Jefferson Davis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,321. Its county seat is Prentiss. The county is named after Mississippi Senator and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The county was carved out of Covington and Lawrence counties in March 1906. Governor James K. Vardaman signed the bill creating the county on May 9, 1906.

History

The genesis of the county occurred on March 31, 1906, when a Mississippi state legislative act authorized the new country's boundaries. The residents of western Covington County and eastern Lawrence County had frequently complained of the rivers and streams impeding the route to their respective county seats. Jefferson Davis County was the state's 77th county. A 1906 special referendum determined that the county seat would be Prentiss, named for either famed Mississippi lawmaker and orator Seargent Smith Prentiss, or wealthy landowner Prentiss Webb Berry. The settlement was originally named Blountville after early settler William Blount. In 1933, the county was the first in Mississippi to issue a prohibition on alcohol after the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Round dancing in the community hall was banned in 1938. In 1935, notorious bank robber Raymond Hamilton, known to hide out in the county's wilderness, was involved in a hostage situation after robbing Prentiss' Bank of Blountville, but escaped in Memphis.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 409 sqmi, of which 408 sqmi is land and 0.7 sqmi (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 11,321 people, 4,713 households, and 3,003 families residing in the county.

Communities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

Politics

Typical of a majority-black county in Mississippi, Jefferson Davis leans Democratic and last voted Republican in 1984.

Historic sites

Jefferson Davis County Courthouse in Prentiss is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Education

All residents are zoned to the Jefferson Davis County School District. The county is in the zone of Pearl River Community College.