Vicksburg, Mississippi | |
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![]() Old Warren County Courthouse ("Old Courthouse Museum") | |
Nicknames: | |
![]() Location of Vicksburg in Warren County, Mississippi (left) and of Warren County in Mississippi | |
Location of Vicksburg in Mississippi | |
Coordinates: 32°20′10″N 90°52′31″W / 32.33611°N 90.87528°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Mississippi |
County | Warren |
Incorporated | February 15, 1839 |
Named for | Newitt Vick |
Government | |
• Mayor | George Flaggs Jr. |
Area | |
• City | 35.09 sq mi (90.89 km2) |
• Land | 33.02 sq mi (85.51 km2) |
• Water | 2.08 sq mi (5.38 km2) |
Elevation | 240 ft (82 m) |
Population (2020) | |
• City | 21,573 |
• Density | 653.39/sq mi (252.28/km2) |
• 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 | City of Vicksburg |
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population as of 2020 was 21,573.
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.
During the American Civil War, it was a key Confederate river-port, and its July 1863 surrender to Ulysses S. Grant, along with the concurrent Battle of Gettysburg, marked the turning-point of the war. The city is home to three large installations of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which has often been involved in local flood control.
Main article: History of Vicksburg, Mississippi |
The area that is now Vicksburg was long occupied by the Natchez Native Americans as part of their historical territory along the Mississippi. The first Europeans who settled the area were French colonists who built Fort Saint Pierre in 1719 on the high bluffs overlooking the Yazoo River at present-day Redwood. They conducted fur trading with the Natchez and others, and started plantations.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.3 sq mi (91 km2), of which 32.9 sq mi (85 km2) are land and 2.4 sq mi (6.2 km2) (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. Vicksburg is also served by Interstate 20. The interstate opens Vicksburg with a cloverleaf interchange that heads out to U.S. Route 61 North towards Rolling Fork, Mississippi, Clarksdale, Mississippi, and stretches out for another 77 miles towards Memphis, Tennessee. On the south part of the exit, it heads on Mississippi Highway 27 towards Utica, Mississippi. As the interstate goes on it makes interchanges with Clay Street, Indiana Avenue, and Halls Ferry Road. After the downtown interchanges are over, before finally crossing in Louisiana with a cloverleaf interchange, I-20 makes a directional T interchange with US-61, and US-61 heads south toward Port Gibson, Mississippi, Natchez, Mississippi, and then continues for another 92 miles into Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Louisiana's capital city. Interstate 20 then continues to head west towards Monroe, Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana, Dallas, and lastly after 445 miles, making a trumpet interchange with Interstate 10 in Toyah, Texas.
Vicksburg has a humid subtropical climate with mild winters and hot, humid summers.
Climate data for Vicksburg, Mississippi (Vicksburg – Tallulah Regional Airport) 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1948–present | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 81 (27) |
86 (30) |
89 (32) |
92 (33) |
97 (36) |
102 (39) |
104 (40) |
106 (41) |
105 (41) |
98 (37) |
88 (31) |
83 (28) |
106 (41) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 76 (24) |
79 (26) |
83 (28) |
87 (31) |
91 (33) |
95 (35) |
97 (36) |
98 (37) |
96 (36) |
90 (32) |
82 (28) |
78 (26) |
99 (37) |
Average high °F (°C) | 57.2 (14.0) |
61.9 (16.6) |
69.6 (20.9) |
76.9 (24.9) |
84.3 (29.1) |
90.2 (32.3) |
92.6 (33.7) |
92.8 (33.8) |
88.4 (31.3) |
79.1 (26.2) |
67.8 (19.9) |
59.6 (15.3) |
76.7 (24.8) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 47.6 (8.7) |
51.8 (11.0) |
59.1 (15.1) |
66.2 (19.0) |
73.9 (23.3) |
