Editing Stone County, Mississippi

{{short description|County in Mississippi, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county         = Stone County 
 | state           = Mississippi 
 | seal                 = 
 | founded              = 1916 
 | seat wl             = Wiggins 
 | largest city wl     = Wiggins 
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 448 
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 445 
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 2.6 
 | area percentage      = 0.6 
 | population_as_of     = 2020 
 | population_total     = 18333 
 | pop_est_as_of        = 2023
 | population_est       = 18756 {{gain}}
 | density_sq_mi        = auto 
 | web   = www.stonecountyms.gov 
 | ex image             = StoneCountyCourthouse 1.JPG
 | ex image cap         = Stone County Courthouse in Wiggins
 | district             = 4th
 | time zone           = Central
 | named for            = [[John M. Stone]] }}

'''Stone County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Mississippi]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 18,333.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Stone County, Mississippi|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Stone_County,_Mississippi?g=0500000US28131|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 15, 2023}}</ref> Its [[county seat]] is [[Wiggins, Mississippi|Wiggins]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> Stone County was formed from the northern portion of [[Harrison County, Mississippi|Harrison County]] on June 5, 1916.<ref>[http://www.mgccc.edu/TCmgccc_history.htm A History of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908162040/http://www.mgccc.edu/TCmgccc_history.htm |date=September 8, 2006 }} accessed January 1, 2007.</ref>  The county was named for [[John M. Stone]], who served as [[Governor of Mississippi]] from 1876 to 1882 and again from 1890 to 1896. Stone County is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS [[Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area|Metropolitan Statistical Area]]. In 1918, the [[Stone County Courthouse (Mississippi)|Stone County Courthouse]] was completed at a cost of $29,515.18,<ref>[http://www.stonecounty.com/stone_county.htm Stone County] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211034940/http://www.stonecounty.com/stone_county.htm |date=February 11, 2009 }} accessed February 18, 2010.</ref> and is still in use today, after several renovations.

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|448|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|445|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|2.6|sqmi}} (0.6%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_28.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 7, 2014|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928074019/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_28.txt|archive-date=September 28, 2013}}</ref>

===Major highways===
* [[Image:US 49.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Highway 49]]
* [[Image:Circle sign 15.svg|20px]] [[Mississippi Highway 15]]
* [[Image:Circle sign 26.svg|20px]] [[Mississippi Highway 26]]
* [[Image:Circle sign 29.svg|20px]] [[Mississippi Highway 29]]

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Perry County, Mississippi|Perry County]] (northeast)
* [[George County, Mississippi|George County]] (east)
* [[Jackson County, Mississippi|Jackson County]] (southeast)
* [[Harrison County, Mississippi|Harrison County]] (south)
* [[Pearl River County, Mississippi|Pearl River County]] (west)
* [[Forrest County, Mississippi|Forrest County]] (northwest)

===National protected areas===
* [[De Soto National Forest]] (part)
* [[Sweetbay Bogs Preserve]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/mississippi/placesweprotect/sweetbay-bogs-preserve.xml|title=Sweetbay Bogs Preserve {{!}} The Nature Conservancy|website=www.nature.org|language=en|access-date=April 3, 2018}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1920= 6528
|1930= 5704
|1940= 6155
|1950= 6264
|1960= 7013
|1970= 8101
|1980= 9716
|1990= 10750
|2000= 13622
|2010= 17786
|2020= 18333
|estyear=2023
|estimate=18756
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 5, 2024}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 7, 2014}}</ref><br />1790-1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=November 7, 2014}}</ref> 1900-1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ms190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 7, 2014}}</ref><br />1990-2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 7, 2014}}</ref> 2010-2013<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28/28131.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 5, 2013|archive-date=June 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607052423/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28/28131.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Stone County by race as of 2020<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US28131&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 8, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]]
|13,822
|75.39%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]]
|3,239
|17.67%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|79
|0.43%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|89
|0.49%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
|9
|0.05%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|651
|3.55%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|444
|2.42%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 18,333 people, 6,334 households, and 4,560 families residing in the county.

