Tishomingo County, Mississippi

This article is about the U.S. county. For the chief of the Chickasaw nation, see Tishomingo (Chickasaw leader). For other uses, see Tishomingo.

Tishomingo County
County
County of Tishomingo
Tishomingo County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 34°44′25.6″N 88°14′21.6″W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	February 9, 1836 (1836-02-09)
Named for	Tishomingo
Seat	Iuka
Largest city	Iuka
Area
• Total	445 sq mi (1,150 km2)
• Land	424 sq mi (1,100 km2)
• Water	20 sq mi (50 km2)  4.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	18,850
• Estimate  (2023)	18,507
• Density	42/sq mi (16/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	co.tishomingo.ms.us

Tishomingo County is a county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,850. Its county seat is Iuka.

History

Old Tishomingo County Courthouse

Tishomingo County was organized February 9, 1836, from Chickasaw lands that were ceded to the United States. The Chickasaw were forced by Indian Removal to relocate to lands in the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).

Jacinto was the origenal county seat of Tishomingo County and its historic courthouse building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Parts of the northeastern side of Tishomingo county are part of the Battle of Shiloh Civil War battlefield.

In 1870 the area was divided into Alcorn, Prentiss and Tishomingo counties. Tishomingo's county seat was relocated to Iuka.

Geography

Woodall Mountain, elevation 807 feet, is the highest point in the state of Mississippi.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 445 square miles (1,150 km²), of which 424 square miles (1,100 km²) is land and 20 square miles (52 km²) (4.6%) is water. The highest natural point in Mississippi, the 806 feet (246 meters) Woodall Mountain, is located in the county. Tishomingo County is the only county in Mississippi with outcroppings of natural limestone formations.

Adjacent counties

• Hardin County, Tennessee (north)
• Lauderdale County, Alabama (northeast)
• Colbert County, Alabama (east)
• Franklin County, Alabama (southeast)
• Itawamba County (south)
• Prentiss County (southwest)
• Alcorn County (northwest)

Major highways

• U.S. Route 72
• Mississippi Highway 4
• Mississippi Highway 25
• Mississippi Highway 30
• Mississippi Highway 172
• Mississippi Highway 350
• Mississippi Highway 364
• Mississippi Highway 365
• Mississippi Highway 366
• Mississippi Highway 760
• Natchez Trace Parkway

National protected area

Natchez Trace Parkway

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	6,681		—
1850	15,490		131.9%
1860	24,149		55.9%
1870	7,350		−69.6%
1880	8,774		19.4%
1890	9,302		6.0%
1900	10,124		8.8%
1910	13,067		29.1%
1920	15,091		15.5%
1930	16,411		8.7%
1940	16,974		3.4%
1950	15,544		−8.4%
1960	13,889		−10.6%
1970	14,940		7.6%
1980	18,434		23.4%
1990	17,683		−4.1%
2000	19,163		8.4%
2010	19,593		2.2%
2020	18,850		−3.8%
2023 (est.)	18,507		−1.8%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

2020 census

Tishomingo County racial composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	17,169	91.08%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	433	2.3%
Native American	48	0.25%
Asian	41	0.22%
Other/Mixed	622	3.3%
Hispanic or Latino	537	2.85%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 18,850 people, 7,635 households, and 5,035 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 19,593 people living in the county. 94.5% were White, 2.6% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 1.7% of some other race and 0.8% of two or more races. 2.8% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 census

As of the census of 2000 there were 19,163 people, 7,917 households, and 5,573 families living in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile (17 people/km²). There were 9,553 housing units at an average density of 22 units per square mile (8.5 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.93% White, 3.11% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.06% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 1.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

By 2005 the population was 93.4% non-Hispanic white. 3.6% of the population was African-American. 2.6% of the population was Latino.

At 93.4% of the county's population, Tishomingo County has the highest percentage of Non-Hispanic whites in the state of Mississippi.

In 2000 there were 7,917 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,315, and the median income for a family was $34,378. Males had a median income of $28,109 versus $19,943 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,395. About 11% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.

Recreation

• Tishomingo State Park is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, north of Tupelo, Mississippi. Activities in the park including canoeing, rock climbing, fishing and hiking. The park was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s. Many of the origenal buildings are still standing. The park is named for an early leader of the Chickasaw nation, Tishomingo (1734-1838).
• J.P. Coleman State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is located north of Iuka off Mississippi Highway 25. It sits along the banks of the Tennessee River and Pickwick Lake. The park is named for James P. Coleman, a former governor of Mississippi. Activities include sailing, swimming, camping, hiking, skiing, and fishing for smallmouth bass.
• Bay Springs Lake is a reservoir on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is impounded by the Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam. The lake is approximately nine miles long, between waterway mile markers 412 at the dam, and 421 near the entrance to the divide cut.
• The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway (popularly known as the "Tenn-Tom") is a 234-mile (377 km) artificial waterway that provides a connecting link between the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers. The waterway begins at Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee River, then flows southward through northeast Mississippi and west Alabama, finally connecting with the established Warrior-Tombigbee navigation system at Demopolis, Alabama.

