Jones County, Mississippi

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

County Seat: Laurel
Year Organized: 1826
Square Miles: 694

Court House:

P.O. Box 1468
County Courthouse
Laurel, MS 39441-1468

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Jones is named for naval leader John Paul Jones.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Jones County was established January 24, 1826, during the administration of Governor Holmes. It was named in honor of Commodore John Paul Jones, the founder of the American navy. Jones County has two county seats, Laurel and Ellisville. It was formed from the counties of Covington and Wayne and its boundaries were declared to be:

"all that part of Covington County lying west of the center of range fourteen, and all that part of Wayne County lying west of range nine."

Its northern boundary is formed by the Old Choctaw line established by the Treaty of Mt. Dexter, November 16, 1805, which divides it from Jasper County, and its southern boundary is formed by the line between townships five and six, which divides it from Perry County.

Ten years later, in 1836, the county had a population of only 1,017 whites and 108 slaves, and, until the advent of the railroads, it remained one of the most sparsely settled and unproductive counties in the whole State.

Geography

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

Neighboring Counties:

Jasper County (north)
Wayne County (east)
Perry County (southeast)
Forrest County (southwest)
Covington County (west)
Smith County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Ellisville	city	Incorporated Area
- Laurel (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Sandersville	town	Incorporated Area
- Soso	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."