Lawrence County, Mississippi

Lawrence County
County
Lawrence County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°33′N90°07′W / 31.55°N 90.11°W / 31.55; -90.11
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1814
Named after	James Lawrence
Seat	Monticello
Largest town	Monticello
Area
• Total	436 sq mi (1,130 km2)
• Land	431 sq mi (1,120 km2)
• Water	5.1 sq mi (13 km2)  1.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,016
• Density	28/sq mi (11/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	lawrencecountyms.com

Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,016. ^[1] Its county seat is Monticello. ^[2] The county is named for the naval hero James Lawrence. ^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 436 square miles (1,130 km²), of which 431 square miles (1,120 km²) is land and 5.1 square miles (13 km²) (1.2%) is water. ^[4]

Major highways

• U.S. Route 84
• Mississippi Highway 27
• Mississippi Highway 43
• Mississippi Highway 44

Adjacent counties

• Simpson County (northeast)
• Jefferson Davis County (east)
• Marion County (southeast)
• Walthall County (south)
• Lincoln County (west)
• Copiah County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	4,916		—
1830	5,293		7.7%
1840	5,920		11.8%
1850	6,478		9.4%
1860	9,213		42.2%
1870	6,720		−27.1%
1880	9,420		40.2%
1890	12,318		30.8%
1900	15,103		22.6%
1910	13,080		−13.4%
1920	12,663		−3.2%
1930	12,471		−1.5%
1940	13,983		12.1%
1950	12,639		−9.6%
1960	10,215		−19.2%
1970	11,137		9.0%
1980	12,518		12.4%
1990	12,458		−0.5%
2000	13,258		6.4%
2010	12,929		−2.5%
2020	12,016		−7.1%
2024 (est.)	11,672	[5]	−2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census [6] 1790-1960 [7] 1900-1990 [8] 1990-2000 [9] 2010-2013 [10]

Lawrence County racial composition as of 2020 ^[11]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	7,807	64.97%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	3,690	30.71%
Native American	17	0.14%
Asian	33	0.27%
Pacific Islander	4	0.03%
Other/Mixed	258	2.15%
Hispanic or Latino	207	1.72%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 12,016 people, 4,849 households, and 3,385 families residing in the county.

Communities

Towns

• Monticello
• New Hebron
• Silver Creek

Unincorporated communities

• Arm
• Jayess
• Oak Vale (partly in Jefferson Davis County)
• Sontag
• Topeka

Education

Public education is governed by the Lawrence County School District, which encompasses the entire county. ^[12]

It is in the district of Copiah–Lincoln Community College, and has been since 1965. ^[13]

Notable people

• Earl W. Bascom (1906-1995), rodeo champion, cowboy artist, inventor, Mississippi Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee, ^[14] "Father of Modern Rodeo" ^{[15] [16]} "Father of Mississippi Rodeo" ^[17]
• Edgar Godbold (1872-1952), president of two Southern Baptist colleges, was a school principal in Lawrence County from 1905 to 1906. ^[18]
• Rod Paige, Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2004 under President George W. Bush. Rod Paige was born and raised in Lawrence County. ^[19]
• Ahmad Hardy, college football player for the Missouri Tigers. ^[20]

Politics

Lawrence County, like most of Mississippi, was powerfully Democratic until the 1960's, after which it has since become a Republican stronghold. The last Democrat to carry the county with a full majority was Jimmy Carter in 1976, although Bill Clinton did win it by an 89-vote plurality in 1996.

United States presidential election results for Lawrence County, Mississippi ^[21]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1912	9	2.43%	332	89.49%	30	8.09%
1916	18	2.41%	725	97.18%	3	0.40%
1920	131	19.88%	526	79.82%	2	0.30%
1924	55	7.54%	674	92.46%	0	0.00%
1928	210	21.67%	759	78.33%	0	0.00%
1932	31	3.21%	933	96.68%	1	0.10%
1936	34	2.57%	1,286	97.35%	1	0.08%
1940	37	2.95%	1,218	97.05%	0	0.00%
1944	45	2.85%	1,535	97.15%	0	0.00%
1948	13	0.97%	66	4.92%	1,262	94.11%
1952	556	33.23%	1,117	66.77%	0	0.00%
1956	276	18.17%	1,025	67.48%	218	14.35%
1960	259	15.69%	469	28.41%	923	55.91%
1964	2,373	90.95%	236	9.05%	0	0.00%
1968	329	8.45%	740	19.00%	2,825	72.55%
1972	3,394	81.70%	709	17.07%	51	1.23%
1976	2,109	47.54%	2,242	50.54%	85	1.92%
1980	2,781	50.02%	2,692	48.42%	87	1.56%
1984	3,970	63.49%	2,274	36.37%	9	0.14%
1988	3,682	59.17%	2,517	40.45%	24	0.39%
1992	2,689	44.12%	2,582	42.36%	824	13.52%
1996	2,392	44.54%	2,481	46.19%	498	9.27%
2000	3,674	55.78%	2,841	43.13%	72	1.09%
2004	3,956	62.73%	2,308	36.60%	42	0.67%
2008	4,369	62.33%	2,587	36.91%	53	0.76%
2012	4,192	62.59%	2,468	36.85%	38	0.57%
2016	4,091	64.28%	2,195	34.49%	78	1.23%
2020	4,285	64.80%	2,260	34.18%	68	1.03%
2024	4,113	67.95%	1,899	31.37%	41	0.68%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lawrence County, Mississippi

References

1. "Census - Geography Profile: Lawrence County, Mississippi". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 14, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p.  182 . Retrieved October 15, 2016.
4. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
5. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
8. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
9. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
10. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
11. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
12. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lawrence County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved September 27, 2024. - Text list
13. "History". Copiah–Lincoln Community College . Retrieved September 27, 2024.
14. "ECH work party spiffs up new horsecamp - News - VVdailypress.com - Victorville, CA". Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
15. "Lawrence County | Mississippi Encyclopedia". Archived from the original on November 6, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
16. "2016 Bascom's - Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
17. "Cherokee-Choctaw Cowgirl, Texas Rose Bascom - IndianCountryToday.com". Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
18. "Edgar Godbold". lahistory.org. Archived from the original on November 23, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
19. "Bio RodPaige.com". Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
20. "Ahmad Hardy - Football". University of Missouri Athletics. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
21. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.

External links

• Media related to Lawrence County, Mississippi at Wikimedia Commons
• Mississippi Courthouses – Lawrence County
• Lawrence County Mississippi Genealogy and History

31°33′N90°07′W / 31.55°N 90.11°W / 31.55; -90.11