There are 82 counties in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Mississippi is tied with Arkansas for the most counties with two county seats, at 10.
Counties of Mississippi | |
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Location | State of Mississippi |
Number | 82 |
Populations | Greatest: 214,870 (Hinds) Least: 1,256 (Issaquena) Average: 35,850 (2023) |
Areas | Largest: 920 square miles (2,400 km2) (Yazoo, by land) Smallest: 400 square miles (1,000 km2) (Alcorn) Average: 591 square miles (1,530 km2) |
Government | |
Subdivisions |
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Mississippi's postal abbreviation is MS and its FIPS state code is 28.
List
editCounty |
FIPS code[1] | County seat[2] | Smithsonian Trinomial [3] |
Est.[4] | Origin | Etymology | Population[5] | Area[4] | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adams County | 001 | Natchez | AD | 1799 | One of two original counties | John Adams, second U.S. President | 28,746 | 460 sq mi (1,191 km2) |
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Alcorn County | 003 | Corinth | AL | 1870 | Formed from Tippiah and Tishomingo Counties | James L. Alcorn, Reconstruction-era U.S. Senator from Mississippi | 34,135 | 400 sq mi (1,036 km2) |
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Amite County | 005 | Liberty | AM | 1809 | Formed from Wilkinson County | Amite River | 12,442 | 730 sq mi (1,891 km2) |
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Attala County | 007 | Kosciusko | AT | 1833 | Formed from Madison County | A fictional Native American heroine from the early 19th-century novel Atala by François-René de Chateaubriand. | 17,359 | 735 sq mi (1,904 km2) |
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Benton County | 009 | Ashland | BE | 1870 | Formed from Marshall and Tippah Counties | Samuel Benton, Brigadier General of the Confederate States Army's 34th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, mustered from the same counties from which Benton County was formed in 1870 | 7,438 | 407 sq mi (1,054 km2) |
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Bolivar County | 011 | Cleveland, Rosedale |
BO | 1836 | Formed from Tallahatchie and Washington Counties | Simon Bolivar, South American democratic revolutionary | 28,968 | 876 sq mi (2,269 km2) |
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Calhoun County | 013 | Pittsboro | CN | 1852 | Formed from Chickasaw, Lafayette and Yalobusha Counties | John C. Calhoun, U.S. Senator from South Carolina and prominent supporter of states' rights | 12,685 | 587 sq mi (1,520 km2) |
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Carroll County | 015 | Carrollton, Vaiden |
CA | 1833 | Formed from Lowndes, Monroe, Washington and Yazoo Counties | Charles Carroll, last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence | 9,535 | 628 sq mi (1,627 km2) |
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Chickasaw County | 017 | Houston, Okolona |
CS | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County and Unorganized | Chickasaw Native Americans | 16,866 | 502 sq mi (1,300 km2) |
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Choctaw County | 019 | Ackerman | CH | 1833 | Formed from Lowndes, Madison, Monroe and Yazoo Counties | Choctaw Native Americans | 8,088 | 419 sq mi (1,085 km2) |
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Claiborne County | 021 | Port Gibson | CB | 1802 | Formed from Jefferson (Pickering) County | William C. C. Claiborne, Governor of the Mississippi Territory | 8,617 | 487 sq mi (1,261 km2) |
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Clarke County | 023 | Quitman | CK | 1833 | Formed from Wayne County | Joshua G. Clarke, the first chancellor of the Mississippi Chancery Courts | 15,228 | 691 sq mi (1,790 km2) |
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Clay County | 025 | West Point | CL | 1871 | Formed from Chickasaw, Lowndes, Monroe and Oktibbeha Counties (formerly (Colfax County) | Henry Clay, U.S. Senator from Kentucky and giant of 19th century politics | 18,206 | 409 sq mi (1,059 km2) |
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Coahoma County | 027 | Clarksdale | CO | 1836 | Formed from Unorganized | derives from Choctaw word meaning "red panther"[6] | 20,077 | 554 sq mi (1,435 km2) |
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Copiah County | 029 | Hazlehurst | CP | 1823 | Formed from Franklin and Hinds Counties | derives from Choctaw word meaning "calling panther"[6] | 27,664 | 777 sq mi (2,012 km2) |
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Covington County | 031 | Collins | CV | 1819 | Formed from Lawrence and Wayne Counties | Leonard Covington, War of 1812 general | 18,059 | 414 sq mi (1,072 km2) |
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DeSoto County | 033 | Hernando | DS | 1836 | Formed from Monroe and Washington Counties | Hernando de Soto, Spanish explorer of the Americas | 193,247 | 478 sq mi (1,238 km2) |
