Hinds County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers 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 In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. With 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 st ...

s (

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

and the state's capital,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

), Hinds is the most populous county in Mississippi with a 2020 census population of 227,742 residents. Hinds County is a central part of the Jackson metropolitan statistical area. It is a professional, educational, business and industrial hub in the state. It is bordered on the northwest by the Big Black River and on the east by the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...

. It is one county width away from the

Yazoo River The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before the ...

and the southern border of the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo ...

. In the 19th century, the rural areas of the county were devoted to cotton

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

worked by enslaved African Americans and depended on agriculture well into the 20th century; from 1877 to 1950, this county had 22 lynchings, the highest number in the state. Mississippi has the highest total number of lynchings of any state.''Lynching in America'', 2nd edition
, Supplement by County, p. 5 In Sept 2022, it was reported that Hinds County, Mississippi, had the highest STD rate in the United States, with 2,253 cases per 100,000 residents.

Etymology

The county is named for General

Thomas Hinds Thomas Hinds (January 9, 1780August 23, 1840) was an American soldier and politician from the state of Mississippi, who served in the United States Congress from 1828 to 1831. A hero of the War of 1812, Hinds is best known today as the namesake ...

, a hero of the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the French ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

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 (0.9%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Mississippi by land area and fifth-largest by total area.

Adjacent counties

* Madison County (northeast) * Rankin County (east) * Copiah County (south) * Claiborne County (southwest) *

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

(west) * Yazoo County (northwest)

National protected area

* Natchez Trace Parkway (part)

Transportation

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Airports

The following public-use airports are located in Hinds County: *

Hawkins Field Hawkins Field is a baseball stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the home field of the Vanderbilt Commodores college baseball team.

(HKS) in

* John Bell Williams Airport (JVW) in

Demographics

With a population of 8,645 at the 1830 United States census, the county's population has experienced growth to an initial historic high of 250,000 in 1980; its second historic high was 254,441 at the 1990 census. Since then, its population has fluctuated to 250,800 in 2000 and 245,285 in 2010. At the 2020 census, its population was 227,742, locally reflecting a drop in the state's overall population.

Race and ethnicity

With the trend of greater diversification in the United States leading up to and following the 2020 census, the county and state's population declined with

non-Hispanic whites Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...

and overall; for contrast, in 2010, non-Hispanic whites made up 28.4% of the population, yet in 2020 they declined to 25.5% of the population. Historic minorities in the county and state increased in population. The 2020 census reported 69.2% of its population was Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, nil% Pacific Islander, 2.3% of two or more races, and 2.0% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Law enforcement

The Hinds County Sheriffs Department provides police services to areas of the county that are

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

or in municipalities that do not have their own local police force. It was founded on January 1, 1928. Tyrone Lewis took office January 3, 2012, taking over from Malcolm E. McMillin who had held the role for 20 years. Victor Mason defeated Tyrone Lewis August 4, 2015 as Lewis sought another term. Mason went on to secure the Office November 3, 2015. Mason defeated 3 other candidates securing more than seventy percent of the vote. Victor Mason was defeated in the Democratic Primary on August 27, 2019, by Lee D. Vance. On August 4, 2021, Sheriff Lee Vance was found deceased at his home after contracting COVID-19. The current sheriff is Tyree Jones, elected November 23, 2021.

Government

Hinds County is governed via a five-member board of supervisors, each elected from

single-member district A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vo ...

s. The county is led by a county administrator, who is appointed. The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) has its headquarters in

and in Hinds County. The Division of Youth Services operates the Oakley Training School (OTS) in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

of Hinds County. The

Mississippi Department of Corrections The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) is a state agency of Mississippi that operates prisons. It has its headquarters in Jackson. Burl Cain is the commissioner. History In 1843 a penitentiary in four city squares in central Jackson ...

has its headquarters in Jackson and in Hinds County. It operates the Jackson Probation & Parole Office in the city.

Education

Public schools

School districts: �
Text list
/ref> * Clinton Public School District *

Hinds County School District The Hinds County School District is a public school district based in Raymond, Mississippi (US). In addition to Raymond, the district serves the communities of Bolton, Byram, Edwards, Learned, Terry, and Utica, as well as sections of Jackson. ...

