Holmes County is a county in the U.S. state of Mississippi; its western border is formed by the Yazoo River and the eastern border by the Big Black River. The western part of the county is within the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,000. Its county seat is Lexington. The county is named in honor of David Holmes, territorial governor and the first governor of the state of Mississippi and later United States Senator for Mississippi. Holmes County native, Edmond Favor Noel, was an attorney and state politician, elected as governor of Mississippi, serving from 1908 to 1912.
Durant is a city near the central eastern border of Holmes County, Mississippi, United States, and Big Black River. The town was founded in 1858 as a station on the Mississippi Central Railroad, later part of the Illinois Central. Durant was named for Louis Durant, a Choctaw chief who had lived on this site before the United States undertook Indian Removal in the 1830s, forcing him and most of the Choctaw to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.
Goodman is a town in southeastern Holmes County, Mississippi, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,258.
Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Holmes County, Mississippi, United States. The county was organized in 1833 and the city in 1836. The population was 1,731 at the 2010 census, down from 2,025 at the 2000 census. The estimated population in 2018 was 1,496. It has declined from its high of 3,198 in 1950 due to the expansion of industrial-scale agriculture.
Pickens is a town in Holmes County, Mississippi, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 920.
Tchula is a town in Holmes County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,650 at the 2020 census, down from 2,332 in 2000.
Starkville is a city in, and the county seat of, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. Mississippi State University is a land-grant institution and is located partially in Starkville but primarily in an adjacent unincorporated area designated by the United States Census Bureau as Mississippi State, Mississippi. The population was 25,653 in 2019. Starkville is the most populous city of the Golden Triangle region of Mississippi. The Starkville micropolitan statistical area includes all of Oktibbeha County.
Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States Census.
Mississippi Valley State University is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississippi. MVSU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The Holmes County Consolidated School District (HCCSD), formerly the Holmes County School District, is a public school district based in Lexington, Mississippi (USA). The district covers all of Holmes County, including the City of Durant area previously served by the Durant Public School District. Effective July 1, 2018 the Holmes County and Durant school districts consolidated into the Holmes County Consolidated School District.
Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the central region of the U.S. state of Mississippi that covers seven counties: Copiah, Hinds, Holmes, Madison, Rankin, Simpson, and Yazoo. As of the 2010 census, the Jackson MSA had a population of 586,320. According to 2019 estimates, the population has slightly increased to 594,806. Jackson is the principal city of the MSA.
Jacob Joshua McClain High School was a junior and senior high school in unincorporated Holmes County, Mississippi, United States, about .25 miles (0.40 km) south of Lexington. It is operated by the Holmes County School District. Its campus is presently used by Holmes County Central High School.
A Mississippi Landmark is a building officially nominated by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and approved by each county's chancery clerk. The Mississippi Landmark designation is the highest form of recognition bestowed on properties by the state of Mississippi, and designated properties are protected from changes that may alter the property's historic character. Currently there are 890 designated landmarks in the state. Mississippi Landmarks are spread out between eighty-one of Mississippi's eighty-two counties; only Issaquena County has no such landmarks.
Mississippi Industrial College was a historically black college in Holly Springs, Mississippi. It was founded in 1905 by the Mississippi Conference of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. After desegregation of community colleges in the mid-20th century, it had trouble competing and eventually closed in 1982. The campus was listed as a historic site on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and was acquired by Rust College in 2008.
Central Holmes Christian School (CHCS), previously Central Holmes Academy, is a private non-sectarian Christian school in Lexington, Mississippi. It includes elementary, middle, and high school grades 1-12. The school has a controversial history as a segregation academy.
Mileston is an unincorporated community located in Holmes County, Mississippi. Mileston is located on U.S. Highway 49E and Highway 12, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Tchula, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Thornton and approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Marcella.
Holmes County Central High School is a senior high school in unincorporated Holmes County, Mississippi, United States, about 0.25 miles (0.40 km) south of Lexington. A part of the Holmes County School District, it occupies the former J.J. McClain High School. The mascot is the jaguar, and it serves grades 9–12.
Williams-Sullivan High School was a PreK–12 school in unincorporated Holmes County, Mississippi, with a Durant postal address. It was a part of the Holmes County School District. Its campus is currently occupied by Williams-Sullivan Elementary School. When Williams-Sullivan High was in operation, all grade levels shared the same campus.