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Forrest County | 035 | Hattiesburg | FO | 1906 | Formed from Perry County | Nathan B. Forrest, Confederate general | 78,208 | 467 sq mi (1,210 km2) |
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Franklin County | 037 | Meadville | FR | 1809 | Formed from Adams County | Benjamin Franklin, writer, orator, publisher, and U.S. founding father | 7,610 | 565 sq mi (1,463 km2) |
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George County | 039 | Lucedale | GE | 1910 | Formed from Greene and Jackson Counties | James Z. George, U.S. Senator from Mississippi | 25,619 | 478 sq mi (1,238 km2) |
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Greene County | 041 | Leakesville | GN | 1811 | Formed from Wayne County | Nathanael Greene, American Revolutionary War general | 13,601 | 713 sq mi (1,847 km2) |
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Grenada County | 043 | Grenada | GR | 1870 | Formed from Carroll, Choctaw, Tallahatchie and Yalobusha Counties | Spanish province of Granada (spelling variation) | 21,065 | 422 sq mi (1,093 km2) |
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Hancock County | 045 | Bay St. Louis | HA | 1812 | Formed from Unorganized | John Hancock, first signer of the Declaration of Independence | 46,159 | 477 sq mi (1,235 km2) |
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Harrison County | 047 | Gulfport, Biloxi |
HR | 1841 | Formed from Hancock County | William Henry Harrison, ninth U.S. President | 210,612 | 581 sq mi (1,505 km2) |
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Hinds County | 049 | Jackson, Raymond |
HI | 1821 | Formed from Unorganized (Choctaw Cession of 1820) | Thomas Hinds, War of 1812 general and U.S. Representative from Mississippi | 214,870 | 869 sq mi (2,251 km2) |
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Holmes County | 051 | Lexington | HO | 1833 | Formed from Yazoo County | David Holmes, first Governor of Mississippi | 15,777 | 756 sq mi (1,958 km2) |
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Humphreys County | 053 | Belzoni | HU | 1918 | Formed from Holmes, Sunflower, Washington and Yazoo Counties | Benjamin G. Humphreys, Reconstruction-era Governor of Mississippi | 7,216 | 418 sq mi (1,083 km2) |
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Issaquena County | 055 | Mayersville | IS | 1844 | Formed from Washington County | Choctaw word meaning "Deer River"[6] | 1,256 | 413 sq mi (1,070 km2) |
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Itawamba County | 057 | Fulton | IT | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | Itawamba, Chickasaw chief | 24,093 | 532 sq mi (1,378 km2) |
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Jackson County | 059 | Pascagoula | JA | 1812 | Formed from Unorganized | Andrew Jackson, War of 1812 hero and seventh U.S. President | 146,389 | 727 sq mi (1,883 km2) |
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Jasper County | 061 | Bay Springs, Paulding |
JS | 1833 | Formed from Jones and Wayne Counties | William Jasper, Revolutionary War sergeant | 16,013 | 676 sq mi (1,751 km2) |
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Jefferson County | 063 | Fayette | JE | 1799 | One of two original Counties (formerly Pickering) | Thomas Jefferson, third U.S. President and principal author of the Declaration of Independence | 6,941 | 519 sq mi (1,344 km2) |
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Jefferson Davis County | 065 | Prentiss | JD | 1906 | Formed from Covington and Lawrence Counties | Jefferson Davis, C.S. President | 10,969 | 408 sq mi (1,057 km2) |
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Jones County | 067 | Laurel, Ellisville |
JO | 1826 | Formed from Covington and Wayne Counties (formerly Davis (1865-1869 (Civil War)) | John Paul Jones, Revolutionary War naval captain | 66,250 | 694 sq mi (1,797 km2) |
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Kemper County | 069 | De Kalb | KE | 1833 | Formed from Lowndes, Rankin and Wayne Counties | Reuben Kemper, American pioneer and revolutionary in Spanish Florida | 8,584 | 766 sq mi (1,984 km2) |
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Lafayette County | 071 | Oxford | LA | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | Marquis de la Fayette, French-born Revolutionary War general | 58,467 | 631 sq mi (1,634 km2) |
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Lamar County | 073 | Purvis | LM | 1904 | Formed from Marion and Pearl River Counties | Lucius Q. C. Lamar, U.S. Senator from Mississippi and United States Secretary of the Interior | 66,217 | 497 sq mi (1,287 km2) |
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Lauderdale County | 075 | Meridian | LD | 1833 | Formed from Rankin and Wayne Counties | James Lauderdale, War of 1812 colonel | 70,527 | 704 sq mi (1,823 km2) |
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Lawrence County | 077 | Monticello | LW | 1814 | Formed from Marion County | James Lawrence, War of 1812 naval captain | 11,741 | 431 sq mi (1,116 km2) |
