JONES COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

'Jones County' is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is part of the Laurel, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 64,958. Its county seats are Laurel and Ellisville⁶.

Contents

Geography

Major Highways

Adjacent Counties

History

Free State of Jones

Demographics

Communities

Famous Natives

External links

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,812 km² (700 mi²). 1,797 km² (694 mi²) of it is land and 15 km² (6 mi²) of it (0.84%) is water.

Major Highways

★ Interstate 59

★ U.S. Highway 11

★ U.S. Highway 84

★ Mississippi Highway 15

★ Mississippi Highway 28

★ Mississippi Highway 29

Adjacent Counties

★ Jasper County (north)

★ Wayne County (east)

★ Perry County (southeast)

★ Forrest County (southwest)

★ Covington County (west)

★ Smith County (northwest)

History

Jones County was established in 1826 and was named for John Paul Jones. There are other counties named Jones, but it appears that this is the only one named for John Paul Jones. Ellisville, the county seat, was named for Powhatan Ellis, a member of the Mississippi Legislature who claimed to be a direct descendant of Pocahontas. During the economic hard times in the 1830s and 1840s, there was an exodus of population from South Mississippi, principally to Texas, and the slogan "GTT" ("Gone to Texas") came into currency. The situation was especially acute in Jones County, which became so depopulated that it acquired the derisive nickname "The Free State of Jones". During the American Civil War, Jones County and neighboring counties, especially Covington County to its west, became a haven for Confederate deserters. A group of deserters, called Knight's Company, led by Captain Newton Knight engaged in sporadic battles with State and Confederate units sent to arrest them for desertion. The notoriety of Captain Knight's "rebellion" led to the fabrication of elaborate stories alleging Jones County's "secession" from the Confederacy and the establishment of an entity called "The Free State of Jones". The people of Jones believed them to be a true state, but the Confederacy and Union did not recognize them. After the War, the Mississippi Legislature punished Jones County's disloyalty to the "Cause" by changing its name to Davis (for Jefferson Davis) and the name of its county seat to Leesburg (for Robert E. Lee). The Reconstruction Constitution of 1869 repealed these acts and restored the names of Jones County and Ellisville. The county was divided into judicial districts in 1906, with seats of justice at Ellisville (First District) and Laurel (Second District).
As to the derivation of the nickname "Free State of Jones", see, e.g., "Flush Times, Depression, War, and Compromise", by John Edmond Gonzales, in ''A History of Mississippi'' (McLemore, ed.), Vol. I, p 295 (Jackson, 1973), citing ''Mississippi: A History'', by John K. Bettersworth, p 185.

Free State of Jones

The Free State of Jones is a name synonymous with Jones County, Mississippi (formed in 1826). Popular lore claims that the county seceded from the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. While it is true that Jones County was a seedbed of opposition to the Confederate cause during the war (as were neighboring counties in the Pine Belt region of the state), the county government never seceded from the Confederacy. In fact, the label "Free State of Jones" actually predates the Civil War. According to alternate theories of the term's origin, "Free State of Jones" came to be associated with Jones County for one of two reasons: 1) in reference to the county's reputation as a sparsely populated "backwater" of the young state, whose few residents were notorious for their disdain for organized governmental authority, or 2) due to a period of time in the early 1840s when, due to low population numbers and lack of legal proceedings, the county was left without duly-inducted legal and/or civil authorities. The true origin of the nickname could be traced back to either or both of these conditions.
As Mississippi debated the secession question, the state called a session convention which met in January of 1861. Two men from Jones County vied to represent the county at the convention: J.M. Bayliss was the pro-secession candidate and John Hathorne Powell, Jr. was the anti-secession candidate. Powell was elected to represent Jones County at the convention but when he did so, he voted for secession. For his vote, he was supposedly burned in effigy in Ellisville, the county seat.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 64,958 people, 24,275 households, and 17,550 families residing in the county. The population density was 36/km² (94/mi²). There were 26,921 housing units at an average density of 15/km² (39/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.11% White, 26.34% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.41% from other races, and 0.48% from two or more races. 1.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 24,275 households out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were married couples living together, 15.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.80% under the age of 18, 10.50% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $28,786, and the median income for a family was $34,465. Males had a median income of $28,273 versus $19,405 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,820. About 14.30% of families and 19.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.00% of those under age 18 and 16.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

★ 'Cities'

★
★ Ellisville

★
★ Laurel

★ 'Towns'

★
★ Sandersville

★
★ Soso

★ 'Unincorporated places'

★
★ Eastabuchie

★
★ Moselle

★
★ Ovett

★
★ Sharon

★
★ Shady Grove

Famous Natives

★ Charles W. Pickering: Retired Federal District Judge.

★ Leontyne Price: Operatic soprano
Lance Bass: singer with N
★ SYNC

External links

★ Jones County Courthouse Pictures

★ Interactive Oil Well Map - Jones County, Mississippi Mississippi Oil Journal