Forrest County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,158.[2] Its county seat and largest city is Hattiesburg.[3] The county was created from Perry County in 1908 and named in honor of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general in the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Forrest County is part of the Hattiesburg, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Forrest County | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi | |
 Mississippi's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 31°11′N 89°16′W / 31.19°N 89.26°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Mississippi |
| Founded | 1908[1] |
| Named for | Nathan B. Forrest |
| Seat | Hattiesburg |
| Largest city | Hattiesburg |
| Area | |
• Total | 470 sq mi (1,200 km2) |
| • Land | 466 sq mi (1,210 km2) |
| • Water | 3.9 sq mi (10 km2) 0.8% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 78,158 |
• Estimate (2023) | 78,208  |
| • Density | 170/sq mi (64/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 4th |
| Website | forrestcountyms |
Geography
editAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 470 square miles (1,200 km2), of which 466 square miles (1,210 km2) is land and 3.9 square miles (10 km2) (0.8%) is water.[4]
Major highways
editInterstate 59
U.S. Highway 11
U.S. Highway 49
U.S. Highway 98
Mississippi Highway 13
Mississippi Highway 42
Adjacent counties
edit- Jones County (northeast)
- Perry County (east)
- Stone County (south)
- Pearl River County (southwest)
- Lamar County (west)
- Covington County (northwest)
National protected area
edit- De Soto National Forest (part)
Demographics
edit| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 20,722 | — | |
| 1920 | 21,238 | 2.5% | |
| 1930 | 30,115 | 41.8% | |
| 1940 | 34,901 | 15.9% | |
| 1950 | 45,055 | 29.1% | |
| 1960 | 52,722 | 17.0% | |
| 1970 | 57,849 | 9.7% | |
| 1980 | 66,018 | 14.1% | |
| 1990 | 68,314 | 3.5% | |
| 2000 | 72,604 | 6.3% | |
| 2010 | 74,934 | 3.2% | |
| 2020 | 78,158 | 4.3% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 78,208 | [5] | 0.1% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8] 1990-2000[9] 2010-2013[10] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 43,121 | 55.17% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 28,151 | 36.02% |
| Native American | 177 | 0.23% |
| Asian | 789 | 1.01% |
| Pacific Islander | 29 | 0.04% |
| Other/Mixed | 2,633 | 3.37% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 3,258 | 4.17% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 78,158 people, 27,340 households, and 15,633 families residing in the county.
Communities
editCities
edit- Hattiesburg (county seat; small portion in Lamar County)
- Petal
Census-designated places
edit- Eastabuchie (located mostly in Jones County)
- Glendale
- Rawls Springs
Other unincorporated communities
editGhost towns
editPolitics
editForrest County has not supported the National Democratic ticket for president since 1944, when it voted overwhelmingly for Franklin Roosevelt in his landslide record fourth term victory. That is the longest such streak of any county in the state. Only twice since then has it not voted Republican, in 1948 when it backed the States Rights ticket of Strom Thurmond and then-Mississippi Governor Fielding Wright, and in 1968 when it voted for George Wallace and Curtis LeMay.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 17,290 | 54.62% | 13,755 | 43.45% | 609 | 1.92% |
| 2016 | 15,461 | 55.09% | 11,716 | 41.75% | 887 | 3.16% |
| 2012 | 16,574 | 54.82% | 13,272 | 43.89% | 390 | 1.29% |
| 2008 | 15,296 | 56.27% | 11,622 | 42.75% | 266 | 0.98% |
| 2004 | 16,318 | 61.01% | 10,220 | 38.21% | 207 | 0.77% |
| 2000 | 13,281 | 59.69% | 8,500 | 38.20% | 470 | 2.11% |
| 1996 | 11,278 | 55.17% | 7,965 | 38.96% | 1,199 | 5.87% |
| 1992 | 12,432 | 54.64% | 8,333 | 36.62% | 1,988 | 8.74% |
| 1988 | 14,249 | 66.84% | 6,953 | 32.62% | 116 | 0.54% |
| 1984 | 15,719 | 69.63% | 6,786 | 30.06% | 71 | 0.31% |
| 1980 | 12,656 | 59.34% | 8,274 | 38.80% | 397 | 1.86% |
| 1976 | 10,770 | 56.33% | 7,914 | 41.39% | 436 | 2.28% |
| 1972 | 14,418 | 80.56% | 2,933 | 16.39% | 547 | 3.06% |
| 1968 | 3,294 | 20.30% | 2,957 | 18.22% | 9,975 | 61.48% |
| 1964 | 9,291 | 89.17% | 1,128 | 10.83% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 3,412 | 39.53% | 2,068 | 23.96% | 3,152 | 36.52% |
| 1956 | 2,256 | 37.52% | 1,928 | 32.06% | 1,829 | 30.42% |
| 1952 | 4,480 | 60.41% | 2,936 | 39.59% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 167 | 2.84% | 406 | 6.90% | 5,307 | 90.26% |
| 1944 | 436 | 10.67% | 3,649 | 89.33% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 228 | 6.88% | 3,075 | 92.82% | 10 | 0.30% |
| 1936 | 234 | 6.09% | 3,596 | 93.62% | 11 | 0.29% |
| 1932 | 182 | 7.98% | 2,068 | 90.70% | 30 | 1.32% |
| 1928 | 1,447 | 44.66% | 1,793 | 55.34% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 156 | 7.31% | 1,826 | 85.57% | 152 | 7.12% |
| 1920 | 140 | 10.36% | 1,146 | 84.76% | 66 | 4.88% |
| 1916 | 54 | 4.28% | 1,146 | 90.81% | 62 | 4.91% |
| 1912 | 16 | 1.49% | 886 | 82.57% | 171 | 15.94% |
Education
editThere are three school districts in the county: Forrest County Schools, Hattiesburg Public School District, and Petal School District.[13]
Forrest County Agricultural High School is in the county.
The county is in the zone of Pearl River Community College.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "History". Forrest County, Mississippi. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Forrest County, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
- ^ "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 3, 2014.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Forrest County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 27, 2024. - Text list
- ^ "2014-2016 Catalog" (PDF). Pearl River Community College. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
External links
editMedia related to Forrest County, Mississippi at Wikimedia Commons
- Mississippi Courthouses – Forrest County