Formed March 31, 1906 (77th county)
Jefferson Davis County (11,323), Prentiss (969)
The red brick Classical Revival courthouse was built in 1907 on Columbia Avenue between 2nd and 3rd streets. United States Highway 84 passes three blocks to the east. William Sharkey Hull provided the designs. The building was enlarged in 2006. The structure features white columns and a tank on the grounds. An Administration Building was added in 2006. The county was established on March 31, 1906 from Covington and Lawrence counties as the 77th county. Prentiss has always been the county seat. The county is named for Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The county seat is named United States Representative Sargent Smith Prentiss or for settler Prentiss Webb Berry.
Jefferson Davis County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a collector, a coroner, an assessor and a clerk (executive). It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.) Two Chancery Court Judges serve Jefferson Davis, Covington, Lawrence, Simpson, and Smith counties, Three District Court Judges serve Jefferson Davis, Lamar, Lawrence, Marion, and Pearl River counties and a court clerk serves Jefferson Davis County (judicial.) The county is in southern Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi is northwest and New Orleans, Louisiana is southwest of the county. The county center is 3.6 miles East-Southeast of Prentiss. The county is surrounded clockwise by Simpson, Covington, Lamar, Marion, and Lawrence counties.
The area of the county is 408 square miles. It is 76 out of 82 in the state. It ranks 66 out of 82 in population in the state. It has a density of 27.8 persons per square mile making it 55 out of 82 in the state. Jefferson Davis County has 10.3% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 84 crosses the county east to west from Covington County to Lawrence County. The county is shaped like a capital letter L with a foot added to the southwest. Prentiss is in the western half of the county. Prentiss is the county seat and the largest city. It is 8.6% of the county population.
Bassfield
Prentiss
