Rolling Fork, Mississippi

Rolling Fork is a city and county seat of Sharkey County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 1,883.

History
Thomas Y. Chaney settled here in 1828, and was the first European-American settler in the area. The Choctaw, longtime indigenous occupants, had been forced out by new settler pressure and government treaties to gain their land.

Deer Creek flows through the settlement. Chaney called the place "Rolling Fork" because of the swiftness of the water at a fork in the creek there. A post office was established in 1848.

When Sharkey County was established in 1876, during the Reconstruction era, Rolling Fork was made the county seat. A newspaper, The Deer Creek Pilot, was established in 1884.

The Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway was built through Rolling Fork in 1883. It was later acquired by the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1908, the Bank of Rolling Fork was established.

Since 2002, the town has hosted an annual October festival called the Great Delta Bear Affair, originally commemorating President Theodore Roosevelt’s bear hunt in 1902 in Sharkey County. During each festival, an artist carves a new wooden statue of a bear which is then added to the town's streets.

2023 tornado
On March 24, 2023, shortly after 8:00 p.m. CDT, Rolling Fork was struck by a destructive and deadly high end EF4 tornado, with winds of 195 mph. The tornado formed from a supercell thunderstorm in northern Issaquena County, whereupon it moved northeast towards and into Rolling Fork. The National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency for the community shortly before the storm entered the town and dealt catastrophic damage to many structures. The town's post office, city hall, and police department lost parts of or the entirety of their roofs. Multiple businesses—some of metal or brick construction—were completely destroyed, in addition to dozens of houses and mobile homes. One of the town's water towers was blown over, two grain trucks were thrown into each other, power lines were knocked down, and trees were uprooted, some even debarked. The tornado killed 17 people in Rolling Fork and nearby Midnight and Silver City, while injuring 165 more. Following the tornado, Rolling Fork's existing tornado siren was repaired and a new siren was donated and installed on the opposite side of the town.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.4 sqmi, all land.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 1,883 people, 857 households, and 498 families residing in the city.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,486 people, 820 households, and 620 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,774.2 PD/sqmi. There were 875 housing units at an average density of 624.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was
 * 69.19% African American,
 * 29.69% White,
 * 0.04% Native American,
 * 0.32% Asian, and 0.76% from two or more races.
 * Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population.

There were 820 households, out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% were married couples living together, 32.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. Of all households, 22.2% were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.40.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.8% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,081, and the median income for a family was $24,911. Males had a median income of $25,729 versus $17,065 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,481. About 30.6% of families and 37.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 50.0% of those under age 18 and 24.6% of those age 65 or over.

Public schools
The city of Rolling Fork is served by the South Delta School District. The district has three schools with a total enrollment of approximately 1,300 students.

Private schools

 * Sharkey-Issaquena Academy

Notable people

 * Robert Colby, songwriter and theater producer
 * Tommy Davidson, actor and professional comedian
 * Johnny Dyer, blues musician
 * Jack Holmes, professional football player
 * Larry Smith, professional basketball player
 * Willie Mae Ford Smith, gospel singer
 * Slick Watts, professional basketball player
 * Fielding L. Wright, Governor of Mississippi and 1948 vice-presidential candidate