Perry County, Mississippi

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

County Seat: New Augusta
Year Organized: 1820
Square Miles: 647

Court House:

P.O. Box 198
County Courthouse
New Augusta, MS 39462-0198

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Perry is named for American naval leader Oliver Hazard Perry. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (August 20, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served in the War of 1812 against Britain and earned the nickname "Hero of Lake Erie" for leading American forces in a decisive naval victory at the Battle of Lake Erie.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Perry County originally formed the western part of the large county of Greene. It received its name in honor of Commodore Oliver H. Perry. In the act of February 3, 1820, which created it, the boundaries of Perry County are defined as follows:

“Beginning on the line of demarcation where the line that divides the thirteenth and fourteenth ranges intersects the said line of demarcation; thence with said range line to where the fifth parallel township line crosses the same; thence east with the said township line, to where the line that divides the eighth and ninth ranges crosses the same; thence with the line of demarcation; thence west to the beginning.”

The county was afterward enlarged by adding townships 1, in ranges 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, south of the 31st parallel, and township 5, in range 14, north of the 31st parallel, so that it embraced a total area of thirty-one townships. In 1908, Forrest County was formed from its western townships.

The county was settled by a large number of hardy pioneers along its watercourses during the first years of the last century.

The original county seat was the old town of Augusta, near the center of the county on the east bank of the Leaf River. New Augusta, two miles south of old Augusta is the current county seat. Hattiesburg, the seat of Forrest County, formerly shared that honor with New Augusta.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 650 square miles (1,684 km²), of which, 647 square miles (1,676 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (8 km²) of it (0.46%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Wayne County (northeast)
Greene County (east)
George County (southeast)
Stone County (south)
Forrest County (west)
Jones County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Beaumont	town	Incorporated Area
- New Augusta (County Seat)	town	Incorporated Area
- Richton	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."