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 , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.
Major highways
U.S. Route 84
Mississippi Highway 13
Mississippi Highway 35
Mississippi Highway 42
Mississippi Highway 43
Adjacent counties
Simpson County (north) Covington County (east) Lamar County (southeast) Marion County (south) Lawrence County (west)
Demographics
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
Bassfield
Prentiss (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
Carson
Oak Vale (partly in Lawrence County)
Ghost town
Mount Carmel
Politics
Jefferson Davis County is heavily Democratic. It has only voted for the Republican candidate for president three times since 1912. It voted for third-party segregationist candidates three times. Prior to the 1960s, its Democratic lean was due to its location in the "Solid South". At the statewide level, Jefferson Davis County has only voted for the Republican candidate for governor once since Reconstruction: for Kirk Fordice in 1991.
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi
References
External links
Jefferson Davis County Website
Mississippi Courthouses – Jefferson Davis County
Jefferson Davis County Economic Development District Website
Mississippi counties
1906 establishments in Mississippi
Populated places established in 1906
Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Mississippi