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 censusGR|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

* Tommy McClennan, blues musician.

* Della Reese, jazz singer.

* Robert Tannock, philosopher, minister.

* Michael Passons, contemporary Christian artist, former member of Christian music group Avalon.

* Haley Barbour, current Governor of Mississippi

Education

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

There is only one private school, Manchester Academy.

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".

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 Woolworth's scene was filmed in what used to be a hardware store in Yazoo City. Finally, George "Baby Face" Nelson robs a bank, which he says 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 Stienbergen, 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, rather in Canton, Mississippi which is located in Madison County and is about 30 miles southeast of Yazoo City.

References

External links

* [http://www.isjl.org/history/archive/ms/yazoocity.htm History of Yazoo City's Jewish community] (from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life)