Covington County, Mississippi

Covington County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 19,407. Its is. Covington County is named for U.S. Army officer and Congressman.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,075 (415 ). 1,072 km² (414 sq mi) of it is land and 3 km² (1 sq mi) of it (0.28%) is water.

Major Highways

 * [[Image:US 49.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 84.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Circle sign 35.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Circle sign 37.svg|20px]]

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 19,407 people, 7,126 households, and 5,280 families residing in the county. The was 18/km² (47/sq mi). There were 8,083 housing units at an average density of 8/km² (20/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 63.42%, 35.61% or , 0.13% , 0.12% , 0.02% , 0.15% from , and 0.56% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 7,126 households out of which 36.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.50% were living together, 17.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.90% were non-families. 23.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.80% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,669, and the median income for a family was $31,264. Males had a median income of $26,611 versus $18,371 for females. The for the county was $14,506. About 18.70% of families and 23.50% of the population were below the, including 31.60% of those under age 18 and 20.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

 * Cities


 * Towns


 * Unincorporated places

Commerce
One of the county's best-known businesses is Shady Acres, a fruit and vegetable stand selling a wide variety of fresh food and family recipe dishes.

Notable people from Covington County
is a top.

starred in 's Promised land and Major Dad, and made an appearance on CBS's Jericho.

was born in Covington County in and lived much of his life in. He reached No. 1 in the chart with I'm Leaving It Up To You, sung with his partner  of. He died in a  on,.


 * Covington County Courthouse Pictures

Covington County is known for its social conservatism. Mississippi, one of the most socially conservative states in the Union, voted for a statewide ban on same-sex marriage by a 86-14 percent vote. Covington County voted for the ban even more overwhelmingly, 89-11 percent.

Elected Officials:

Sheriff: Roger W. Speed

Supervisors:

Beat 1: Mason Stringer

Beat 2: Marson Trigg

Beat 3: Jimmy White

Beat 4: Henry Batte

Beat 5: Arthur Keys

Circuit Clerk: Keith Earl Collins

Chancery Clerk: Jimmy Baggett

Tax Assessor/Collector: Linda G. McCraney

Supt. of Education: I.S. "Ike" Sanford, Jr.

School Board:

Beat 1: Dr. Ray Strebeck

Beat 2: Sammy Herrin

Beat 3: Terry Bryant

Beat 4: Bob McNair

Beat 5: Andrew Keys

Judges:

Justice Court:

John L. Sanford (South)

Bobby W. Mooney (North)

Circuit:

Robert (Bob) Evans

Joe Dale Walker

Chancery: Larry Buffington

Coroner/Medical Examiner: Chris DaQuila

Constable:

Robin Dickens (South)

Joe Ponder (North)

Mayors:

Collins: V.O. Smith

Mt. Olive: Bob McNair

Seminary: Billy Karolyi

State Reps:

Joseph (Joe) L. Warren (D)

Blaine (Bo) Eaton (D)

State Senators:

Joey Fillingane (R)

Perry Lee (R)

A community south of Seminary, Sanford, was well-known some s ago for being the " of the World." Now, strawberry growers are few.

Another community northeast of Collins, Hot Coffee, has a "village" of about one hundred living there. Jellies and jams are also grown, packaged, and sold in Hot Coffee.