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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Jefferson Davis County
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 409 square miles (1,060 km), of which 408 square miles (1,060 km) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km) (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
191012,860—
192012,755−0.8%
193014,28112.0%
194015,86911.1%
195015,500−2.3%
196013,540−12.6%
197012,936−4.5%
198013,8467.0%
199014,0511.5%
200013,962−0.6%
201012,487−10.6%
202011,321−9.3%
2023 (est.)10,969−3.1%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790-1960 1900-1990
1990-2000 2010-2013
Jefferson Davis County racial composition as of 2020
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 4,330 38.25%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 6,622 58.49%
Native American 8 0.07%
Asian 21 0.19%
Other/Mixed 239 2.11%
Hispanic or Latino 101 0.89%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 11,321 people, 4,713 households, and 3,003 families residing in the county.

Communities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

Politics

United States presidential election results for Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 2,534 40.79% 3,599 57.93% 80 1.29%
2016 2,466 39.54% 3,720 59.64% 51 0.82%
2012 2,507 36.52% 4,267 62.16% 90 1.31%
2008 2,871 38.96% 4,454 60.43% 45 0.61%
2004 2,668 46.28% 2,959 51.33% 138 2.39%
2000 2,437 45.83% 2,835 53.32% 45 0.85%
1996 1,890 38.84% 2,663 54.73% 313 6.43%
1992 2,228 39.55% 2,991 53.10% 414 7.35%
1988 2,745 47.92% 2,948 51.47% 35 0.61%
1984 2,884 51.81% 2,644 47.50% 38 0.68%
1980 2,280 36.85% 3,831 61.92% 76 1.23%
1976 1,868 39.76% 2,747 58.47% 83 1.77%
1972 2,830 72.83% 1,005 25.86% 51 1.31%
1968 297 6.79% 1,465 33.48% 2,614 59.73%
1964 2,351 90.91% 235 9.09% 0 0.00%
1960 225 13.06% 510 29.60% 988 57.34%
1956 156 10.92% 1,049 73.41% 224 15.68%
1952 473 22.53% 1,626 77.47% 0 0.00%
1948 51 3.30% 41 2.66% 1,452 94.04%
1944 88 6.03% 1,372 93.97% 0 0.00%
1940 38 2.86% 1,289 96.92% 3 0.23%
1936 67 4.81% 1,325 95.05% 2 0.14%
1932 30 3.09% 940 96.71% 2 0.21%
1928 163 16.00% 856 84.00% 0 0.00%
1924 88 10.73% 732 89.27% 0 0.00%
1920 179 26.76% 485 72.50% 5 0.75%
1916 45 6.59% 634 92.83% 4 0.59%
1912 43 6.63% 542 83.51% 64 9.86%

Historic sites

Jefferson Davis County Courthouse in Prentiss is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

See also