Claiborne County /

Claiborne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2010, the population was 9,604. Its county seat is Port Gibson. The county is named after William C. C. Claiborne, the second governor of the Mississippi Territory. According to the United States Census Bureau, Claiborne County has the third-largest percentage of black residents of any American county, with an 84 percent majority of the population being African-American. Claiborne County was home to a little known but profound African-American civil rights struggle during the middle of the 20th century. According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 501.36 square miles (1,298.5 km), of which 486.77 square miles (1,260.7 km) (or 97.09%) is land and 14.59 square miles (37.8 km) (or 2.91%) is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 11,831 people, 3,685 households, and 2,531 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 4,252 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.11% Black or African American, 15.18% White, 0.05% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.10% from other races,