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Leake County | 079 | Carthage | LK | 1833 | Formed from Madison and Rankin Counties | Walter Leake, Governor of Mississippi | 21,258 | 583 sq mi (1,510 km2) |
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Lee County | 081 | Tupelo | LE | 1866 | Formed from Itawamba and Pontotoc Counties | Robert E. Lee, General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States | 82,799 | 450 sq mi (1,165 km2) |
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Leflore County | 083 | Greenwood | LF | 1871 | Formed from Carroll and Sunflower Counties | Greenwood LeFlore, mixed-race advocate of citizenship for Native Americans and state senator | 26,378 | 592 sq mi (1,533 km2) |
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Lincoln County | 085 | Brookhaven | LI | 1870 | Formed from Amite, Copiah, Franklin, Lawrence and Pike Counties | Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth U.S. President | 34,702 | 586 sq mi (1,518 km2) |
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Lowndes County | 087 | Columbus | LO | 1830 | Formed from Monroe County and Unorganized | William Jones Lowndes, U.S. Representative from South Carolina | 57,283 | 502 sq mi (1,300 km2) |
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Madison County | 089 | Canton | MD | 1828 | Formed from Yazoo County | James Madison, fourth U.S. President | 112,511 | 719 sq mi (1,862 km2) |
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Marion County | 091 | Columbia | MA | 1811 | Formed from Amite, Franklin and Wayne Counties | Francis Marion, Revolutionary War general | 24,224 | 542 sq mi (1,404 km2) |
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Marshall County | 093 | Holly Springs | MR | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States who shaped the Supreme Court's power | 34,123 | 706 sq mi (1,829 km2) |
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Monroe County | 095 | Aberdeen | MO | 1821 | Formed from Unorganized (Chickasaw Cession of 1816) | James Monroe, fifth U.S. President | 33,609 | 764 sq mi (1,979 km2) |
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Montgomery County | 097 | Winona | MT | 1871 | Formed from Carroll and Choctaw Counties | Richard Montgomery, Revolutionary War general | 9,600 | 407 sq mi (1,054 km2) |
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Neshoba County | 099 | Philadelphia | NE | 1833 | Formed from Jones, Madison, Rankin and Wayne Counties | Choctaw word for "gray wolf"[6] | 28,789 | 570 sq mi (1,476 km2) |
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Newton County | 101 | Decatur | NW | 1836 | Formed from Neshoba County | Isaac Newton, English scientist | 21,019 | 578 sq mi (1,497 km2) |
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Noxubee County | 103 | Macon | NO | 1833 | Formed from Lowndes and Rankin Counties | Choctaw for "stinking water" | 9,914 | 695 sq mi (1,800 km2) |
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Oktibbeha County | 105 | Starkville | OK | 1833 | Formed from Lowndes County | Choctaw word for "bloody water" | 51,203 | 458 sq mi (1,186 km2) |
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Panola County | 107 | Batesville, Sardis |
PA | 1836 | Formed from Monroe and Washington Counties | Choctaw for "cotton" | 32,669 | 684 sq mi (1,772 km2) |
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Pearl River County | 109 | Poplarville | PR | 1890 | Formed from Hancock and Marion Counties | Pearl River | 57,978 | 812 sq mi (2,103 km2) |
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Perry County | 111 | New Augusta | PE | 1820 | Formed from Greene County | Oliver Hazard Perry, War of 1812 naval captain | 11,315 | 647 sq mi (1,676 km2) |
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Pike County | 113 | Magnolia | PI | 1815 | Formed from Marion County | Zebulon Pike, western explorer | 39,394 | 409 sq mi (1,059 km2) |
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Pontotoc County | 115 | Pontotoc | PO | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | Chickasaw for "land of hanging grapes" | 31,535 | 497 sq mi (1,287 km2) |
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Prentiss County | 117 | Booneville | PS | 1870 | Formed from Itawamba and Tishomingo Counties | Seargent Smith Prentiss, U.S. Representative from Mississippi | 25,135 | 415 sq mi (1,075 km2) |
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Quitman County | 119 | Marks | QU | 1877 | Formed from Coahoma, Panola, Tallahatchie and Tunica Counties | John A. Quitman, Governor of Mississippi | 5,546 | 405 sq mi (1,049 km2) |
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Rankin County | 121 | Brandon | RA | 1828 | Formed from Hinds County | Christopher Rankin, U.S. Representative from Mississippi | 160,417 | 775 sq mi (2,007 km2) |
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Scott County | 123 | Forest | SC | 1833 | Formed from Covington, Jones and Rankin Counties | Abram M. Scott, Governor of Mississippi | 27,507 | 609 sq mi (1,577 km2) |
