Covington County, Mississippi

Covington County Education, Geography, and History

Covington County is a county located in the state of Mississippi. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 19,568. Its county seat is Collins. The county is named for US Army officer and Congressman Leonard Covington.

Etymology - Origin of Covington County Name

Covington is named for US Army officer and Congressman Leonard Covington. Leonard Wailes Covington (October 30, 1768-November 14, 1813) was a United States Army Brigadier General and a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Born in Aquasco, Maryland, Covington served in the Northwest Indian War under Anthony Wayne, where he distinguished himself at Fort Recovery and the Battle of Fallen Timbers and in the War of 1812. Covington was mortally wounded in the Battle of Crysler's Farm and died three days later at Frenchs Mills, NY.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Covington County History

Covington County was established January 5, 1819 as Bainbridge, then renamed short time after Mississippi became a State, from the counties of Lawrence and Wayne. The county was named for General Leonard Covington, who was killed in the invasion of Canada during the War of 1812. It now contains an area of 410 square miles. The original act defined its boundaries as follows:

"Beginning on the eastern boundary of the eighteenth range line where it intersects the southern boundary line of Lawrence County; thence north along the said range line to its intersection with the dividing ridge between the waters of Leaf and Pearl rivers; thence along the summit of said ridge to its intersection with the Choctaw boundary line; thence easterly along that line to the eastern boundary of the tenth range line; thence south along the said range line to its intersection with the northern boundary of Greene County; thence west along the said line to the corner of the said county of Greene; thence along the fifth parallel township line to where the same intersects the eighteenth range line."

In 1825 the dividing line between Covington and Lawrence was declared to be:

"Beginning on the eastern boundary of the 18th range line, where it now intersects the northern boundary of the 5th township line; thence due west four miles; thence due north to Simpson County line."

Williamsburg was the county seat (named for Thomas H. Williams, who was one of the two first United States Senators from Mississippi). Collins became the county seat in 1906. It was named for Fred W. Collins who was the United States Marshall for the Southern District of Mississippi in 1891-1893 and 1897-1902, and from 1910 until his death in 1912.

In 1826 all that part of Covington lying east of the center of range 14 was taken to form part of the county of Jones. In 1906 a part of Covington was taken to form Jefferson Davis County.

The County Courthouse had a Record loss in 1904

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 415 square miles (1,075 km²), of which, 414 square miles (1,072 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (3 km²) of it (0.28%) is water

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Smith County (north)
• Jones County (east)
• Forrest County (southeast)
• Lamar County (south)
• Jefferson Davis County (west)
• Simpson County (northwest)

Education

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