Abstract
Clarksdale is located in Coahoma County in the northern part of the Mississippi Delta, that huge expanse of rich alluvial soils extending generally from Memphis, Tennessee in the north, to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south.
Clarksdale became the centre of the cotton industry in the Delta, and the town developed an industrial base that was typically associated with agriculture. Mechanisation was introduced to the cotton industry in 1944 at nearby Hopson Plantation, leading to the exodus of many displaced workers and their families from the Delta to larger cities, mainly in the north, in search of employment. As a result, Clarksdale’s role in business and commerce contracted, leading to a loss in economic activity and population.
Today, the town’s economy is essentially services based, including an increasing role for cultural tourism that builds on Delta culture and hospitality.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adams, S. C. (1947). Changing Negro Life in the Delta. In R. Gordon & B. Nemerov (Eds.), Lost Delta Found: Rediscovering the Fisk University – Library of Congress Coahoma County Study, 1941–1942. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. 2005.
Bearden, W. (2005). Cotton – From Southern Fields to the Memphis Market. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing.
Clarksdale – Coahoma County. (1936). One Hundred Years of Progress in the Mississippi Delta, Centennial Edition, 1836–1936.
Clarksdale Press Register. (2018a). Three Decades and Counting. In Profile 2018.
Clarksdale Press Register. (2018b). Taking Off in Clarksdale. In Profile 2018.
Cobb, J. C. (1992). The Most Southern Place on Earth – The Mississippi Delta and the Roots of Regional Identity. New York: Oxford University Press.
Henshall, J. C. (2008). Downtown Clarksdale – An Action Plan for Economic Revitalization. Melbourne: Essential Economics.
Lemann, N. (1991). The Promised Land – The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America. New York: Vintage Books.
Lomax, A. (1993). The Land Where the Blues Began. New York: The New Press.
US Bureau of Statistics, 2000 and 2010 Census and Other Publications, Including American Community Survey 2012–2016.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Henshall, J.C. (2019). Clarksdale, the Delta, and the Economy. In: Downtown Revitalisation and Delta Blues in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2107-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2107-8_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2106-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-2107-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)