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Sharkey County | 125 | Rolling Fork | SH | 1876 | Formed from Issaquena, Warren and Washington Counties | William L. Sharkey, Mississippi Supreme Court justice | 3,336 | 428 sq mi (1,109 km2) |
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Simpson County | 127 | Mendenhall | SI | 1824 | Formed from Copiah County | Josiah Simpson, first federal judge appointed in the state | 25,715 | 589 sq mi (1,526 km2) |
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Smith County | 129 | Raleigh | SM | 1833 | Formed from Covington, Jones and Rankin Counties | David Smith, Revolutionary War major | 14,099 | 636 sq mi (1,647 km2) |
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Stone County | 131 | Wiggins | ST | 1916 | Formed from Harrison County | John M. Stone, Governor of Mississippi | 18,756 | 445 sq mi (1,153 km2) |
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Sunflower County | 133 | Indianola | SU | 1844 | Formed from Bolivar County | Sunflower River | 24,468 | 694 sq mi (1,797 km2) |
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Tallahatchie County | 135 | Charleston, Sumner |
TL | 1833 | Formed from Washington and Yazoo Counties | Tallahatchie River | 11,837 | 644 sq mi (1,668 km2) |
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Tate County | 137 | Senatobia | TA | 1873 | Formed from DeSoto and Marshall Counties | Thomas Simpson Tate, the county's original settler | 28,261 | 404 sq mi (1,046 km2) |
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Tippah County | 139 | Ripley | TI | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | Chickasaw word for "cut off" | 21,287 | 458 sq mi (1,186 km2) |
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Tishomingo County | 141 | Iuka | TS | 1836 | Formed from Monroe County | Chief Tishomingo, Chickasaw leader | 18,507 | 424 sq mi (1,098 km2) |
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Tunica County | 143 | Tunica | TU | 1836 | Formed from Washington County and Unorganized | Tunica Native Americans | 9,234 | 455 sq mi (1,178 km2) |
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Union County | 145 | New Albany | UN | 1870 | Formed from Lee, Pontotoc and Tippah Counties | Reunion of Confederacy with the United States | 28,284 | 416 sq mi (1,077 km2) |
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Walthall County | 147 | Tylertown | WL | 1912 | Formed from Marion and Pike Counties | Edward Walthall, U.S. Senator from Mississippi | 13,863 | 404 sq mi (1,046 km2) |
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Warren County | 149 | Vicksburg | WR | 1809 | Formed from Claiborne County | Joseph Warren, Revolutionary War general | 42,298 | 587 sq mi (1,520 km2) |
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Washington County | 151 | Greenville | WS | 1827 | Formed from Warren and Yazoo Counties | George Washington, first U.S. President | 41,946 | 724 sq mi (1,875 km2) |
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Wayne County | 153 | Waynesboro | WA | 1809 | Formed from Washington County (AL) | Anthony Wayne, Revolutionary War general | 19,703 | 810 sq mi (2,098 km2) |
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Webster County | 155 | Walthall | WE | 1874 | Formed from Chickasaw, Choctaw and Montgomery Counties (formerly Sumner County) | Daniel Webster, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and giant of Nineteenth Century politics | 9,988 | 423 sq mi (1,096 km2) |
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Wilkinson County | 157 | Woodville | WK | 1802 | Formed from Adams County | James Wilkinson, Revolutionary War general | 8,058 | 677 sq mi (1,753 km2) |
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Winston County | 159 | Louisville | WI | 1833 | Formed from Lowndes, Rankin, and Wayne Counties | Louis L. Winston, Mississippi Territory official | 17,416 | 607 sq mi (1,572 km2) |
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Yalobusha County | 161 | Water Valley, Coffeeville |
YA | 1833 | Formed from Monroe, Washington and Yazoo Counties | Yalobusha River, from Choctaw name meaning "tadpole place" | 12,386 | 467 sq mi (1,210 km2) |
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Yazoo County | 163 | Yazoo City | YZ | 1823 | Formed from Hinds County | Yazoo River, named for the Yazoo people | 25,796 | 920 sq mi (2,383 km2) |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA.gov. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
- ^ Bureau of the Census, USA. "GeoHive - USA, Mississippi state population statistics". Archived from the original on April 7, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
- ^ Mississippi Department of Archives and History.[full citation needed]
- ^ a b National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ Bureau of the Census, U.S.A. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Mississippi". Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Baca, Keith A. (2007). Native American Place Names in Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-60473-483-6.