(Raymond) *

Jackson Public School District The Jackson Public School District (JPSD) or Jackson Public Schools (JPS) is a public school district serving the majority of Jackson, the state capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. Established in 1888, it is the second lar ...

State-operated schools: *

Mississippi School for the Blind Mississippi School for the Blind (MSB) is a state-operated K-12 public school for blind children located in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. The Mississippi State Legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. ...

Mississippi School for the Deaf The Mississippi School for the Deaf (MSD) is a school for the deaf and hard of hearing in Jackson, Mississippi accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It offers elementary and secondary education (K-12), covering stud ...

Private schools

* Clinton Christian Academy (Clinton) *

Hillcrest Christian School Hillcrest Christian School is a private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 a ...

(Jackson) * Jackson Academy (Jackson) * Mt. Salus Christian School (Clinton) *

Rebul Academy Rebul Academy is a private K-12 school in Learned, Mississippi, in Hinds County. History Rebul was founded in 1967 as a segregation academy. In 1970, the school lost its tax exempt status as the result of a determination by the IRS that it had di ...

(Learned) * Central Hinds Academy(Raymond)

Colleges and universities

Belhaven University Belhaven University (Belhaven or BU) is a private evangelical Christian university in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded in 1883, the university offers traditional majors, programs of general studies, and pre-professional programs in Christian Minis ...

(Jackson) *

Hinds Community College Hinds Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Raymond, Mississippi and branches in Jackson and Vicksburg. The Hinds Community College District includes Hinds County, Claiborne County, part of Copiah County, Ra ...

(Raymond) *

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...

(Jackson) *

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webster M ...

(Jackson) *

Mississippi College Mississippi College (MC) is a private Baptist university in Clinton, Mississippi. Founded in 1826, MC is the second-oldest Baptist-affiliated college or university in the United States and the oldest college or university in Mississippi. Histor ...

(Clinton) **

Mississippi College School of Law Mississippi College School of Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school. MC Law is one of only two law schools in the state of Mississippi, and is the only law school in the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi. The school is a prof ...

(Jackson) *

Reformed Theological Seminary Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) is a theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition with campuses in multiple locations in the United States. Founded by conservatives in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church i ...

(Jackson) *

Tougaloo College Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was originally established in 1869 by New Yo ...

(Tougaloo) *

University of Mississippi Medical Center University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) is the health sciences campus of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and is located in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. UMMC, also referred to as the Medical Center, is the state's only aca ...

(Jackson) *

Wesley Biblical Seminary Wesley Biblical Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Ridgeland, Mississippi. The seminary's history and teachings align with Wesleyan-Arminian (Methodist) tradition. It was founded in 1974 and serves men and women ...

(Jackson)

Public libraries

Jackson/Hinds Library System Jackson/Hinds Library System (JHLS) is the public library system of Jackson and Hinds County in Mississippi. Branches ; Jackson * Eudora Welty Library - It is the main library and is in a former Sears building, built circa 1938. As of 2018 the se ...

Communities

Cities

* Byram * Clinton *

(county seat; partly in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

and Rankin counties) *

(county seat)

Towns

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

Edwards Edwards may refer to: People * Edwards (surname) * Edwards family, a prominent family from Chile * Edwards Barham (1937-2014), a former member of the Louisiana State Senate * Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892), an American attorney, jurist, and ora ...

* Learned *

Terry Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albrit ...

* Utica

Unincorporated communities

* Brownsville * Cayuga *

Cynthia Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cyndy, ...

* Dabney Crossroads * Midway * Oakley *

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

Notable people

* Kate Stone (1841–1907), diarist * Henry Sloan (1870–1948), delta blues musician *

Charley Patton Charley Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), also known as Charlie Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of American mus ...

(1891–1934), blues musician *

Richard Durham Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

(1917–1984), writer of the radio series ''

Destination Freedom ''Destination Freedom'' was a weekly radio program produced by WMAQ in Chicago from 1948 to 1950 that presented biographical histories of prominent African-Americans such as George Washington Carver, Satchel Paige, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tu ...

References

External links

Hinds County
– Official site. {{authority control 1821 establishments in Mississippi Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi Mississippi counties Populated places established in 1821 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Mississippi

Etymology

Geography

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Transportation

Major highways

Airports

Demographics

Race and ethnicity

Law enforcement

Government

Education

Public schools

Private schools

Colleges and universities

Public libraries

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Notable people

See also

References

External links