{{multiple image|caption_align=center|header_align=center
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 200
 | footer_align = center
 | footer = Stone County Courthouse historical timeline
 | image1 = StoneCountyCourthouse CaversAve.jpg
 | alt1 =
 | caption1 = circa 1920
 | image2 = S.C.Courthouse.JPG
 | alt2 =
 | caption2 = 2010
 }}

==Arts and culture==
On April 25, during the 2012 regular session of the [[Mississippi Legislature]], Concurrent Resolution 643 was adopted by the state Senate and state House of Representatives, stating that Stone County be named and declared the ''Mural County of Mississippi''.<ref>[http://legiscan.com/gaits/text/633396 Mississippi Senate Concurrent Resolution 643] Retrieved May 3, 2012</ref>  During the previous 8 years, a Telling Trees Project was developed in Stone County to document and celebrate Stone County's history and heritage. As part of that project, 23 [[murals]], in the form of paintings and mosaic tiles, were created in cooperation with the Art Department, [[Perkinston, Mississippi|Perkinston]] campus of [[Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College]] and are on public display throughout the county. The murals tell visual stories of Stone County's ecosystems, people, landmarks, and industries.<ref>Nicole Dow. 2012. Stone County named state's mural county.''[[Sun Herald]]'' (Biloxi, MS), Vol. 128, No, 213, page 2A, May 3, 2012.</ref>

==Communities==
===Cities===
* [[Wiggins, Mississippi|Wiggins]] (county seat)

===Census-designated place===
* [[Bond, Mississippi|Bond]]

===Unincorporated communities===
{{div col}}
* [[Beatrice, Mississippi|Beatrice]]
* [[Big Level, Mississippi|Big Level]]
* [[McHenry, Mississippi|McHenry]]
* [[Perkinston, Mississippi|Perkinston]]
* [[Ramsey Springs, Mississippi|Ramsey Springs]]
* [[Silver Run, Mississippi|Silver Run]]
* [[Ten Mile, Mississippi|Ten Mile]]
* [[Texas, Mississippi|Texas]]

{{div col end}}

==Education==
===Public school districts===
* [[Stone County School District]]

===Colleges===
* [[Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College]], Perkinston Campus

==Politics==
Stone County has been a Republican stronghold for decades. The last Democrat to carry it was [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1976. In recent elections the county has been especially friendly to Republicans; [[Donald Trump]] in 2024 earned the highest share of the vote for any Republican since [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] in 1972.

{{PresHead|place=Stone County, Mississippi|whig=no|source1=<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=April 17, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP/Whig vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|6,214|1,620|85|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|5,964|1,802|112|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|5,306|1,573|166|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|5,420|2,003|109|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|5,149|1,996|101|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|4,146|1,528|61|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|3,702|1,677|144|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|2,288|1,551|442|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|2,295|1,447|467|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|3,007|1,452|40|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|2,980|1,185|28|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|1,888|1,821|128|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|1,575|1,648|55|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|2,467|293|28|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|258|314|2,140|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|1,776|179|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1960|Dixiecrat|275|343|818|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|293|761|114|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|569|965|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1948|Dixiecrat|17|50|1,056|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|43|989|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|28|802|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|23|675|2|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|32|424|2|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|436|258|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|56|412|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|16|299|5|Mississippi}}
{{PresFoot|1916|Democratic|31|451|5|Mississippi}}

==See also==
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Mississippi#Stone County|National Register of Historic Places listings in Stone County, Mississippi]]
* [[Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain]]
* [[Sweetbay Bogs Preserve]]
* [[List of Mississippi Landmarks#Stone|List of Mississippi Landmarks in Stone County]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Stone County, Mississippi}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070310234943/http://www.mississippicourthouses.com/Stone/ Mississippi Courthouses – Stone County]

{{Stone County, Mississippi}}
{{Mississippi}}

{{coord|30.79|-89.12|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-MS_source:UScensus1990}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Stone County, Mississippi| ]]
[[Category:Mississippi counties]]
[[Category:Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area]]
[[Category:1916 establishments in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1916]]