Vicksburg, Mississippi
For other uses, see Vicksburg (disambiguation).
| Vicksburg, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Warren |
| Incorporated | February 15, 1839 |
| Government | |
| Mayor | George Flaggs Jr. |
| Area | |
| City | 35.09 sq mi (90.89 km) |
| Land | 33.01 sq mi (85.50 km) |
| Water | 2.08 sq mi (5.39 km) |
| Elevation | 240 ft (82 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| City | 23,856 |
| Estimate (2019) | 21,653 |
| Density | 655.89/sq mi (253.24/km) |
| Metro | 57,433 (US: 162nd) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
| Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes | 39180-39183 |
| Area code(s) | 601 and 769 |
| FIPS code | 28-76720 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0679216 |
| Website | |
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States.
It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg was built by French colonists in 1719, and the outpost withstood an attack from the native Natchez people.
It was incorporated as Vicksburg in 1825 after Methodist missionary Newitt Vick.
In the American Civil War, it was a key Confederate river-port, and its surrender to Ulysses S. Grant in July 1863 marked the turning-point of the war.
Vicksburg then had a troubled history of racial conflict, well into the 20th century.
The city is home to three large installations of the US Army Corps of Engineers, which has often been involved in local flood control.
Status
Vicksburg is the only city in, and county seat of, Warren County, Mississippi, United States.
It is located 234 miles (377 km) northwest of New Orleans at the confluence of the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and 40 miles (64 km) due west of Jackson, the state capital.
It is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana.
The city has increased in population since 1900, when 14,834 people lived here.
The population was 26,407 at the 2000 census.
In 2010, it was designated as the principal city of a Micropolitan Statistical Area with a total population of 49,644, which includes all of Warren County.
History
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.3 sq mi (91 km), of which 32.9 sq mi (85 km) are land and 2.4 sq mi (6.2 km) (6.78%) are covered by water.
Vicksburg is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers.
Much of the city is on top of a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, 26,407 people, 10,364 households, and 6,612 families resided in the city, with a metropolitan population of 49,644.
The population density was 803.1 people per square mile (310.1/km).
The 11,654 housing units averaged 354.4 per square mile (136.9/km).
The racial makeup of the city was 60.43% African American, 37.80% White, 0.15% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.43% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races.
Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.04% of the population.
Of the 10,364 households, 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.9% were married couples living together, 24.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were not families.
About 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the city, the population was distributed as 28.4% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 34 years.
For every 100 females, there were 82.9 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,466, and for a family was $34,380.
Males had a median income of $29,420 versus $20,728 for females.
The per capita income for the city was $16,174.
About 19.3% of families and 23.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.8% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
In 2017, Emma Green of The Atlantic stated, "The Army Corps of Engineers sustains the town economically".
Arts and culture
Annual cultural events
Every summer, Vicksburg plays host to the Miss Mississippi Pageant and Parade.
Also every summer, the Vicksburg Homecoming Benevolent Club hosts a homecoming weekend/reunion that provides scholarships to graduating high-school seniors.
Former residents from across the country return for the event.
Every spring and summer, Vicksburg Theatre Guild hosts Gold in the Hills, which holds the Guinness World Record for longest-running show.
Places of interest
- City Hall, a 1902 Beaux-Arts Classical Revival design by the architect James Riely Gordon.
- Anchuca Mansion
- Balfour House
- McRaven House
- Old Court House Museum
- Vicksburg National Military Park
- Vicksburg Riverfront Murals
- Vicksburg Theatre Guild
Government
The city government consists of a mayor who is elected at-large and two aldermembers.
The current mayor is George Flaggs Jr., who defeated former mayor Paul Winfield in the June 2013 election.
The two aldermembers are elected from single-member districts, known as wards.
The city is home to three large US Army Corps of Engineers installations: the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), which also houses the ERDC's Waterways Experiment Station; the Mississippi Valley Division headquarters; and the Vicksburg District headquarters.
The 412th Engineer Command of the US Army Reserve and the 168th Engineer Brigade of the Mississippi Army National Guard are also located in Vicksburg.
