Stone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,333. Its county seat is Wiggins. Stone County was formed from the northern portion of Harrison County on June 5, 1916. The county was named for John M. Stone, who served as Governor of Mississippi from 1876 to 1882 and again from 1890 to 1896. Stone County is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1918, the Stone County Courthouse was completed at a cost of $29,515.18, and is still in use today, after several renovations.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water.

Major highways

  • 20px U.S. Highway 49
  • 20px Mississippi Highway 15
  • 20px Mississippi Highway 26
  • 20px Mississippi Highway 29

Adjacent counties

  • Perry County (northeast)
  • George County (east)
  • Jackson County (southeast)
  • Harrison County (south)
  • Pearl River County (west)
  • Forrest County (northwest)

National protected areas

  • De Soto National Forest (part)
  • Sweetbay Bogs Preserve

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Stone 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)

|7,430

|8,326

|10,724

|13,820

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,822

|76.47%

|77.45%

|78.73%

|77.70%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |75.39%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|2,162

|2,335

|2,591

|3,395

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,239

|22.25%

|21.72%

|19.02%

|19.09%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |17.67%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|13

|20

|30

|86

|style='background: #ffffe6; |79

|0.13%

|0.19%

|0.22%

|0.48%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.43%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|20

|14

|21

|57

|style='background: #ffffe6; |89

|0.21%

|0.13%

|0.15%

|0.32%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.49%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|3

|5

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9

|x

|x

|0.02%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.05%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|4

|1

|6

|13

|style='background: #ffffe6; |72

|0.04%

|0.01%

|0.04%

|0.07%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.39%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|77

|171

|style='background: #ffffe6; |579

|x

|x

|0.57%

|0.96%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.16%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|87

|54

|170

|239

|style='background: #ffffe6; |444

|0.90%

|0.50%

|1.25%

|1.34%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.42%

|-

|Total

|9,716

|10,750

|13,622

|17,786

|style='background: #ffffe6; |18,333

|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 18,333. The median age was 39.4 years. 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 108.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 108.7 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 76.0% White, 17.7% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.4% from some other race, and 3.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.4% of the population.

There were 6,572 households in the county, of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.2% were married-couple households, 17.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. During the previous 8 years, a Telling Trees Project was developed in Stone County to document and celebrate Stone County's history and heritage. As part of that project, 23 murals, in the form of paintings and mosaic tiles, were created in cooperation with the Art Department, Perkinston campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and are on public display throughout the county. The murals tell visual stories of Stone County's ecosystems, people, landmarks, and industries.

Communities

Cities

  • Wiggins (county seat)

Census-designated place

  • Bond

Unincorporated communities

  • Beatrice
  • Big Level
  • McHenry
  • Perkinston
  • Ramsey Springs
  • Silver Run
  • Ten Mile
  • Texas

Education

Public school districts

  • Stone County School District

Colleges

  • Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Perkinston Campus

Politics

Stone County has been a Republican stronghold for decades. The last Democrat to carry it was Jimmy Carter in 1976. In recent elections the county has been especially friendly to Republicans; Donald Trump in 2024 earned the highest share of the vote for any Republican since Nixon in 1972.

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See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Stone County, Mississippi
  • Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain
  • Sweetbay Bogs Preserve
  • List of Mississippi Landmarks in Stone County

References

  • Mississippi Courthouses – Stone County