Yazoo City, Mississippi
Encyclopedia : Y : YA : YAZ : Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City is a city in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It is named for the river, whose name, legend has it, comes from an Indian word meaning "River of Death". It is the county seat of Yazoo County. The population was 14,550 at the 2000 census.
Geography
Yazoo City is located at (32.856458, -90.407379)[Geographic references#1GR1], 40 miles northwest of Jackson, Mississippi at the junctions of Highways 3, 49E and 49W on the banks of the Yazoo River, near the Panther Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. .A recently completed new 4 lane segment of 49W makes for a more direct link between Yazoo City and Belzoni and results in the old highway segment being renamed 149N. 149N passes through Panther Swamp NWR and the communities of Louise and Midnight before it reconnects with the new 49W highway 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.
Highway 3 passing through Yazoo City is called Haley Barbour Parkway. Haley Barbour, the current governor of Mississippi, grew up in Yazoo City,and has a home on the lake North of Yazoo. Highway 49E passing through Yazoo City is called Jerry Clower Boulevard, named 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).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.3 km² (10.9 mi²). 27.9 km² (10.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) 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 witch avenging her death.
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.
The people of Yazoo City/County are proud of their heritage, and because the area is widely known as the Couth and Cultural Center of the South (in fact, the nation), erstwhile residents feel the urge to return yearly for a week or so, to restore their C & C quotient.
Yazoo City is the childhood home of blues musician Tommy McClennan, Wiiliam J (Joe) Fisher, C. H."Tally" McGraw, John Joe Humphreys, writer Willie Morris, and inspirational speaker, Zig Ziglar. Norman and Louise Mott still live in Yazoo City, and all indications are that they will continue to stay there. Jerry Clower, originally of Liberty, Mississippi in Amite County, Mississippi, became famous while a resident of Yazoo City. Mississippi Governor and former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour is from Yazoo City.
Yazoo City is the home of writer Don Harthcock, who is also President of the Rock & Roll Church of All Nations (RRCANNA).
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 14,550 people, 4,271 households, and 2,968 families residing in the city. The population density was 521.1/km² (1,349.2/mi²). There were 4,676 housing units at an average density of 167.5/km² (433.6/mi²). 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.
External links
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