Prentiss is a town and the

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 Jefferson Davis 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 1,081 at the 2010 census, down from 1,158 at the 2000 census. Prentiss is located on the Longleaf Trace, Mississippi's first recreational

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

History

Originally part of Lawrence County, the town was first named "Blountville", after William Blount, an early settler and merchant. Blountville High School was established in 1885 on of land. A depot was established in Blountville when the Pearl & Leaf Rivers Railroad (later

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

) was completed in 1903. That same year the town was officially established and named "Prentiss", after Prentiss Webb Berry, a prominent landowner in the area. When Jefferson Davis County was created in 1906, a special election determined that Prentiss would serve as the county seat. In 1907, Jonas Edward Johnson and his wife Bertha LaBranche Johnson established the Prentiss Institute. Situated on of land, with remnants of slave quarters on the property, it was considered one of the finest schools for

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

in Mississippi. The school at first taught only the elementary grades, and began with 40 students whose tuition was often paid with chickens, eggs and produce. A Rosenwald classroom was built on the campus in 1926, and by 1953 the "Prentiss Normal and Industrial Institute" included a high school and junior college, had 44 faculty and more than 700 students, and included 24 buildings and of farmland, pasture and forest. In 1955,

Heifer International Heifer International (also known as Heifer Project International) is a global nonprofit working to eradicate poverty and hunger through sustainable, values-based holistic community development. Heifer International distributes animals, along with ...

donated 15 pure-bred cows to the school with the intention that the offspring be donated to needy farm families. It is noteworthy that the school gave some of the animals to poor white families. The school closed in 1989 and was designated an official Mississippi landmark in 2002.

Ralph Fults Ralph Fults (January 23, 1911 – March 16, 1993) was a Depression-era outlaw and escape artist associated with Raymond Hamilton, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow of the Barrow Gang. Early life Fults was born in Anna, Texas. His father was a U. ...

and

Raymond Hamilton Raymond Elzie Hamilton (May 21, 1914 – May 10, 1935) was a member of the notorious Barrow Gang during the early 1930s. By the time he was 20 years old, he had accumulated a prison sentence of 362 years. Early life Raymond Hamilton was born M ...

, members of the notorious

Barrow Gang The Barrow Gang was an American gang active between 1932 and 1934. They were well known outlaws, robbers, murderers, and criminals who, as a gang, traveled the Central United States during the Great Depression. Their exploits were known all over t ...

, robbed the bank in Prentiss in 1935. In 1958, Rev. H.D. Darby of Prentiss filed a federal lawsuit challenging Mississippi's rigid voting eligibility laws for African Americans; it was the first lawsuit of its kind in Mississippi. Prentiss police officer Ron Jones, Jr. was shot and killed by

Cory Maye Cory Jermaine Maye (born September 9, 1980) is a former prisoner. He was originally convicted of murder in the 2001 death of Prentiss, Mississippi, police officer Ron W. Jones, during a drug raid on the other half of Maye's duplex. Maye has s ...

while executing a search warrant in 2001.

Geography

Prentiss is located in central Jefferson Davis County at .

U.S. Route 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–westUS 84 was signed north-south in parts of Colorado and New Mexico. United States Numbered Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it h ...

passes north and west of the town center on a bypass; the four-lane highway leads east to Collins and west to

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

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 ...

passes through the town slightly east of the center; it leads north to Mendenhall and south to Columbia. Mississippi Highway 42 leads southeast from Prentiss to Bassfield. 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 ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 976 people, 429 households, and 289 families residing in the town.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 1,081 people living in the town. 60.3% were

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 37.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.5% from some other race and 0.9% of two or more races. 0.6% were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,158 people, 479 households, and 323 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 537 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 79.53%

, 19.17%

, 0.60% Native American, 0.09% Asian, and 0.60% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.47% of the population. There were 479 households, out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.80. In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.9% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,200, and the median income for a family was $38,571. Males had a median income of $31,875 versus $21,806 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $18,486. About 17.2% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 47.6% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Annual events

Prentiss hosts an annual "Run for the Roses 5K Run/Walk".

Tourism

Local attractions include: * The Holloway-Polk house – the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in Jefferson Davis County. * Lake Jeff Davis – a campground and picnic area southeast of Prentiss. * Mt. Zion Church and Cemetery – the second-oldest African American church and cemetery in Jefferson Davis County. * Spring Hill Missionary Baptist Church and Cemetery (c. 1847) – the oldest African American Baptist Church and cemetery in Jefferson Davis County.

Parks and recreation

In 1993, the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

announced it would abandon the former Illinois Central line which ran through Prentiss. This enabled the construction of the Longleaf Trace, Mississippi's first recreational rail trail, located between Prentiss and

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 ...

Government

Detachment 2 of the 155th Brigade Combat Team of the

Mississippi Army National Guard The Mississippi Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Mississippi National Guard. It was originally formed in 1798. It is a component of the United States Army and the National Guard (United States), National Guard. It ...

is located in Prentiss.

Education

Prentiss is served by the Jefferson Davis County School District. A football rivalry existed between Prentiss High School's "Bulldogs" and Columbia High School's "Wildcats" before Prentiss closed after the 2016-2017 school year. In one notable game during the 1970s, the Bulldogs were winning 6-0 when a Wildcats' player

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, ...

scored two touchdowns, running 95 yards for the first touchdown and 65 yards for the second. The Wildcats won 14-6. There is one private school serving K-12 students, Prentiss Christian School.

Media

The community is served by the ''Prentiss Headlight'' newspaper.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Prentiss is accessed from Mississippi Highway 42,

, and

. The Prentiss-Jefferson Davis County Airport is located west of the town.

Health care

The Jefferson Davis Community Hospital is located in Prentiss.

Notable people

* Thelma Farr Baxter, 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 ...

from 1950 to 1956 *

Vincent Davis E. Vincent Davis was a Democratic member of the Mississippi Senate, representing the 36th District during 2008 and 2009. Davis was appointed Chancery Judge for the 17th Chancery Court District (Adams, Claiborne, Jefferson, and Wilkinson Count ...

, judge for the Mississippi 17th Chancery Court District and former Mississippi senator *

Al Jefferson Al Ricardo Jefferson (born January 4, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He was a high school All-American for Prentiss High School in Mississippi before skipping college to enter the 2004 NBA draft, where he was drafted ...

, NBA player for five teams * Felecia M. Nave, chemical engineer and 20th President of

Alcorn State University Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. ...

Clyde Otis Clyde Lovern Otis (September 11, 1924 – January 8, 2008) was an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaboration with singer Brook Benton, and for being one of the first African-American A&R executives at a major label. ...

, songwriter and record producer *

Garland H. Williams Garland H. Williams (1903–1993) was an American pioneer of covert investigations, military counterintelligence, white collar investigations, espionage, training and planning, and a lifelong law enforcement officer. He is a veteran of World War ...

, law enforcement specialist in covert operations

In popular culture

Blues musician Houston Stackhouse stated that fellow musician Tommy Johnson: "was stayin' over around Prentiss, Mississippi. I believe, I don't know how long he stayed there, but that was his hangout. It was out east of Crystal Springs, back there around Prentiss and Pinola, or somewhere back in there. Big piney thickets and like that."

References

External links

Town of Prentiss official website
* {{authority control Towns in Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi Towns in Mississippi County seats in Mississippi