Newton County, Mississippi

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Newton County, Mississippi
Map of Mississippi highlighting Newton County
Location in the U.S. state of Mississippi
Map of the United States highlighting Mississippi
Mississippi's location in the U.S.
Founded 1836
Named for Isaac Newton
Seat Decatur
Largest town Union
Area
 • Total 580 sq mi (1,502 km2)
 • Land 578 sq mi (1,497 km2)
 • Water 1.5 sq mi (4 km2), 0.3%
Population
 • (2010) 21,720
 • Density 38/sq mi (15/km²)
Congressional district 3rd
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5

Newton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 21,720.[1] Its county seat is Decatur.[2]

History

Newton County was formed in 1836, and was named in honor of Sir Isaac Newton.[3]

Newton County is adjacent to Jasper County, which was named for Sgt. William Jasper, a Revolutionary War hero of the Siege of Savannah in 1779. Sgt. John Newton had a very similar history. Early in the 1800s, many places were named for these men. At least four other states, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri and Texas, have adjacent Jasper and Newton Counties. At least two states, Illinois and Iowa, have Newton as the county seat of Jasper County. In Arkansas, Jasper is the county seat of Newton County. The frequency of occurrence of these names in juxtaposition shows that the stories of Sgts. Jasper and Newton were widely known, and associated with each other at the time these counties were named.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 580 square miles (1,500 km2), of which 578 square miles (1,500 km2) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2) (0.3%) is water.[4]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1840 2,527 —
1850 4,465 76.7%
1860 9,661 116.4%
1870 10,067 4.2%
1880 13,436 33.5%
1890 16,625 23.7%
1900 19,708 18.5%
1910 23,085 17.1%
1920 20,727 −10.2%
1930 22,910 10.5%
1940 24,249 5.8%
1950 22,681 −6.5%
1960 19,517 −14.0%
1970 18,983 −2.7%
1980 19,944 5.1%
1990 20,291 1.7%
2000 21,838 7.6%
2010 21,720 −0.5%
Est. 2014 21,832 [5] 0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2013[1]

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 21,838 people, 8,221 households, and 6,001 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 9,259 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.01% White, 30.37% Black or African American, 3.68% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.33% from other races, and 0.44% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,221 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were married couples living together, 16.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.00% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 11.20% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,735, and the median income for a family was $34,606. Males had a median income of $27,820 versus $20,757 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,008. About 16.40% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.30% of those under age 18 and 21.70% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Towns

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

See also

Footnotes

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Further reading

  • A.J. Brown, History of Newton County, Mississippi from 1834 to 1894. Jackson, MS: Clarion-Ledger Co., 1894. • HTML version
  • Nicholas Russell Murray, Newton County, Mississippi, 1872-1900. Hammond, LA: Hunting for Bears, 1981.
  • Newton County Pictorial History Committee, Newton County, Mississippi: A Pictorial History. Humboldt, TN: Rose Publishing Co., 2000.
 Neshoba County
Scott County Lauderdale County
  Newton County, Mississippi  
Jasper County

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