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Pearl River County, Mississippi
PearlRiverCountyCourthouse
Pearl River County Courthouse in Poplarville
Seal of Pearl River County, Mississippi
Seal
Map of Mississippi highlighting Pearl River County
Location in the state of Mississippi
Map of the U.S
Mississippi's location in the U.S.
Founded 1890
Named for Pearl River
Seat Poplarville
Largest city Picayune
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

819 sq mi (2,121 km²)
811 sq mi (2,100 km²)
8.0 sq mi (21 km²), 1.0
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

56,145
Congressional district 4th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.pearlrivercounty.net

Pearl River County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The population was 56,145 at the 2020 census.[1] Its county seat is Poplarville.[2]

Pearl River County comprises the Picayune, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond, LA-MS Combined Statistical Area.

Pearl River County is a dry county,[3] and as such, the sale, transportation, and even private possession of beverage alcohol is prohibited by law,[4] except within The City of Picayune (which has exempted itself). The City of Poplarville passed a similar exemption referendum on March 25, 2014.[5]

On September 2, 2005, the 1st Battalion, 134th Field Artillery (Ohio Army National Guard) arrived at the National Guard armory in Poplarville to assist the community and Pearl River County in recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Initial efforts were the security of banks, pharmacies and gas stations as well as initial responses to rural emergencies. The unit stayed for three weeks ultimately checking on many families and structures in the county.[6]

History[]

Pearl River County was originally formed as Pearl County in 1872 from portions of Hancock and Marion Counties.[7] Because of low population density and a small tax base, Pearl County dissolved in 1878. Present-day Pearl River County was organized in 1890 by an act of the Mississippi Legislature utilizing the same land area as its predecessor Pearl County.[7]

On the night of April 24, 1959, Mack Charles Parker, an African-American accused of rape, was abducted from the Pearl River County jail in Poplarville by a mob[8] and shot to death. His body was found in the Pearl River 10 days later. The FBI investigated and even obtained confessions from some of the eight suspects.[9] However, the county prosecutor refused to present evidence to a state grand jury and a federal grand jury refused to indict. The case focused national attention on the persistence of lynching in the South[10] and helped accelerate the American Civil Rights Movement.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina inflicted heavy damage on the small town of Poplarville. The storm's most powerful, unofficially recorded gust of wind was reported at Pearl River Community College, at 135 mph (217 km/h). On September 2, 2005, the 1st Battalion, 134th Field Artillery (Ohio Army National Guard) arrived at the National Guard armory in Poplarville to assist the community and Pearl River County in recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Initial efforts were the security of banks, pharmacies and gas stations as well as initial responses to rural emergencies. The unit stayed for three weeks ultimately checking on every family and structure in the county. On September 5, 2005, Poplarville played host to a visit by George W. Bush, Laura Bush, and Governor Haley Barbour to Pearl River Community College in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.[11]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 819 square miles (2,120 km2), of which 811 square miles (2,100 km2) is land and 8.0 square miles (21 km2) (1.0%) is water.[12] It is the fourth-largest county in Mississippi by land area.

Major highways[]

  • I-59 Interstate 59
  • US 11 U.S. Highway 11
  • Circle sign 13 Mississippi Highway 13
  • Circle sign 26 Mississippi Highway 26
  • Circle sign 43 Mississippi Highway 43
  • Circle sign 53 Mississippi Highway 53

Adjacent counties and parishes[]

National protected areas[]

  • Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge (part)
  • De Soto National Forest (part)

Media[]

Newspaper[]

Picayune's local newspaper is the Picayune Item.

Radio[]

The local radio station is WRJW 1320-AM.

Television and Radio stations of New Orleans and Biloxi/Gulfport listening areas are part of Picayune area.

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1890 2,957
1900 6,697 126.5%
1910 10,593 58.2%
1920 15,648 47.7%
1930 19,405 24.0%
1940 19,125 −1.4%
1950 20,641 7.9%
1960 22,411 8.6%
1970 27,802 24.1%
1980 33,795 21.6%
1990 38,714 14.6%
2000 48,621 25.6%
2010 55,834 14.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[13]
1790-1960[14] 1900-1990[15]
1990-2000[16] 2010-2020[1]

2020 census[]

Pearl River County racial composition[17]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 44,101 78.55%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 6,666 11.87%
Native American 256 0.46%
Asian 275 0.49%
Other/Mixed 2,563 4.56%
Hispanic or Latino 2,284 4.07%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 56,145 people, 21,020 households, and 15,078 families residing in the county.

2010 census[]

As of the 2010 census Pearl River County had a population of 55,834. The ethnic and racial make-up of the population was 82.2% non-Hispanic white, 12.3% African-American, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.1% non-Hispanic from some other race, 1.7% from two or more races (0.5% reporting being white and black) and 2.9% Hispanic or Latino.[18]

2000 census[]

As of the census[19] of 2000, there were 48,621 people, 18,078 households, and 13,576 families residing in the county. The population density was 60 people per square mile (23/km2). There were 20,610 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 85.55% White, 12.18% Black or African American, 0.50% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. 1.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 18,078 households, out of which 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were married couples living together, 12.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 21.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.00% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,912, and the median income for a family was $35,924. Males had a median income of $30,370 versus $21,519 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,160. About 15.50% of families and 18.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.60% of those under age 18 and 12.50% of those age 65 or over.


