Covington County, Mississippi

Covington County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Collins
Year Organized: 1819
Square Miles: 414

Court House:

P.O. Box 1679
County Courthouse
Collins, MS 39428-1679

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Covington is named for U.S. Army officer and Congressman Leonard Covington. Leonard Wailes Covington (October 30, 1768–November 14, 1813) was a United States Army Brigadier General and a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Born in Aquasco, Maryland, Covington served in the Northwest Indian War under Anthony Wayne, where he distinguished himself at Fort Recovery and the Battle of Fallen Timbers and in the War of 1812. Covington was mortally wounded in the Battle of Crysler's Farm and died three days later at Frenchs Mills, NY.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Covington County was established January 5, 1819 as Bainbridge, then renamed short time after Mississippi became a State, from the counties of Lawrence and Wayne. The county was named for General Leonard Covington, who was killed in the invasion of Canada during the War of 1812. It now contains an area of 410 square miles. The original act defined its boundaries as follows:

"Beginning on the eastern boundary of the eighteenth range line where it intersects the southern boundary line of Lawrence County; thence north along the said range line to its intersection with the dividing ridge between the waters of Leaf and Pearl rivers; thence along the summit of said ridge to its intersection with the Choctaw boundary line; thence easterly along that line to the eastern boundary of the tenth range line; thence south along the said range line to its intersection with the northern boundary of Greene County; thence west along the said line to the corner of the said county of Greene; thence along the fifth parallel township line to where the same intersects the eighteenth range line."

In 1825 the dividing line between Covington and Lawrence was declared to be:

"Beginning on the eastern boundary of the 18th range line, where it now intersects the northern boundary of the 5th township line; thence due west four miles; thence due north to Simpson County line."

Williamsburg was the county seat (named for Thomas H. Williams, who was one of the two first United States Senators from Mississippi). Collins became the county seat in 1906. It was named for Fred W. Collins who was the United States Marshall for the Southern District of Mississippi in 1891-1893 and 1897-1902, and from 1910 until his death in 1912.

In 1826 all that part of Covington lying east of the center of range 14 was taken to form part of the county of Jones. In 1906 a part of Covington was taken to form Jefferson Davis County.

The County Courthouse had a Record loss in 1904

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 415 square miles (1,075 km²), of which, 414 square miles (1,072 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (3 km²) of it (0.28%) is water

Neighboring Counties:

Smith County (north)
Jones County (east)
Forrest County (southeast)
Lamar County (south)
Jefferson Davis County (west)
Simpson County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Collins (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Mount Olive	town	Incorporated Area
- Seminary	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Custom Search