Vicksburg, Mississippi
City
Old Warren County Courthouse ("Old Courthouse Museum")
Old Warren County Courthouse ("Old Courthouse Museum")
Nicknames: 
"Gibraltar of the Confederacy",[1] "Red Carpet City of the South"[2]
Location of Vicksburg in Warren County, Mississippi (left) and of Warren County in Mississippi
Location of Vicksburg in Warren County, Mississippi (left) and of Warren County in Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi is located in Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Location of Vicksburg in Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi is located in the United States
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi (the United States)
Coordinates: 32°20′10″N 90°52′31″W / 32.33611°N 90.87528°W / 32.33611; -90.87528
CountryUnited States
StateMississippi
CountyWarren
IncorporatedFebruary 15, 1839
Named forNewitt Vick
Government
 • MayorGeorge Flaggs Jr.
Area
[3]
 • City35.09 sq mi (90.89 km2)
 • Land33.02 sq mi (85.51 km2)
 • Water2.08 sq mi (5.38 km2)
Elevation
240 ft (82 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • City21,573
 • Density653.39/sq mi (252.28/km2)
 • Metro
57,433 (US: 162nd)
Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes
39180-39183
Area code(s)601 and 769
FIPS code28-76720
GNIS feature ID0679216
WebsiteCity of Vicksburg
Vicksburg City Hall, by architect James Riely Gordon
U.S. Post Office (former) and Courthouse in 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.

History

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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.

Geography

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.

Climate

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]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18503,678—
18604,59124.8%
187012,443171.0%
188011,814−5.1%
189013,37313.2%
190014,83410.9%
191020,81440.3%
192018,072−13.2%
193022,94327.0%
194024,4606.6%
195027,94814.3%
196029,1434.3%
197025,478−12.6%
198025,434−0.2%
199020,908−17.8%
200026,40726.3%
201023,856−9.7%
202021,573−9.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
2018 Estimate[7]
Vicksburg racial composition as of 2020[8]
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.

Economy

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2017)

In 2017, Emma Green of The Atlantic stated, "The Army Corps of Engineers sustains the town economically".[9]

Casinos

Vicksburg is the home of four casinos along the Mississippi River.

Arts and culture

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "Vicksburg, Mississippi" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

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

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.[12]

Education

Mississippi River at Vicksburg

The City of Vicksburg is served by the Vicksburg-Warren School District.

High schools

Junior high schools

Elementary schools

Private schools

Former schools

Media

Newspapers

Vicksburg Daily News,[14] Vicksburg's only locally owned amateur news source.

The Vicksburg Post,[15] formerly the Vicksburg Evening Post.

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

Transportation

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.

Notable people

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Cultural references

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mississippi's Rock of Gibraltar". Americas Library. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  2. ^ "Vicksburg, Mississippi Road Trip Guide". Road Trip USA. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  3. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  4. ^ "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "Station: Tallulah Vicksburg AP, LA". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  7. ^ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  9. ^ Green, Emma (May 1, 2017). "How Two Mississippi College Students Fell in Love and Decided to Join a Terrorist Group". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  10. ^ "James Riely Gordon: An Inventory of his Drawings and Papers, ca. 1890-1937". Lib.utexas.edu. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  11. ^ "Two New Books For Your Architectural Library « Preservation in Mississippi". Misspreservation.com. October 5, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  12. ^ "Sector Lower Mississippi River Organization". Uscg.mil. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982–1983 Through 1999–2002" (PDF). Ed.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 22, 2003. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  14. ^ Day., David (September 14, 2022). "Vicksburg Daily News". Vicksburg Daily News. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  15. ^ Reeves., Tim (May 23, 2018). "The Vicksburg Post". The Vicksburg Post. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  16. ^ "Illinois Central Railroad, Tables 40, 59". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 74 (1). June 1941.
  17. ^ "Illinois Central Railroad, Table 18". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 98 (8). January 1966.
  18. ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
  19. ^ "Scott Rogers, "Family imprint seen in Monroe a century after arrival", April 21, 2013". Monroe News-Star. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  20. ^ "William Denis Brown, III". Monroe News-Star, March 9, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  21. ^ Mississippi Writers and Musicians—Mississippi Artists (Caroline Russell Compton) Archived 2015-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Coy, Steve (March 27, 2012). "How I Started MFJ and Its Very Early Days". Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  23. ^ "Brad Leggett". DatabaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  24. ^ "Nevada Governor Vail Montgomery Pittman". National Governors Association. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  25. ^ "John Thomson Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  26. ^ Green, Emma (May 1, 2017). "How Two Mississippi College Students Fell in Love and Decided to Join a Terrorist Group". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 15, 2017.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Vicksburg.
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Municipalities and communities of Warren County, Mississippi, United States
State of Mississippi
County seats of Mississippi
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