Government[]

Supervisors[20]
  • District 1: Donald Hart
  • District 2: Malcolm Perry
  • District 3: Hudson Holliday
  • District 4: Jason Spence
  • District 5: Sandy Kane Smith
Countywide Elected Officials
  • Sheriff - David Allison
  • Circuit Clerk - Nance Fitzpatrick Stokes
  • Chancery Clerk - Melinda Smith Bowman
  • Tax Assessor/Collector - Gary Beech
  • County Prosecutor - Michael E. Patten[21]
  • Coroner - Derek Turnage
  • County Court Judge - Richelle Lumpkin
State Legislature
  • Senator Angela Burks-Hill - District 40
  • Senator Joseph "Mike" Seymour - District 47
  • Rep. Jansen Owen - District 106
  • Rep. Stacey Wilkes - District 108
  • Rep. Timmy Ladner - District 93
United States presidential election results for Pearl River County, Mississippi[22]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 19,595 81.53% 4,148 17.26% 290 1.21%
2016 17,782 81.26% 3,604 16.47% 497 2.27%
2012 17,549 78.96% 4,366 19.65% 309 1.39%
2008 17,881 79.67% 4,320 19.25% 242 1.08%
2004 14,896 76.44% 4,472 22.95% 119 0.61%
2000 11,575 70.25% 4,611 27.98% 291 1.77%
1996 8,212 57.12% 4,892 34.03% 1,273 8.85%
1992 7,726 52.21% 4,683 31.65% 2,388 16.14%
1988 10,220 71.30% 3,939 27.48% 174 1.21%
1984 9,978 76.10% 3,085 23.53% 49 0.37%
1980 6,822 56.19% 5,028 41.41% 291 2.40%
1976 4,332 44.82% 5,024 51.98% 309 3.20%
1972 7,487 88.04% 901 10.60% 116 1.36%
1968 1,298 15.69% 926 11.19% 6,050 73.12%
1964 4,009 84.51% 735 15.49% 0 0.00%
1960 651 18.69% 1,276 36.64% 1,556 44.67%
1956 1,129 39.64% 1,274 44.73% 445 15.63%
1952 1,741 45.80% 2,060 54.20% 0 0.00%
1948 46 2.17% 146 6.88% 1,929 90.95%
1944 84 3.79% 2,131 96.21% 0 0.00%
1940 88 4.15% 2,022 95.47% 8 0.38%
1936 81 6.53% 1,156 93.23% 3 0.24%
1932 99 6.14% 1,500 92.99% 14 0.87%
1928 918 51.09% 879 48.91% 0 0.00%
1924 164 14.67% 855 76.48% 99 8.86%
1920 53 10.21% 464 89.40% 2 0.39%
1916 35 6.28% 521 93.54% 1 0.18%
1912 7 2.24% 290 92.95% 15 4.81%



Communities[]

Cities[]

Census-designated places[]

  • Hide-A-Way Lake
  • Nicholson

Other unincorporated communities[]

  • Caesar
  • Carriere
  • Crossroads
  • Henleyfield
  • McNeill
  • Ozona

See also[]

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Pearl River County, Mississippi

References[]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28/28109.html. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ "Alcoholic Beverage Wet-Dry Map". http://www.dor.ms.gov/abc/abc_wet-drymap.html. 
  4. ^ Mississippi Code §67-1-9, §67-3-13.
  5. ^ Poplarville voters decide to turn the dry city wet. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  6. ^ The Buckeye Response: Ohio National Guard Soldiers and Airmen Answer the Call Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  7. ^ a b "Welcome to Pearl River County on the Web". http://www.pearlrivercounty.net/. 
  8. ^ Thompson, Julius E. (2006). Lynchings in Mississippi: A History, 1865-1965. McFarland. p. 169. ISBN 9781476604251. https://books.google.com/books?id=KL_eCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA169. 
  9. ^ "Mack Charles Parker" (index of investigation reports). Federal Bureau of Investigation. http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/parker.htm. 
  10. ^ Rushdy, Ashraf H. A. (2012-06-18). The End of American Lynching. Rutgers UP. p. 135. ISBN 9780813552934. https://books.google.com/books?id=cGrDSG-LcC8C&pg=PA135. 
  11. ^ "President Visits with Residents of Poplarville, Mississippi" (press release). White House. September 5, 2005. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050905-11.html. 
  12. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_28.txt. 
  13. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  14. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  15. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ms190090.txt. 
  16. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  17. ^ "Explore Census Data". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US28109&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2. 
  18. ^ 2010 census report for Pearl River County
  19. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  20. ^ "Pearl River County Board Of Supervisors". http://www.pearlrivercounty.net/bos/. 
  21. ^ Pittari, Jeremy (October 16, 2018). "Interim county prosecutor picked via draw of straws". Picayune Item. https://www.picayuneitem.com/2018/10/interim-county-prosecutor-picked-via-draw-of-straws/. 
  22. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 

Coordinates: 30°46′N 89°35′W / 30.77, -89.59


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Pearl River County, Mississippi. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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