Rosedale, Mississippi
Encyclopedia
Rosedale is a city in Bolivar County
, Mississippi
, United States
. The population was 2,414 at the 2000 census.
It is the same "Rosedale" that blues
man Robert Johnson referenced in his song "Traveling Riverside Blues." Locals claim that Johnson sold his soul to the Devil at the intersection of Mississippi state highways 1 and 8, on the south end of town, and that he tells this story metaphorically in "Cross Road Blues
". However, a number of other Delta
municipalities claim that the transaction took place in or near their boundaries.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14.2 km²), of which 5.4 square miles (14 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) is water, for a total of 1.27% water.
Rosedale is situated on the eastern side of the Mississippi River
, approximately midway between the mouths of the Arkansas
and White
Rivers, which flow into the Mississippi from the Arkansas (western) side.
of 2000, there were 2,414 people, 780 households, and 567 families residing in the city. The population density
was 444.2 people per square mile (171.6/km²). There were 842 housing units at an average density of 154.9 per square mile (59.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 16.86% White, 82.02% African American, 0.37% Asian, 0.17% from other races
, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 780 households out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.2% were married couples
living together, 37.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.56.
In the city the population was spread out with 34.9% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $17,955, and the median income for a family was $18,810. Males had a median income of $24,922 versus $15,714 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $8,534. About 43.3% of families and 46.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 58.6% of those under age 18 and 34.6% of those age 65 or over.
, some freedmen managed to clear and buy land in the bottomlands, with many becoming landowners before the end of the nineteenth century. By 1910, declining conditions had forced most to lose their land. Others stayed to work as sharecroppers and laborers. Beginning in the early twentieth century, thousands of blacks left Mississippi as part of the Great Migration
, north by railroad to Chicago
and other Midwestern industrial cities, but others remained where they had been for generations, with strong local ties.
The Mississippi Blues Commission placed a historic marker at Rosedale's former Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad
depot site, designating it as a site on the Mississippi Blues Trail
. The marker commemorates the sites in the original lyrics of legendary
blues artist Robert Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues
." He traced the railway route which ran south from Friars Point to Rosedale among other stops, including Vicksburg
and north to Memphis
. The marker emphasizes that a common theme of blues songs was riding on the railroad, which was seen as a metaphor
for travel and escape. It also commemorates another common blues theme, life on the banks of a moody river bank, a theme heard in Charlie Patton
's "High Water Everywhere."
Bolivar County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 40,633 people, 13,776 households, and 9,725 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 people per square mile . There were 14,939 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 2,414 at the 2000 census.
It is the same "Rosedale" that blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
man Robert Johnson referenced in his song "Traveling Riverside Blues." Locals claim that Johnson sold his soul to the Devil at the intersection of Mississippi state highways 1 and 8, on the south end of town, and that he tells this story metaphorically in "Cross Road Blues
Cross Road Blues
"Cross Road Blues" is a song by Delta Blues singer Robert Johnson; released on a 78 rpm record in 1936 by Vocalion Records, catalogue 3519. The original version remained out of print after its initial release until the appearance of The Complete Recordings in 1990...
". However, a number of other Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
municipalities claim that the transaction took place in or near their boundaries.
Geography
Rosedale is located at 33°51′13"N 91°1′37"W (33.853747, -91.026829).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14.2 km²), of which 5.4 square miles (14 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) is water, for a total of 1.27% water.
Rosedale is situated on the eastern side of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, approximately midway between the mouths of the Arkansas
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
and White
White River (Arkansas)
The White River is a 722-mile long river that flows through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Missouri.-Course:The source of the White River is in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest southeast of Fayetteville...
Rivers, which flow into the Mississippi from the Arkansas (western) side.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 2,414 people, 780 households, and 567 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 444.2 people per square mile (171.6/km²). There were 842 housing units at an average density of 154.9 per square mile (59.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 16.86% White, 82.02% African American, 0.37% Asian, 0.17% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 780 households out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 37.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.56.
In the city the population was spread out with 34.9% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $17,955, and the median income for a family was $18,810. Males had a median income of $24,922 versus $15,714 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $8,534. About 43.3% of families and 46.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 58.6% of those under age 18 and 34.6% of those age 65 or over.
History
This area in the nineteenth century was one of extensive cotton plantations, with enslaved laborers. After the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, some freedmen managed to clear and buy land in the bottomlands, with many becoming landowners before the end of the nineteenth century. By 1910, declining conditions had forced most to lose their land. Others stayed to work as sharecroppers and laborers. Beginning in the early twentieth century, thousands of blacks left Mississippi as part of the Great Migration
Great Migration (African American)
The Great Migration was the movement of 6 million blacks out of the Southern United States to the Northeast, Midwest, and West from 1910 to 1970. Some historians differentiate between a Great Migration , numbering about 1.6 million migrants, and a Second Great Migration , in which 5 million or more...
, north by railroad to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and other Midwestern industrial cities, but others remained where they had been for generations, with strong local ties.
The Mississippi Blues Commission placed a historic marker at Rosedale's former Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad
Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad
The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad was incorporated in 1882 and was part of the Illinois Central Railroad system . Construction began in Jackson, Mississippi, and continued to Yazoo City, Mississippi. The line was later expanded through the Mississippi Delta and on to Memphis, Tennessee...
depot site, designating it as a site on the Mississippi Blues Trail
Mississippi Blues Trail
The Mississippi Blues Trail, created by the Mississippi Blues Commission, is a project to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the growth of the blues throughout the state of Mississippi. The trail extends from the border of Louisiana in southern Mississippi...
. The marker commemorates the sites in the original lyrics of legendary
blues artist Robert Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues
Traveling Riverside Blues
"Travelling Riverside Blues," sometimes called "Mudbone" or "Mud Bone," is a blues song written and recorded in Dallas, Texas by the bluesman Robert Johnson...
." He traced the railway route which ran south from Friars Point to Rosedale among other stops, including Vicksburg
Vicksburg
Vicksburg is the name of some places in the United States of America:* Vicksburg, Florida* Vicksburg, Indiana* Vicksburg, Michigan* Vicksburg, Mississippi** The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign...
and north to Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. The marker emphasizes that a common theme of blues songs was riding on the railroad, which was seen as a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
for travel and escape. It also commemorates another common blues theme, life on the banks of a moody river bank, a theme heard in Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton , better known as Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician. He is considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", and is credited with creating an enduring body of American music and personally inspiring just about every Delta blues man...
's "High Water Everywhere."
External links
- Rosedale, Mississippi, photo album, Nostalgiaville