Sunflower County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,971, and was estimated to be 22,893 in 2025.
Sunflower County comprises the Indianola, MS Micropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Cleveland-Indianola, MS Combined statistical area. It is located in the Mississippi Delta region.
Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm) is located in Sunflower County.
History
The land that became Sunflower County was ceded by the Choctaw under the 1831 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Sunflower County was created on February 15, 1844. The land mass encompassed most of Sunflower and Leflore Counties as we know them today. The first seat of government was Clayton, located near Fort Pemberton. Later the county seat was moved to McNutt, also in present-day Leflore County. When Sunflower and Leflore counties were separated in 1871, the new county seat for Sunflower County was moved to Johnsonville. This village was located where the north end of Mound Bayou empties into the Sunflower River. In 1882 the county seat was moved to Eureka, which was later renamed Indianola. Boyer Cemetery, located in Boyer, goes back to the early days of Sunflower County.
In 1870, 3,243 black people lived in Sunflower County. This increased to 12,070 in 1900, making up 75% of the residents in Sunflower County. Between 1900 and 1920, the black population almost tripled.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.30%) is water. It is the 19th largest county in Mississippi by total area.
Sunflower County is the longest county in Mississippi. The traveling distance from the southern boundary at Caile to its northern boundary at Rome is approximately 71 miles.
The center of the county is about east of the Mississippi River, about west of the hill section of Mississippi, north of Jackson, and about south of Memphis, Tennessee.
Adjacent counties
- Coahoma County (north)
- Tallahatchie County (northeast)
- Leflore County (east)
- Humphreys County (south)
- Washington County (southwest)
- Bolivar County (northwest)