Marion County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 so ...

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 ...

. 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 parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Columbia. 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

leader

Francis Marion Brigadier general (United States), 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 t ...

also known as The Swamp Fox.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 98 * Circle sign 13

Mississippi Highway 13 Mississippi Highway 13 (MS 13) is a state highway in Mississippi. It runs from north to south for , serving the counties of Forrest County, MS, Forrest, Pearl River County, MS, Pearl River, Lamar County, MS, Lamar, Marion County, MS, Marion, Jef ...

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 Mississippi Highway 315, MS 315 at Sardis Dam. MS 35 serves the counties of Ma ...

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 Co ...

Mississippi Highway 44 Mississippi Highway 44 (MS 44) is a disconnected state highway comprising three segments in south-central Mississippi. The first, and longest, section runs from U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) in McComb to MS 27 near Topeka. The second, ...

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 2020 census, the population was 45,463. Its parish seat is ...

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

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, 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's Division of Youth Services operated the Columbia Training School in unincorporated Marion County. The facility was closed in 2008.

Politics

Marion County is a Republican stronghold, having only voted for a Democrat once since the 1960s. Its Republican tilt has been increasingly evident in recent years, with the 2024 presidential election showing the strongest Republican support in the county since 1972.

Communities

City

* Columbia (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,Sebeok, Thomas Albert''Native Languages of the Americas, Volume 2.''Plenum Press, 1977: 251. were a Siouan-speaking tribe of Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands,Swanton''The Indians ...

Expose Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website * '' Exeposé'', a student-run newspaper of the University of Exeter Film and TV ...

, an unincorporated area of Marion County that was founded by Harry Solomon Expose (born 1861), a community leader who owned a general store and served as postmaster.

Monroe Work Monroe Nathan Work (August 15, 1866 – May 2, 1945) was an African-American sociologist who founded the Department of Records and Research at the Tuskegee Institute in 1908. His published works include the ''Negro Year Book'' and '' A Bibliograph ...

's ''Negro Yearbook'' listed it among "Negro Towns and Settlements in the United States." Football great

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 professional American football, ...

's mother Alyne Sibley Payton was born in Expose on January 14, 1926. * Good Hope * Goss * Hopewell * Hub * 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 en ...

Education

There are two school districts in the county: Columbia School District and Marion County School District. The county is in the service area of

Pearl River Community College Pearl River Community College is a public community college in Poplarville, Mississippi. It was founded as Pearl River County Agricultural High School in 1909 and became the first junior college in Mississippi in 1921. Residents of Hancock, ...

Notable people

* Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), "Father of Modern Rodeo," Mississippi Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee, producer of Marion County's first rodeo in 1935 *

Charles C. Bass Charles Cassidy Bass (January 29, 1875 – August 25 1975) was an American medical doctor and researcher on tropical medicine who made significant contributions to understanding malaria, hookworm, and other diseases.Rudolph Matas, New Orleans Med ...

(1875–1975), "Father of Preventive Dentistry"; researcher in tropical medicine *

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

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

Peggy Dow Peggy Dow (born Peggy Josephine Varnadow; March 18, 1928) is an American philanthropist and former actress who had a brief (1949–1952) career in Hollywood at Universal Studios starring in films during the Golden Age Era in the late 1940s and ...

, American actress *

, American football player

References

External links

Marion County Sheriff's Office

Official website of Marion County

Mississippi Courthouses – Marion County
* {{authority control Mississippi counties 1811 establishments in Mississippi Territory Populated places established in 1811