Perkinston is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in central Stone 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. It is situated along U.S. Highway 49, approximately five miles south of Wiggins. The community is part of the Gulfport–

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Established in 1880, Perkinston is the oldest settlement in Stone County. The village is named for John C. Perkins (1840–1928), who homesteaded the area after serving in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

. Abundant forests established timber and turpentine production as early industries. The Perkinston community benefited from the

Gulf and Ship Island Railroad The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SI) was constructed in the state of Mississippi, USA, at the turn of the 20th century to open a vast expanse of southern yellow pine forests for commercial harvest. In spite of economic uncertainty, entrepren ...

, which was constructed through the village in the late 1890s. Beginning in 1911, Perkinston served mainly as a campus for the Harrison County Agricultural High School, which developed into

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) is a Public college, public community college with its main campus in Perkinston, Mississippi. It was founded as Harrison County Agricultural High School in 1912. MGCCC has three campuses and sev ...

. Through time, the village had few commercial establishments, but did have a post office, general store, churches, and a gasoline service station. The WLOX TV Tower in Perkinston, a

guyed mast A guyed mast is a tall thin vertical structure that depends on guy lines (diagonal tensioned cables attached to the ground or a base) for stability. The mast itself has the compressive strength to support its own weight, but does not have the ...

tower, is listed as one of the tallest structures in the United States by height. In 2005, a ATV park opened west of Perkinston.

Education

* The Perkinston community is served by the Stone County School District. * The main campus of

is located in Perkinston.

Transportation

* Highway: U.S. Route 49. * Railroad:

Kansas City Southern Railroad The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Ark ...

Notable people

Mary S. Graham Mary S. Graham is an American academic administrator who has served as the president of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) since 2011. She is a former chair of the American Association of Community Colleges and has served as a member ...

, academic administrator

References

External links

Stone County
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Mississippi Unincorporated communities in Stone County, Mississippi Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area