Ellisville, Mississippi
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Ellisville is a town in and the first
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Jones County,
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
, United States. The population was 4,448 at the time of the 2010 census, up from 3,465 at the 2000 census. The Jones County Courthouse is located here, as is much of the county government. The state legislature authorized a second county seat at
Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...
, to the northeast, which developed as the center of lumber and textile mills, with a much larger population. Ellisville is part of the Laurel micropolitan statistical area.


History

The town is named for Powhatan Ellis, a former
U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
for Mississippi who identified as a descendant of
Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...
and her father, Chief
Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...
in Virginia. Ellisville was designated as the county seat, and it became the major commercial and population center of Jones County through the early decades of development in the nineteenth century. During the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, Ellisville and Jones County were a center of pro- Union resistance. The county had mostly
yeomen Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century witnessed ...
farmers and cattle herders, who were not slaveholders. Slaves constituted 12% of the county's population in 1860, the lowest proportion of slaves of any county in the state in 1860, as conditions generally did not support cultivation of large cotton plantations. Many local men resented going to war to support slaveholders, and worried about the survival of their families, where women and children worked to keep subsistence farms going. They resented
Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
tax collectors who took the goods and stores their families needed to live. Confederate deserters and refugee slaves formed a resistance group known as the Knight Company, led by Newton Knight, First Lieutenant Jasper Collins, and Second Lieutenant William Wesley Sumrall. They were known to take refuge in a swamp along the Leaf River. Along with as many as 100 other Southern men, they fought several skirmishes with Confederate tax men, then other Confederate units eventually sent to crush the resistance. In 1864 they took control in Ellisville, raising the United States flag over the courthouse in place of the Confederate flag. In 1919, Ellisville hosted one of the most gruesome lynchings in history, when a black man, John Hartfield was found to have a white girlfriend. A story was concocted about a rape, and Hartfield was captured by law enforcement. The ''
Jackson Daily News ''The Clarion Ledger'' is an American daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest company in the state of Mississippi, and is one of the few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating ...
'' ran headlines that "John Hartfield will be lynched by Ellisville mob at 5:00 this afternoon", and that a crowd of thousands was expected to attend. A crowd of around 10,000 came to watch Hartfield hanged from a tree, then shot repeatedly. When his body was cut down, pieces were cut off for souvenirs and what remained was burned. Commemorative postcards were printed. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Ellisville lost primacy to nearby
Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...
, which became a center of the timber industry and cotton textile mills. Its population in the mid-20th century was nearly six times that of Ellisville. Laurel has attracted other industries and is the center of a micropolitan statistical area comprising all of Jones County and Jasper County. The Jones County Sheriff's Department is based in Laurel, but the county government is still based in Ellisville, at the Jones County Courthouse. Ellisville reflects the demographics of the county and is majority white. Laurel is majority African American in population, reflecting the migration of agricultural workers to the city for industrial and urban jobs.


Geography

Ellisville is located in central Jones County at (31.601068, −89.202123).
U.S. Route 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...
runs through the center of town, while
Interstate 59 Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans from a junction with I-10 and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana, to a junction with I-24 near Wildwood, Georgia ...
runs through the northwest side, with access from Exits 85, 88, and 90. Both highways lead northeast to Laurel and southwest to
Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 48,730 in 2020, making it the 5th m ...
.
Mississippi Highway 29 Mississippi Highway 29 (MS 29) is a state highway in southern Mississippi. It runs from north to south for and serves three counties: Jones, Perry, Stone. Route description MS 29 begins in Stone County at an interchange between MS 26 (W Ce ...
crosses US-11 near the center of town, leading northwest to Soso and southeast to Runnelstown. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, Ellisville has a total area of , of which , or 1.01%, are water.


Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,652 people, 1,264 households, and 810 families residing in the city.


Education

Ellisville is served by the Jones County School District, and is also home to Jones County Junior College. Jones County is in the zone of Jones College.


Notable people

*
Lance Bass James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, actor, and producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the Bass (voice type), bass singer for the boy band NSYNC. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of ...
, pop singer and member of
'N Sync NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Joey ...
, raised in Ellisville. * Harry Craft, MLB player and manager, first manager of the
Houston Colt .45s The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. They are one of two major league clubs based in Tex ...
and minor league manager of
Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...
* Les DeVall, former head coach for
McNeese State Cowboys football The McNeese Cowboys football program is the intercollegiate American football team for McNeese State University located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are memb ...
team *
Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movemen ...
, actor, comedian. Raised by his grandmother during formative years. * John Hartfield, a black man from Ellisville who was lynched and dismembered for having a white girlfriend *
Henry McCall Admiral Sir Henry William Urquhart McCall (11 June 1895 – 23 March 1980) was a senior Royal Navy officer who commanded the Reserve Fleet from 1951 until his retirement in 1953. Naval career McCall joined the Royal Navy as midshipman in the cr ...
, former
Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...
first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
* Chris McDaniel, State Senator, attorney and host of the nationally syndicated ''The Right Side Radio Show'' * Buddy Myer, two-time All-Star second baseman for the MLB Washington Senators in the 1930s, batting and stolen base titles * Arnett Nelson,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
musician * Scottie Phillips, former
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
* Jeremiah Price, professional football player in the
National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams. A team's typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, but as of the 2022 ...
* Donnie Scoggin, member of the
Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...
* Bobby Shows, former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives * Jason Simpson, head coach of the UT Martin Skyhawks football team * L. C. Ulmer,
delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
musician


See also

* List of cities in Mississippi * Free State of Jones


References


External links

*
Ellisville
at City-data.com {{authority control Cities in Mississippi Cities in Jones County, Mississippi County seats in Mississippi Cities in Laurel micropolitan area U.S. Route 11