Jasper County
County
Historic Montrose Presbyterian Church.
Historic Montrose Presbyterian Church.
Map of Mississippi highlighting Jasper County
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Map of the United States highlighting Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°01′N 89°07′W / 32.02°N 89.12°W / 32.02; -89.12
Country United States
State Mississippi
Founded1833
Named forWilliam Jasper
SeatBay Springs and Paulding
Largest cityBay Springs
Area
 • Total677 sq mi (1,750 km2)
 • Land676 sq mi (1,750 km2)
 • Water1.2 sq mi (3 km2)  0.2%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total16,367
 • Density24/sq mi (9.3/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district3rd
Websitewww.co.jasper.ms.us

Jasper County is located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. At the 2020 census, the population was 16,367.[1] In 1906, the state legislature established two county courts, one at the first county seat of Paulding in the eastern part of the county and also one at Bay Springs in the west, where the railroad had been constructed.[2] Jasper County is part of the Laurel, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Bay Springs growth passed that of Paulding. No roadway connected the two parts of the county until one was built in 1935–1936. The still largely rural county is the major producer in the state of gas and oil, located in the southeast, and of timber, cattle, and poultry.

History

Developed during the period of Indian Removal from the Southeast and increasing settlement by European Americans in the region, Jasper County was formed in 1833 from the middle section of what was previously a much larger Jones County. It was named for Sgt. William Jasper[3] who distinguished himself in the defense of Fort Moultrie in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. When a shell from a British warship shot away the flagstaff, he recovered the flag, raised it on a temporary staff, and held it under fire until a new staff was installed. Sgt. Jasper was killed in the Siege of Savannah in 1779.

During the antebellum years, cotton was cultivated with slave labor on large plantations in the county. This was the heyday of the county seat of Paulding, Mississippi, called the "Queen City of the East." It was a trading center for the plantations, as well as for yeomen farmers in the area. While some African Americans left the county in the early 20th century during the Great Migration out of the rural South to northern cities, in 2010 Jasper County had a population that was 52.6 percent African American, reflecting its history of cotton development and of people's ties to generations in this land.

In the late nineteenth century, when local people declined to invest in railroad construction at Paulding, developers shifted the route to the west, stimulating growth at Bay Springs, where a sawmill had been built in 1880. About 1900 that community was incorporated as a city. In 1906 the state legislature designated Bay Springs as the second county seat. It attracted major timber companies, such as Georgia Pacific, and other industries.

It was not until 1935–1936, during the Great Depression under a WPA project, that the first east–west road was built across the county, connecting the city of Bay Springs in the west with Rose Hill, north of the community of Paulding, in the east.

Medical facilities have been built at Bay Springs, with the Jasper General Hospital operating since 1962. Jasper General Patient Rehab was constructed on the hospital grounds in 2012 to supplement the offerings.

Recreation in the county includes a 9-hole golf course at the Bay Springs Country Club. Fishing and hunting are available, including around Lake Claude Bennett near Rose Hill.

In the 21st century, the county is still largely rural, leading the state in timber, cattle, and poultry production. It is the state's major producer of gas and oil, with resources concentrated near the community of Heidelberg.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 677 square miles (1,750 km2), of which 676 square miles (1,750 km2) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2) (0.2%) is water.[4]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18403,958—
18506,18456.2%
186011,00778.0%
187010,884−1.1%
188012,12611.4%
189014,78521.9%
190015,3944.1%
191018,49820.2%
192018,5080.1%
193018,6340.7%
194019,4844.6%
195018,912−2.9%
196016,909−10.6%
197015,994−5.4%
198017,2657.9%
199017,114−0.9%
200018,1496.0%
201017,062−6.0%
202016,367−4.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7]
1990-2000[8] 2010-2013[9]
Jasper County racial composition as of 2020[10]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 7,541 46.07%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 8,324 50.86%
Native American 28 0.17%
Asian 8 0.05%
Other/Mixed 297 1.81%
Hispanic or Latino 169 1.03%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 16,367 people, 6,629 households, and 4,746 families residing in the county.

Public education

There are two school districts:[11]

Communities

City

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

The Veteran's Story is a book written by Ada Christine Lightsey. The subject of the book is American Civil War veteran Ransom Lightsey and Company F (Jasper Grays), 16th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.[12]

Politics

United States presidential election results for Jasper County, Mississippi[13]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 4,302 49.24% 4,341 49.69% 93 1.06%
2016 4,038 47.65% 4,368 51.54% 69 0.81%
2012 4,193 44.89% 5,097 54.57% 50 0.54%
2008 4,135 44.90% 5,025 54.56% 50 0.54%
2004 3,855 48.13% 4,117 51.40% 37 0.46%
2000 3,294 51.09% 3,104 48.15% 49 0.76%
1996 2,615 42.50% 3,170 51.52% 368 5.98%
1992 2,789 43.39% 3,059 47.59% 580 9.02%
1988 3,368 51.25% 3,184 48.45% 20 0.30%
1984 3,727 54.00% 3,104 44.97% 71 1.03%
1980 2,781 41.68% 3,813 57.14% 79 1.18%
1976 2,356 42.74% 3,109 56.39% 48 0.87%
1972 3,597 78.47% 935 20.40% 52 1.13%
1968 373 8.36% 987 22.13% 3,100 69.51%
1964 2,994 92.69% 236 7.31% 0 0.00%
1960 362 14.87% 1,147 47.10% 926 38.03%
1956 287 11.74% 1,958 80.08% 200 8.18%
1952 668 26.30% 1,872 73.70% 0 0.00%
1948 26 1.34% 121 6.23% 1,795 92.43%
1944 47 2.74% 1,667 97.26% 0 0.00%
1940 35 2.00% 1,713 98.00% 0 0.00%
1936 21 1.04% 2,004 98.87% 2 0.10%
1932 38 2.41% 1,526 96.64% 15 0.95%
1928 625 38.97% 979 61.03% 0 0.00%
1924 61 4.62% 1,257 95.30% 1 0.08%
1920 98 9.68% 899 88.83% 15 1.48%
1916 38 3.41% 1,040 93.27% 37 3.32%
1912 12 1.27% 860 91.30% 70 7.43%

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Census - Geography Profile: Jasper County, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 168.
  4. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  5. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  9. ↑ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  11. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Jasper County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022. - Text list
  12. ↑ Lightsey, Ada Christine (1899). The Veteran's Story. Meridian, Miss.: The Meridian News. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  13. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 4, 2018.

32°01′N 89°07′W / 32.02°N 89.12°W / 32.02; -89.12

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