Clarksdale, Mississippi
| Clarksdale, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
| City | |
Delta Avenue in Clarksdale
|
|
| Nickname(s): The Golden Buckle on the Cotton Belt | |
 Location of Clarksdale, Mississippi |
|
 Clarksdale, Mississippi
|
|
| Coordinates: 34°12′N 90°34′W / 34.200°N 90.567°WCoordinates: 34°12′N 90°34′W / 34.200°N 90.567°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Coahoma |
| Government | |
| • [Mayor] | Bill Luckett (D) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 13.8 sq mi (35.9 km2) |
| • Land | 13.8 sq mi (35.8 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 174 ft (53 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 17,962 |
| • Density | 1,293.1/sq mi (499.2/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 38614, 38669 |
| Area code(s) | 662 |
| FIPS code | 28-13820 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0666084 |
| Website | Clarksdale, Mississippi |
Clarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, and seat of the county. The western boundary of the county is formed by the Mississippi River. Located in the Mississippi Delta region, Clarksdale is an agricultural and trading center. It has been home to many blues musicians. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, who founded the city in the mid-19th century.
Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians occupied the Delta region prior to the arrival of European settlers. Clarksdale was developed at the former intersection of two important Indian routes: the Lower Creek Trade Paths, which extended westward from Augusta, Georgia, to New Mexico; and the Chakchiuma Trade Trail, which ran northeastward to the former village at present-day . The first removal treaty carried out under the Indian Removal Act was the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, by which the Choctaw people ceded about 11 million acres in exchange for about 15 million acres in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). A similar forced removal of the Chickasaw Nation began in 1837; once in Indian Territory, they paid the Choctaw $530,000 for the westernmost part of their land.
Following the removal of the Indians, European-American settlers migrated to the Delta region, where the fertile soil was excellent for growing cotton. They brought or purchased African-American slaves to work the several cotton plantations developed in the county, always locating these on the riverfront for transportation access. John Clark founded the town in 1848 when he bought land in the area and started a timber business. Clark married the sister of James Lusk Alcorn, a major planter who owned a nearby plantation. Alcorn became a politician, elected by the state legislature as US Senator and later elected as governor of the state. Thriving from the cotton trade and associated business, Clarksdale soon earned the title "The Golden Buckle on the Cotton Belt".
African-American slaves made the plantations work and built the wealth of King Cotton in the state. U.S. Census data shows Coahoma County, Mississippi's 1860 population was 1,521 whites and 5,085 slaves. James Alcorn was a major planter, owning 77 slaves.
...
Wikipedia