The United States Coast Guard's 8th District/Lower Mississippi River sector has an Aids To Navigation unit located in Vicksburg, operating the buoy tending vessel USCGC Kickapoo.
Education
The City of Vicksburg is served by the Vicksburg-Warren School District.
High schools
Junior high schools
- Vicksburg Junior High School
- Warren Central Junior High School
- Academy of Innovation
Elementary schools
- Beechwood Elementary School
- Bovina Elementary School
- Bowmar Avenue Magnet School
- Dana Road Elementary School
- Redwood Elementary School
- Sherman Avenue Elementary School
- South Park Elementary School
- Warrenton Elementary School
- Vicksburg Intermediate School
- Warren Central Intermediate School
Private schools
- Porters Chapel Academy
- Vicksburg Catholic School- St. Francis Xavier Elementary & *Saint Aloysius Catholic High School
- Vicksburg Christian Academy
- Vicksburg Buddhist Fellowship
- Vicksburg Community School (K-12)
Former schools
- Hall's Ferry Road Elementary School
- 1985–1986, National Blue Ribbon School
- Culkin Elementary School
- Jett Elementary School
- Cedars Elementary School
- Vicksburg Middle School
- All Saints' Episcopal School was a local boarding school located on Confederate Avenue, which closed in 2006 after 98 years in operation. The historic campus is currently used by Americorps as a regional training center.
- St. Mary's Catholic School served the African-American community.
- McIntyre Elementary School served the African-American community.
- Magnolia Avenue School serviced the African-American community and was renamed Bowman High School to honor a former principal.
- Rosa A. Temple High School served the African-American community.
- King's Elementary School served the African-American community.
- Carr Central High School.
- J.H. Culkin Academy (grades 1-12 until 1965, thereafter Culkin Elementary School).
- H.V. Cooper High School. First graduating class 1959.
- Jefferson Davis School.
- Oak Ridge School.
- Eliza Fox School (a.k.a. Grove Street School).
- All Saints' College. An Episcopal college for white women. Opened in 1908 and closed in 1962.
Media
Newspaper
The Vicksburg Post, formerly the Vicksburg Evening Post, is a family-owned daily paper.
It operates in facilities in a shopping center off I-20.
Radio
AM Station
| Channel | Callsign | Format | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1490 | WVBG | News/Talk |
FM Stations
| Channel | Callsign | Format | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 89.3 | WATU | Religious | |
| 92.7 | KSBU | Urban Adult Contemporary | |
| 97.5 | KTJZ | Urban Oldies | |
| 101.3 | WBBV | Country | |
| 104.5 | KLSM | Top-40/CHR | |
| 105.5 | WVBG-FM | Classic Hits |
Notable people
Cultural references
- Vicksburg is mentioned in the Pulitzer Prize winning play Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley.
- Several delta blues songs mention Vicksburg, for instance Charley Patton's "High Water Everywhere" and Robert Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues"
- The city is mentioned multiple times in the series of books surrounding the Logan family, including Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976) and Let The Circle Be Unbroken (1981), by Mildred Taylor.
- A made-for-TV movie version of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, based on Maya Angelou's memoir, was filmed in Vicksburg.
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? was filmed in Vicksburg. The Stokes campaign dinner was filmed in the Southern Cultural Heritage Center's auditorium.
- The hospital stairway scene from Mississippi Burning was filmed in the Southern Cultural Heritage Convent (with Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe).
- Vicksburg is featured in Robert A. Heinlein's 1982 science fiction novel Friday as a town in the Lone Star Republic, a leading smugglers' port between Texas and the Chicago Imperium. The book's protagonist Friday Baldwin stayed there, particularly in the riverfront Lowtown, while trying to find a way into the Imperium.
- In the novel Underground to Canada the protagonists Julilly and Liza are slaves on a cotton plantation near Vicksburg.
- Vicksburg was the focus of of the American television series Ghost Adventures during Season 19, with one episode dedicated to Champion Hill Battlefield.
See also
Credits to the contents of this page go to the authors of the corresponding Wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicksburg, Mississippi.