Marion County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,441. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Columbia. Marion County is named for

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

guerrilla leader

Francis Marion Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Ameri ...

also known as The Swamp Fox.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 98 U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola, Florida, Pensacola and Apalachicola, F ...

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, Pearl River, Lamar, Marion, Jefferson Davis, Simpson, Rankin, Smith, Scott, and Leake. Route description M ...

Mississippi Highway 35 Mississippi Highway 35 (MS 35) is a state highway in Mississippi. It runs north–south for , beginning at the Louisiana state line and ending at a junction with MS 315 at Sardis Dam. MS 35 serves the counties of Marion, Jefferson Davis, Co ...

Mississippi Highway 43 Mississippi Highway 43 (MS 43) is a state highway in Mississippi that generally runs north–south in three segments: the first from US 90 near Bay St. Louis to MS 13 south of Columbia, resuming at MS 13 in southern Jefferson Davis County ...

Mississippi Highway 44 Mississippi Highway 44 (MS 44) is a disconnected state highway comprising three segments in south-central Mississippi. The first, and longest, section runs from U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) in McComb to MS 27 near Topeka. The second, a ...

Adjacent counties

* Jefferson Davis County (north) * Lamar County (east) *

Pearl River County Pearl River County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The population was 55,834 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Poplarville. Pearl River County comprises the Picayune, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is inc ...

(southeast) *

Washington Parish, Louisiana Washington Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de Washington'') is a parish located in the interior southeast corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana, one of the Florida Parishes. As of the 2010 census, the population was 47,168. Its parish seat is Fr ...

(south) * Walthall County (west) * Lawrence County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 24,441 people, 9,483 households, and 5,863 families residing in the county.

Government and infrastructure

The

Mississippi Department of Human Services The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) is a state agency of Mississippi, headquartered in Jackson. The department operates the state's family services. Division of Youth Services The Division of Youth Services (DYS) operates juvenile c ...

's Division of Youth Services operated the Columbia Training School in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Marion County. The facility was closed in 2008.

Communities

Cities

* Columbia (county seat & only incorporated place)

Census-designated places

* Foxworth * Kokomo

Unincorporated communities

* Bunker Hill * Cheraw * East Columbia * Goss * Hub * Improve * Jamestown * Morgantown *

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

* New Hope * Rosehill * Foxworth

Notable people

* Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), "Father of Modern Rodeo," Mississippi Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee, producer of Marion County's first rodeo in 1935 * Charles C. Bass (1875–1975), "Father of Preventive Dentistry"; researcher in tropical medicine * Charles Coleman (American football) (born 1963), American football player *

Logan Cooke Logan Edward Cooke (born July 28, 1995) is an American football punter for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State. He has been the regular Jaguars punter since the 2018 ...

- NFL punter *

Peggy Dow Peggy Dow (born Peggy Josephine Varnadow; March 18, 1928) is an American philanthropist and retired actress who had a brief career in Hollywood had Universal Studios starring in films during the Golden Age Era in the early 1950s. She is perha ...

, American actress *

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 football running back who played ...

, American football player

References

External links

Marion County Sheriff's Office

Official website of Marion County
{{authority control Mississippi counties 1811 establishments in Mississippi Territory Populated places established in 1811