Tunica, MS

Tunica is the incorporated town and county seat of Tunica County, Mississippi, near the east bank of the Mississippi River and the Blues Highway. The 2020 census counted 1,026 residents. River Road, Main Street, the county courthouse, town hall, police department, public works, water system, and Veterans Park make the local government easy to find on the ground. Main Street's shops and the Tunica County Museum add a small commercial and historical center, while the Tunica County School District keeps Tunica Elementary and Tunica Middle School on School Street.

The county seat moved to Tunica in 1888 to get closer to the railroad, and the courthouse and jail that followed helped establish the historic center. The old 1894 jail remains part of the Tunica Historic District, alongside the later courthouse. The town's practical map reaches north toward the separate Tunica Resorts census-designated place, where the casino corridor is located, but that is a different community. Tunica itself is the courthouse town: county offices, schools, local utilities, Main Street, and the river road carry the daily rhythm.