Marion 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,441. 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 ...

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

. Marion County is named for

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

guerrilla leader

Francis Marion Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Amer ...

also known as The Swamp Fox.

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 (1.1%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 98 U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola and Apalachicola, Florida, and has sinc ...

Mississippi Highway 13 * Circle sign 35

Mississippi Highway 35 Mississippi Highway 35 (MS 35) is a state highway in Mississippi. It runs north–south for , beginning at the Louisiana state line and ending at a junction with MS 315 at Sardis Dam. MS 35 serves the counties of Marion, Jefferson Davis, ...

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 44

Adjacent counties

* Jefferson Davis County (north) * Lamar County (east) * Pearl River County (southeast) *

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 ...

(south) * Walthall County (west) * Lawrence County (northwest)

Demographics

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 24,441 people, 9,483 households, and 5,863 families residing in the county.

Government and infrastructure

The

Mississippi Department of Human Services The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) is a state agency of Mississippi, headquartered in Jackson. The department operates the state's family services. Division of Youth Services The Division of Youth Services (DYS) operates juvenile c ...

's Division of Youth Services operated the Columbia Training School in unincorporated Marion County. The facility was closed in 2008.

Communities

Cities

(county seat & only incorporated place)

Census-designated places

* Foxworth * Kokomo

Unincorporated communities

* Bunker Hill *

Cheraw The Cheraw people, also known as the Saraw or Saura, were a Siouan-speaking tribe of indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, in the Piedmont area of North Carolina near the Sauratown Mountains, east of Pilot Mountain and north of the ...

* East Columbia *

Goss Goss may refer to: Places * Goss, Georgia, a place in Georgia, United States * Goss, Mississippi, United States * Goss, Missouri, United States *Göss Abbey (Stift Göß), Leoben, Austria * Goss Moor, Cornwall, United Kingdom *Goss Stadium at ...

* Hub * Improve * Jamestown * Morgantown *

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern ...

* New Hope * Rosehill * Foxworth

Notable people

Earl W. Bascom Earl Wesley Bascom (June 19, 1906 – August 28, 1995) was an American painter, printmaker, sculptor, cowboy, rodeo performer, inventor, and Hollywood actor. Raised in Canada, he portrayed in works of fine art his own experiences of cowboying ...

(1906–1995), "Father of Modern Rodeo," Mississippi Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee, producer of Marion County's first rodeo in 1935 * Charles C. Bass (1875–1975), "Father of Preventive Dentistry"; researcher in tropical medicine *

Charles Coleman (American football) Charles Edward Coleman (born September 16, 1963) is a former American football tight end who played one season with the New York Giants of the National Football League. He played college football at Alcorn State University Alcorn State Uni ...

(born 1963), American football player * Logan Cooke - NFL punter * Peggy Dow, American actress *

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...

, American football player

References

External links

Marion County Sheriff's Office

Official website of Marion County
{{authority control Mississippi counties 1811 establishments in Mississippi Territory Populated places established in 1811