80.4 (26.9) |
82.8 (28.2) |
82.4 (28.0) |
77.2 (25.1) |
66.6 (19.2) |
55.9 (13.3) |
49.7 (9.8) |
66.1 (18.9) |
Average low °F (°C) | 37.9 (3.3) |
41.7 (5.4) |
48.7 (9.3) |
55.5 (13.1) |
63.5 (17.5) |
70.6 (21.4) |
73.1 (22.8) |
72.0 (22.2) |
66.1 (18.9) |
54.0 (12.2) |
44.0 (6.7) |
39.7 (4.3) |
55.6 (13.1) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | 20 (−7) |
25 (−4) |
30 (−1) |
39 (4) |
49 (9) |
60 (16) |
66 (19) |
63 (17) |
51 (11) |
36 (2) |
27 (−3) |
23 (−5) |
18 (−8) |
Record low °F (°C) | −2 (−19) |
−12 (−24) |
11 (−12) |
28 (−2) |
37 (3) |
47 (8) |
54 (12) |
52 (11) |
34 (1) |
22 (−6) |
15 (−9) |
4 (−16) |
−12 (−24) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 5.44 (138) |
5.11 (130) |
5.02 (128) |
5.96 (151) |
3.85 (98) |
3.74 (95) |
4.05 (103) |
3.75 (95) |
3.00 (76) |
4.13 (105) |
3.92 (100) |
5.38 (137) |
53.35 (1,355) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.1 (0.25) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
trace | trace | 0.1 (0.25) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 9.3 | 10.1 | 9.9 | 8.4 | 9.5 | 9.1 | 9.7 | 9.4 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 8.7 | 10.1 | 108.5 |
Source: NOAA[4][5] |
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1850 | 3,678 | — | |
1860 | 4,591 | 24.8% | |
1870 | 12,443 | 171.0% | |
1880 | 11,814 | −5.1% | |
1890 | 13,373 | 13.2% | |
1900 | 14,834 | 10.9% | |
1910 | 20,814 | 40.3% | |
1920 | 18,072 | −13.2% | |
1930 | 22,943 | 27.0% | |
1940 | 24,460 | 6.6% | |
1950 | 27,948 | 14.3% | |
1960 | 29,143 | 4.3% | |
1970 | 25,478 | −12.6% | |
1980 | 25,434 | −0.2% | |
1990 | 20,908 | −17.8% | |
2000 | 26,407 | 26.3% | |
2010 | 23,856 | −9.7% | |
2020 | 21,573 | −9.6% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[6] 2018 Estimate[7] |
Race | Num. | Perc. |
---|---|---|
White | 5,974 | 27.69% |
Black or African American | 14,423 | 66.86% |
Native American | 27 | 0.13% |
Asian | 209 | 0.97% |
Other/Mixed | 537 | 2.49% |
Hispanic or Latino | 403 | 1.87% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 21,573 people, 8,969 households, and 4,864 families residing in the city.
In 2017, Emma Green of The Atlantic stated, "The Army Corps of Engineers sustains the town economically".[9]
Vicksburg is the home of four casinos along the Mississippi River.
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.
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.[12]
The City of Vicksburg is served by the Vicksburg-Warren School District.
Vicksburg Daily News,[14] Vicksburg's only locally owned amateur news source.
The Vicksburg Post,[15] formerly the Vicksburg Evening Post.
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 |
The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad and then the Illinois Central Railroad for several decades had passenger service through the city, at two different stations, one on Levee Street, and the other on Cherry Street. The IC's Planter went north to Memphis, Tennessee and south to New Orleans. The Chery Street station hosted the Northeastern Limited and an unnamed train east to Jackson and Meridian (sleeping car passengers could continue to New York; coach passengers could transfer at Meridian's Union Station to an Atlanta and New York bound train there), and the Southwestern Limited and another train west to Monroe and Shreveport's Union Station.[16][17] The final train serving Vicksburg was the Southwestern Limited/Northeastern Limited in 1967.
Interstate 20 runs east-west through the southern part of Vicksburg. U.S. Highway 80 runs east-west through the city. U.S. Highway 61 runs north-south through the city.
The nearest airport with commercial flights is Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport, 53.2 miles to the east of Vicksburg. Vicksburgh Tallulah Regional Airport and Vicksburg Municipal Airport, to the west and to the south of Vicksburg, are, on the other hand, two general aviation airports.