Pearl River County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the U.S. state of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. The population was 55,834 at the 2010 census. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Poplarville. Pearl River County comprises the Picayune, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

- Metairie- Hammond, LA- MS

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

. Pearl River County is a

dry county A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry counties exist across th ...

, and as such, the sale, transportation, and even private possession of beverage alcohol is prohibited by law, except within Picayune and Poplarville.

History

Pearl River County was originally formed as Pearl County in 1872 from portions of Hancock and Marion Counties. Because of low population density and a small tax base, Pearl County dissolved in 1878. Present-day Pearl River County was organized in 1890 by an act of the

Mississippi Legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 m ...

utilizing the same land area as its predecessor Pearl County. On the night of April 24, 1959,

Mack Charles Parker Mack Charles Parker (1936 – April 24, 1959) was an African-American victim of lynching in the United States. He had been accused of raping a pregnant white woman in northern Pearl River County, Mississippi. Three days before he was to stand tria ...

, an African-American accused of rape, was abducted from the Pearl River County jail in Poplarville by a mob and shot to death. His body was found in the Pearl River 10 days later. The FBI investigated and even obtained confessions from some of the eight suspects. However, the county prosecutor refused to present evidence to a state grand jury and a federal grand jury refused to indict. The case focused national attention on the persistence of

lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and helped accelerate the American Civil Rights Movement. On August 29, 2005,

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

inflicted heavy damage on the small town of Poplarville. The storm's most powerful, unofficially recorded gust of wind was reported at Pearl River Community College, at . On September 2, 2005, the 1st Battalion, 134th Field Artillery (Ohio Army National Guard) arrived at the National Guard armory in Poplarville to assist the community and Pearl River County in recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Initial efforts were the security of banks, pharmacies and gas stations as well as initial responses to rural emergencies. The unit stayed for three weeks ultimately checking on every family and structure in the county. On September 5, 2005, Poplarville played host to a visit by George W. Bush,

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...

, and Governor

Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as chairman of the Republican ...

to Pearl River Community College in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water. It is the fourth-largest county in Mississippi by land area.

Major highways

* Interstate 59 * U.S. Highway 11 * Mississippi Highway 13 *

Mississippi Highway 26 Mississippi Highway 26 (MS 26) is a state highway in southern Mississippi. It runs from a continuation of Louisiana Highway 10 (LA 10) east through Pearl River, Stone, and George counties to MS 198 in Lucedale. Along the way it i ...

Mississippi Highway 43 Mississippi Highway 43 (MS 43) is a state highway in Mississippi that generally runs north–south in three segments: the first from US 90 near Bay St. Louis to MS 13 south of Columbia, resuming at MS 13 in southern Jefferson Davis County ...

Mississippi Highway 53 Mississippi Highway 53 (MS 53) is a state highway in Mississippi. The highway starts at U.S. Highway 49 (US 49) in Gulfport and travels northwestward to MS 603 in Hancock County. The road then travels north to Poplarville, meeting Intersta ...

Adjacent counties and parishes

* Lamar County (north) * Forrest County (northeast) * Stone County (east) * Hancock County (south) * St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana (southwest) *

Washington Parish, Louisiana Washington Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Washington'') is a parish located in the interior southeast corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana, one of the Florida Parishes. As of the 2010 census, the population was 47,168. Its parish seat is ...

(west) * Marion County (northwest)

National protected areas

* Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge (part) * De Soto National Forest (part)

Media

Newspaper

Picayune's local newspaper is the ''Picayune Item''.

Radio

The local radio station is WRJW 1320-AM. Television and Radio stations of New Orleans and Biloxi/Gulfport listening areas are part of Picayune area.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 56,145 people, 21,020 households, and 15,078 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census Pearl River County had a population of 55,834. The ethnic and racial make-up of the population was 82.2% non-Hispanic white, 12.3% African-American, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.1% non-Hispanic from some other race, 1.7% from two or more races (0.5% reporting being white and black) and 2.9% Hispanic or Latino.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 48,621 people, 18,078 households, and 13,576 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 60 people per square mile (23/km²). There were 20,610 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.55%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 12.18%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.50% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.34% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. 1.41% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 18,078 households, out of which 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 12.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 21.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.08. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.00% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.00 males. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...

for a

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

in the county was $30,912, and the

for a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

was $35,924. Males had a

of $30,370 versus $21,519 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $15,160. About 15.50% of families and 18.40% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 25.60% of those under age 18 and 12.50% of those age 65 or over.

Government

;Supervisors * District 1: Donald Hart * District 2: Malcolm Perry * District 3: Hudson Holliday * District 4: Jason Spence * District 5: Sandy Kane Smith ;Countywide Elected Officials * Sheriff - David Allison * Circuit Clerk - Nance Fitzpatrick Stokes * Chancery Clerk - Melinda Smith Bowman * Tax Assessor/Collector - Gary Beech * County Prosecutor - Michael E. Patten * Coroner - Derek Turnage * County Court Judge - Richelle Lumpkin ;State Legislature * Senator Angela Burks-Hill - District 40 * Senator Joseph "Mike" Seymour - District 47 * Rep. Jansen Owen - District 106 * Rep. Stacey Wilkes - District 108 * Rep. Timmy Ladner - District 93

Communities

Cities

* Lumberton (mostly in Lamar County) * Picayune * Poplarville (county seat)

Census-designated places

* Hide-A-Way Lake * Nicholson

Other unincorporated communities

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

* Carriere *

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

* Henleyfield * McNeill * Ozona

Education

School districts include: *

Lamar County School District The Lamar County School District (LCSD) is a public school district based in Purvis, Mississippi ( USA). In addition to Purvis, the district also serves the town of Sumrall; the communities of Arnold Line, Baxterville, Lumberton, Oak Grov ...

* Pearl River County School District * Picayune School District * Poplarville Separate School District Former school districts: * Lumberton Public School District - Merged into the Lamar County district in 2018. The county is in the service area of Pearl River Community College.

References

{{coord, 30.77, -89.59, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MS_source:UScensus1990 Mississippi counties 1890 establishments in Mississippi Populated places established in 1890