The middle Claiborne Kosciusko Formation is one of the primary water supplies for much of central and northwestern Mississippi. The formation consists of fluvial and deltaic sand, clay, and lignite, all of which comprises of a complex depositional system. In west-central Mississippi, the Kosciusko Formation contains upper and lower aquifer sands. These sand bodies rank fourth among the eleven most valuable water-bearing units in the state. The formation varies in thickness from approximately 1,000 feet (305 meters) near the Mississippi River in western Claiborne County to approximately 250 feet (76 meters) in Clarke County before grading to shale southward. This depositional systems analysis maps the net sands within the Kosciusko Formation using high-quality geophysical logs where possible. Sand body geometries, based on the net sand maps within this these, are compared with those of modern depositional systems to find modern analogues that best characterize the Kosciusko Formation.

Detailed petrography, geochemistry, and palynology together describe the depositional environments and paleoecology of an abandoned meander-fill system in western Kentucky. Oriented block petrography reveals alternating clay-rich and attrinite-rich zones of variable thickness. Woody tissues, where present, do not show dessication features and deflation layers could not be identified. Overall, petrography is indicative of a topogenous mire. Mire palyno-assemblages are less diverse than assemblages reported from clays in the region. Castanea-Cupuliferoidaepollenites assemblages dominate the entire system and other tree pollen are common; fungal spores are relatively uncommon. Weighted statistical analyses reveal ecological groupings beyond this dominance and define botanical succession within the mire. The nearestliving- relative method for determining paleoclimate indicates temperate to warm temperate conditions during deposition. Palynology indicates a Claibornian stage, middle Eocene age for the deposit.

In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase doubled the territory of the fledgling United States. Taking control of and defending the new territory, especially the culturally heterogeneous city of New Orleans occupied much of the administration's time. Most of the burden for establishing the defense policy rested on William C. C. Claiborne, a staunch Jeffersonian, former member of Congress from Tennessee, and previous governor of the Mississippi Territory. By working with local business leaders with a stake in American success, observing the local customs and traditions, and gradually encouraging political participation, Claiborne successfully introduced the American militia system to a culture far different from that of his native Virginia. Claiborne's policies reduced the likelihood that local dissidents and foreign powers such as Spain and Great Britain could conspire to subvert American government in Louisiana by rebellion and invasion.

The Claiborne site in Hancock County, Mississippi has been considered part of a culture within Poverty Point’s control since it’s discovery in the 1950’s. In this study, I sampled and ran new five new radiocarbon dates from the collections at Mississippi State University. I then created a chronometric hygiene scale, ranked the new and current dates, removed dates from models that did not have the criteria needed to continue. This thesis created a new chronology for the site, placing it within the timeline of Poverty Point but also related it to the Archaic shell mounds in Southeastern North America.

Increased groundwater withdrawals associated with agricultural irrigation in the Jackson Purchase have prompted questions related to groundwater availability and sustainability. Key factors in addressing these questions are understanding the extent and variation in thickness of the local hydrostratigraphic system, which is the upper part of the Mississippi Embayment aquifer system. Correlations of 70 gamma-ray well logs, and 49 resistivity logs were made across parts of the Jackson Purchase in Fulton and Hickman Counties in order to delineate the upper Claiborne aquifer and middle Claiborne confining unit. Commercial software (i.e. Petra 3.8.3) was used to generate cross sections, structure and isopach maps of the upper Claiborne aquifer, middle Claiborne confining unit, and middle Claiborne aquifer. The structure and isopach maps show the upper Claiborne aquifer and middle Claiborne confining unit thickening and dipping southwest into the embayment. In an effort to test different methods for mapping these hydrostatic units in the shallow sub-surface, surface electrical resistivity and a seismic walkaway sounding were acquired and compared with downhole geophysical logs at two well-constrained sites to test their limits for resolving these hydrostratigraphic units. Both electric resistivity and seismic geophysical methods were best able to image the Claiborne aquifer system when used together.

William C. C. Claiborne found himself a stranger in a strange land. Almost more a colonial governor of a European power rather than an American statesman, Claiborne grappled with maintaining a militia force for the Territory of Orleans, now the present day state of Louisiana. He built upon the volunteer companies he found within the city of New Orleans, but had little success molding the entire militia into an effective, efficient military force. Claiborne, hoping to use the fear generated by the January 1811 slave revolt to spur militia reform, maintained an active correspondence with the state's legislators, the area's military commanders, the members of the Louisiana congressional delegation, and even the President of the United States for assistance with militia matters. Ultimately, Claiborne failed and the British attack on New Orleans in 1814/1815 made the matter of reform academic.

With the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, the interstate system included an elevated segment of Interstate 10 constructed over Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana. The I-10 Claiborne Expressway provided access to downtown by destroying a tree-lined boulevard and contributing to the decline of an African American neighborhood. In 2005, after hurricane Katrina, several community-based plans proposed that the elevated I-10 Claiborne Expressway be removed. This thesis compares the removal proposals to the decision making processes of five case cities that have removed expressways. Necessary conditions were applied to all expressway removal cases. Currently, the I-10 Claiborne Expressway decision making process lacks defined structural integrity and safety concerns, a reduction in the value of freeways by power brokers, documented support of the business community and “selling” of idea by a public agency. These conditions were necessary to the decision to remove expressways in all case cities.

Located outside of Alexandria, Louisiana, Camp Claiborne was temporarily home to more than 500,000 U.S. servicemen and women during its short existence. Thousands of German prisoners of war also were held for more than two years in a section of the camp. Racial problems stemming from the policies of Jim Crow South and the blatant inequality eventually led to an African American mutiny within the camp. The events from 1944 to 1946 at Camp Claiborne provide insight into the mindsets of white Southerners and the generation of African Americans who would influence the major civil rights victories in the following decades.

The German Coast Project explores the early nineteenth century history of the Louisiana’s German Coast, spanning its formative years, the 1811 Slave Revolt, and the aftermath of the revolt, through the perspective of the Andry family. The website is powered through Omeka software, which creates a historical exhibition of compiled research. In addition, ArcGIS contributed to the website’s construction, as it allowed for the inclusion of interactive programs and maps within the website. Designed for high school students and genealogists, The German Coast Project creates new scholarship pertaining to the German Coast and the 1811 Slave Revolt, through the often-overlooked perspective of the Andry family. The primary theme of the project is to portray how Manuel Andry and his family were able to prosper financially after the 1811 Slave Revolt, even though they suffered a heavy emotional loss.