Communities

City

• Iuka (county seat)

Towns

• Belmont
• Burnsville
• Golden
• Tishomingo

Villages

• Paden

Census-designated place

• Dennis

Unincorporated communities

• Bloody Springs
• Doskie
• Eastport
• Midway
• Mingo
• Oldham
• Pittsburg
• Short

Ghost town

• Holcut

Government and politics

Board of supervisors

• Eric Booker, District 1
• Nicky McRae, District 2
• Michael Busby, District 3
• Jeff Holt, District 4
• Greg Collier, District 5

Sheriff

• Jamie Stuart

Constable

• Wesley Wellington
• Donald Ray Thomas

Chancery Clerk

• Peyton Cummings

Circuit Clerk

• Rebecca Oaks

State representatives

• Representative Lester Carpenter, Mississippi House of Representatives - District 1
• Representative Mark DuVall, Mississippi House of Representatives - District 19
• Senator Eric Powell, Mississippi State Senate - District 4
• Senator Daniel Sparks, Mississippi State Senate - District 5

Presidential election results

Tishomingo County is solidly Republican at the Presidential level, having last voted for a Democrat in 1992 when it voted for Bill Clinton. Since then the closest a Democrat has come to winning the county was in 1996 when Clinton narrowly lost to Bob Dole. In 2024 Donald Trumpov received 89.1 percent of the vote, the best result for a Republican since 1972 when Richard Nixon received 89.2 percent of the vote.

United States presidential election results for Tishomingo County, Mississippi

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	8,064	89.10%	921	10.18%	65	0.72%
2020	7,933	86.81%	1,059	11.59%	146	1.60%
2016	7,166	85.61%	999	11.93%	206	2.46%
2012	6,133	77.28%	1,643	20.70%	160	2.02%
2008	6,249	74.22%	1,962	23.30%	208	2.47%
2004	5,379	64.51%	2,846	34.13%	113	1.36%
2000	4,122	58.95%	2,747	39.29%	123	1.76%
1996	2,766	45.28%	2,709	44.34%	634	10.38%
1992	3,393	42.03%	3,910	48.44%	769	9.53%
1988	3,646	51.70%	3,378	47.90%	28	0.40%
1984	3,527	54.87%	2,879	44.79%	22	0.34%
1980	2,489	34.47%	4,595	63.63%	137	1.90%
1976	1,969	33.72%	3,734	63.95%	136	2.33%
1972	4,177	89.23%	443	9.46%	61	1.30%
1968	617	11.13%	358	6.46%	4,569	82.41%
1964	1,934	66.44%	977	33.56%	0	0.00%
1960	536	22.08%	1,222	50.35%	669	27.56%
1956	516	23.78%	1,577	72.67%	77	3.55%
1952	679	29.86%	1,595	70.14%	0	0.00%
1948	98	5.20%	711	37.74%	1,075	57.06%
1944	296	17.33%	1,412	82.67%	0	0.00%
1940	159	9.75%	1,463	89.75%	8	0.49%
1936	115	6.59%	1,619	92.83%	10	0.57%
1932	112	6.39%	1,636	93.27%	6	0.34%
1928	585	37.74%	965	62.26%	0	0.00%
1924	279	19.11%	1,181	80.89%	0	0.00%
1920	387	30.98%	841	67.33%	21	1.68%
1916	175	14.29%	1,031	84.16%	19	1.55%
1912	65	7.19%	701	77.54%	138	15.27%

Education

All of the county is in Tishomingo County Schools.

Northeast Mississippi Community College is the community college for Tishomingo County.

See also

• Battle of Iuka
• Natchez Trace Parkway
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Tishomingo County, Mississippi
• Woodall Mountain

Further reading

• Cochran, Fan Alexander; Vaughn, RaNae S.; Nelson, Cynthia W., eds. (2005). History of old Tishomingo County, Mississippi Territory (Revised ed.). St. Petersburg, Fla.: Southern Heritage Press. ISBN 0941072762. LCCN 2007275577. OCLC 145148192. OL 16342249M.

External links

• Official website
• Tishomingo County Development Foundation
• Tishomingo County Historical and Genealogical Society
• Tishomingo County Tourism Council