Copiah County, Mississippi

Copiah County Education, Geography, and History

Copiah County is a county located in the state of Mississippi. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 29,449. The county seat is Hazlehurst.

With an eastern border formed by the Pearl River, Copiah County is part of the Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Copiah County Name

Copiah is a Native American word meaning calling panther.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Copiah County History

The New Purchase acquired from the Choctaw Indians, October 18, 1820, had been erected into the large county of Hinds, and on January 21, 1823, it was deemed wise to create out of its extensive area the counties of Copiah and Yazoo. The original act defines the limits of Copiah as follows:

"Beginning on the eastern boundary line of Claiborne County, where the southern boundary line of township three strikes the same; thence east along said line to the Choctaw boundary line; thence southwardly with the same to the northern boundary of Covington County; thence westwardly along the old Choctaw boundary line to the southwest corner of the same; thence northwardly with the old Choctaw boundary to the beginning."

One year later Simpson County was formed from that portion of Copiah lying east of the Pearl River, and April 7, 1870, it surrendered a strip of its southern territory to Lincoln County. The name Copiah is an Indian word, signifying "calling panther."

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 779 square miles (2,019 km²), of which, 777 square miles (2,011 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) of it (0.36%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Hinds County (north)
• Simpson County (east)
• Lawrence County (southeast)
• Lincoln County (south)
• Jefferson County (southwest)
• Claiborne County (west)

Education

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