Charleston, Mississippi

The original county seat, Old Tillatoba, was discovered to have a defective land title, so the seat was removed to Charleston in 1837. The Charleston Female school, established in 1852, flourished for several years. The Tallahatchie Herald, a Democratic weekly newspaper, was established in 1892. In 1901, the Charleston Bank was established. By the early 1900s, Charleston had a brick courthouse and jail, three churches, schools, a Masonic hall, an Odd Fellows lodge, and two cotton gins. Its leading agricultural staple was cotton. The population in 1906 was 800. ==Geography==

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.73% is water. It is also situated on the northern end of the concurrency of Mississippi Highways 32 and 35. The city's official nickname is "Gateway to the Delta". ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Charleston had a population of 1,884. The median age was 39.5 years. 27.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 78.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 73.2 males age 18 and over. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas. There were 702 households in Charleston, of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 25.9% were married-couple households, 19.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 48.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2000, there were 2,198 people, 848 households, and 569 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 933 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 39.26% White, 59.69% Black, 0.36% Asian, 0.05% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.55% of the population. There were 848 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.5% were married couples living together, 28.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $18,208, and the median income for a family was $24,750. Males had a median income of $26,500 versus $16,406 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,835. About 30.7% of families and 34.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 49.4% of those under age 18 and 29.1% of those age 65 or over. ==Education==

The City of Charleston is served by the East Tallahatchie School District. Before 1970, a dual system of schools, one for black students and another for whites was maintained. In 1970, the federal courts mandated in Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education that the schools be integrated, and the school district adopted a plan by which classrooms remained segregated, but during the course of the school day entire classes of children and teachers were bused between East Tallahatchie High School and Allen Carver High School. The black students of Allen Carver protested, and the sheriff arrested 125 of them and sent them to the state penitentiary at Parchman. After intervention by the federal Community Relations Service, the students were allowed to reenter school and makeup missed exams. The classrooms were integrated, new elections were held for student government, and some black cheerleaders were added. Charleston High School held its first racially integrated prom in April 2008. This event was the subject of the 2008 HBO documentary Prom Night in Mississippi. The documentary focused on Charleston High School and the efforts to have a mixed prom instead of the traditional racially segregated proms. Strider Academy, near the city, closed in 2018. Coahoma Community College is the designated community college. ==Notable people==

• Mose Allison, blues singer and pianist • Eldra Buckley, former running back for the NFL's Detroit Lions • Brad Dye, former lieutenant governor of Mississippi • Morgan Freeman, Academy Award-winning actor currently resides in Charleston • Deantre Prince, cornerback for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars • Jamie Whitten, congressman. ==References==