Adams County, Mississippi

Adams County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 29,538.^[1] The county seat is Natchez.^[2] The county is the first to have been organized in the former Mississippi Territory. It is named for the second President of the United States, John Adams, who held that office when the county was organized in 1799. Adams County is part of the Natchez micropolitan area which consists of Adams County, Mississippi and Concordia Parish, Louisiana.

Adams County
County
Adams County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°29′N 91°21′W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1799
Named after	John Adams
Seat	Natchez
Largest city	Natchez
Area
• Total	488 sq mi (1,260 km2)
• Land	462 sq mi (1,200 km2)
• Water	25 sq mi (60 km2)  5.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	29,538
• Estimate  (2023)	28,746
• Density	61/sq mi (23/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.adamscountyms.net

Stone wall provides protection to Natchez, Mississippi from the Mississippi River.

A portion of the historic Natchez City Cemetery in Adams County

History

Adams County was created on April 2, 1799, from part of Pickering Territorial County. The county was organized eighteen years before Mississippi became a state. Five Mississippi governors have come from Adams County: David Holmes, George Poindexter, John A. Quitman, Gerard Brandon, and William Allain.

In 1860, before the US Civil War, Adams County was the richest county in the United States.^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 488 square miles (1,260 km²), of which 462 square miles (1,200 km²) is land and 25 square miles (65 km²) (5.2%) is water.^[4]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 61
• U.S. Highway 84
• U.S. Highway 98
• U.S. Highway 425
• Natchez Trace Parkway

Adjacent counties and parishes

• Jefferson County (north)
• Franklin County (east)
• Wilkinson County (south)
• Concordia Parish, Louisiana (southwest)
• Tensas Parish, Louisiana (northwest)

National protected areas

• Homochitto National Forest (part)
• Natchez National Historical Park
• Natchez Trace Parkway (part)
• St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1800	4,660		—
1810	10,002		114.6%
1820	12,076		20.7%
1830	14,937		23.7%
1840	19,434		30.1%
1850	18,601		−4.3%
1860	20,165		8.4%
1870	19,084		−5.4%
1880	22,649		18.7%
1890	26,031		14.9%
1900	30,111		15.7%
1910	25,265		−16.1%
1920	22,183		−12.2%
1930	23,564		6.2%
1940	27,238		15.6%
1950	32,256		18.4%
1960	37,730		17.0%
1970	37,293		−1.2%
1980	38,035		2.0%
1990	35,356		−7.0%
2000	34,340		−2.9%
2010	32,297		−5.9%
2020	29,538		−8.5%
2023 (est.)	28,746	[5]	−2.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8] 1990-2000[9] 2010-2013[10]

Population

Age pyramid Adams County^[11]

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 29,538 people, 11,237 households, and 6,650 families residing in the county.

Race

County racial composition as of 2020^[12]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	10,926	36.99%
Black or African American	16,709	56.57%
Native American	56	0.19%
Asian	165	0.56%
Pacific Islander	7	0.02%
Other/Mixed	663	2.24%
Hispanic or Latino	1,012	3.43%

In 2020, its racial makeup was 56.57% Black/African American, 36.99% non-Hispanic white, 0.19% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.24% other or mixed, and 3.43% Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 2010, 53.5% were Black or African American, 42.7% White, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 1.7% of some other race and 1.4% of two or more races. 6.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

Education

All residents of the county are in the Natchez-Adams School District.^[13]

Alcorn State University, a historically black college that was designated as a land-grant institution, has its School of Business and School of Nursing at Natchez. The School of Business offers Masters of Business Administration degree and some undergraduate classes at the School of Business, Natchez campus.

It is in the district of Copiah–Lincoln Community College, and has been since 1971.^[14] There is a campus in Natchez.^[15] This is adjacent to the Natchez campus of Alcorn State University.

Economy

Adams County Correctional Center, a private prison operated by the Corrections Corporation of America on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, is in an unincorporated area in the county.^[16]

Top employers

The top employers of Adams County are as follows:
1. Natchez-Adams School District (620)
2. Merit Health Natchez (425)
3. Adams County Correctional Center (380)
4. Walmart (365)
5. City of Natchez (275)
6. Magnolia Bluffs Casino (250)
7. Jordan Carriers (250)
8. Supermarket Operations (250)
9. Adams County Government (220)
10. Energy Drilling (220)

Communities

City

• Natchez (county seat and only municipality)

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

• Cloverdale
• Morgantown

Other communities

• Cranfield
• Kingston
• Pine Ridge
• Sibley
• Stanton
• Washington

Ghost/extinct towns

• Arnot
• Briers
• Ellis Cliffs
• Hutchins Landing
• Kienstra
• Selsertown

Politics

United States presidential election results for Adams County, Mississippi^[17]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1912	31	4.06%	491	64.35%	241	31.59%
1916	42	5.88%	671	93.98%	1	0.14%
1920	114	15.02%	642	84.58%	3	0.40%
1924	304	26.30%	836	72.32%	16	1.38%
1928	840	38.59%	1,337	61.41%	0	0.00%
1932	384	21.11%	1,420	78.06%	15	0.82%
1936	124	6.67%	1,732	93.12%	4	0.22%
1940	166	8.15%	1,869	91.80%	1	0.05%
1944	282	14.69%	1,638	85.31%	0	0.00%
1948	95	4.32%	71	3.23%	2,034	92.45%
1952	2,372	58.29%	1,697	41.71%	0	0.00%
1956	1,664	40.64%	1,279	31.24%	1,151	28.11%
1960	1,227	23.57%	1,452	27.90%	2,526	48.53%
1964	5,900	84.37%	1,093	15.63%	0	0.00%
1968	1,475	10.93%	5,214	38.62%	6,812	50.46%
1972	8,500	67.16%	3,697	29.21%	460	3.63%
1976	6,431	46.40%	6,619	47.75%	811	5.85%
1980	7,523	48.97%	7,228	47.05%	612	3.98%
1984	9,440	54.32%	7,849	45.17%	89	0.51%
1988	8,116	50.74%	7,732	48.34%	146	0.91%
1992	5,831	36.73%	8,255	51.99%	1,791	11.28%
1996	5,378	37.29%	8,218	56.99%	825	5.72%
2000	6,691	44.97%	8,065	54.20%	123	0.83%
2004	6,996	45.20%	8,423	54.42%	60	0.39%
2008	6,566	41.83%	9,021	57.47%	109	0.69%
2012	6,293	40.74%	9,061	58.66%	93	0.60%
2016	5,874	42.45%	7,757	56.06%	205	1.48%
2020	5,696	41.40%	7,917	57.54%	146	1.06%
2024	5,081	42.60%	6,743	56.53%	104	0.87%

Adams County, typical of other counties in the Solid South, was heavily Democratic during the first half of the 20th century. After supporting Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond in 1948, it began to lean more Republican, and remained that way until the 1980s. Since 1992, Adams County has returned to the Democratic fold.

See also

• Jefferson College
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Adams County, Mississippi