Belzoni, Mississippi

Encyclopedia : B : BE : BEL : Belzoni, Mississippi

For the Italian explorer of Egyptian antiquities., see Giovanni Battista Belzoni.

Belzoni is a city in Humphreys County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region. The population was 2,663 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Humphreys County^{[Geographic references#6GR6]}. It was named for the 19th century Italian archaeologist/explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni.

The area was named Farm-Raised Catfish Capital of the World in 1976 by then Governor Cliff Finch, since it produces more farm-raised catfish than any other U.S. county. 40,000 acres (162 km²) of the county are underwater, used to grow catfish. About 60 % of U.S. farm-raised catfish are grown within a 65 mile (100 km) radius of Belzoni. However, the title "Catfish Capital" has also been claimed by Savannah, Tennessee, and Des Allemands, Louisiana. However, Belzoni is world known for the Catfish Festival held every April.

Contents

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Semi-Famous residents
4 External links

Geography

Belzoni is located at [33°10′53″N, 90°29′8″W] (33.181324, -90.485663)^{[Geographic references#1GR1]}.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.5 km² (1.0 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census^{[Geographic references#2GR2]} of 2000, there were 2,663 people, 934 households, and 640 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,071.0/km² (2,777.8/mi²). There were 1,018 housing units at an average density of 409.4/km² (1,061.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 30.49% White, 68.08% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.60% from other races, and 0.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.

There were 934 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% were married couples living together, 28.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.49.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.2% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $20,690, and the median income for a family was $25,521. Males had a median income of $26,466 versus $15,833 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,022. About 29.3% of families and 35.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 47.4% of those under age 18 and 27.3% of those age 65 or over. It is not an awesome place.

Semi-Famous residents

Pinetop Perkins, blues musician (b. 1913)

External links

[Maps and aerial photos] Coordinates: [33.181324° -90.485663°]
* Street map from [Google Maps] or [Yahoo! Maps]
* Topographic map from [TopoZone]
* Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
* Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Windows Live Local]

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.