Jefferson Davis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,321. Its county seat is Prentiss. The county is named after Mississippi Senator and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The county was carved out of Covington and Lawrence counties in March 1906. Governor James K. Vardaman signed the bill creating the county on May 9, 1906.
History
The genesis of the county occurred on March 31, 1906, when a Mississippi state legislative act authorized the new country's boundaries. The residents of western Covington County and eastern Lawrence County had frequently complained of the rivers and streams impeding the route to their respective county seats. Jefferson Davis County was the state's 77th county.
A 1906 special referendum determined that the county seat would be Prentiss, named for either famed Mississippi lawmaker and orator Seargent Smith Prentiss, or wealthy landowner Prentiss Webb Berry. The settlement was originally named Blountville after early settler William Blount.
In 1933, the county was the first in Mississippi to issue a prohibition on alcohol after the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Round dancing in the community hall was banned in 1938.
In 1935, notorious bank robber Raymond Hamilton, known to hide out in the county's wilderness, was involved in a hostage situation after robbing Prentiss' Bank of Blountville, but escaped in Memphis.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Route 84
- 20px Mississippi Highway 13
- 20px Mississippi Highway 35
- 20px Mississippi Highway 42
- 20px Mississippi Highway 43
Adjacent counties
- Simpson County (north)
- Covington County (east)
- Lamar County (southeast)
- Marion County (south)
- Lawrence County (west)
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 1980
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|6,381
|6,324
|5,781
|4,802
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,330
|46.09%
|45.01%
|41.41%
|38.46%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |38.25%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|7,369
|7,640
|7,961
|7,461
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,622
|53.22%
|54.37%
|57.02%
|59.75%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |58.49%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|5
|21
|12
|32
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8
|0.04%
|0.15%
|0.09%
|0.26%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|13
|22
|18
|18
|style='background: #ffffe6; |21
|0.09%
|0.16%
|0.13%
|0.14%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.19%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|1
|2
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|x
|x
|0.01%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|5
|0
|5
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |16
|0.04%
|0.00%
|0.04%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.14%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|77
|68
|style='background: #ffffe6; |223
|x
|x
|0.55%
|0.54%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.97%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|73
|44
|107
|101
|style='background: #ffffe6; |101
|0.53%
|0.31%
|0.77%
|0.81%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.89%
|-
|Total
|13,846
|14,051
|13,962
|12,487
|style='background: #ffffe6; |11,321
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 11,321. The median age was 44.9 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.2 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 38.5% White, 58.7% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.4% from some other race, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 0.9% of the population.
There were 4,777 households in the county, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.3% were married-couple households, 21.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 37.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
<!-- PresRow should be -->
Historic sites
Jefferson Davis County Courthouse in Prentiss is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Education
All residents are zoned to the Jefferson Davis County School District.
The county is in the zone of Pearl River Community College.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi
References
External links
- Jefferson Davis County Website
- Mississippi Courthouses – Jefferson Davis County