Stone County, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
 Stone County Courthouse in Wiggins | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofMississippi | |
 Mississippi's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:30°47′N89°07′W / 30.79°N 89.12°W /30.79; -89.12 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Mississippi |
| Founded | 1916 |
| Named after | John M. Stone |
| Seat | Wiggins |
| Largest city | Wiggins |
| Area | |
• Total | 448 sq mi (1,160 km2) |
| • Land | 445 sq mi (1,150 km2) |
| • Water | 2.6 sq mi (6.7 km2) 0.6% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 18,333 |
• Estimate (2024) | 19,569 |
| • Density | 41.2/sq mi (15.9/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 4th |
| Website | www |
Stone County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofMississippi. As of the2020 census, the population was 18,333.[1] Itscounty seat isWiggins.[2] Stone County was formed from the northern portion ofHarrison County on June 5, 1916.[3] The county was named forJohn M. Stone, who served asGovernor of Mississippi from 1876 to 1882 and again from 1890 to 1896. Stone County is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi, MSMetropolitan Statistical Area. In 1918, theStone County Courthouse was completed at a cost of $29,515.18,[4] and is still in use today, after several renovations.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 448 square miles (1,160 km2), of which 445 square miles (1,150 km2) is land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km2) (0.6%) is water.[5]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 6,528 | — | |
| 1930 | 5,704 | −12.6% | |
| 1940 | 6,155 | 7.9% | |
| 1950 | 6,264 | 1.8% | |
| 1960 | 7,013 | 12.0% | |
| 1970 | 8,101 | 15.5% | |
| 1980 | 9,716 | 19.9% | |
| 1990 | 10,750 | 10.6% | |
| 2000 | 13,622 | 26.7% | |
| 2010 | 17,786 | 30.6% | |
| 2020 | 18,333 | 3.1% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 19,569 | [7] | 6.7% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10] 1990-2000[11] 2010-2013[12] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White | 13,822 | 75.39% |
| Black or African American | 3,239 | 17.67% |
| Native American | 79 | 0.43% |
| Asian | 89 | 0.49% |
| Pacific Islander | 9 | 0.05% |
| Other/Mixed | 651 | 3.55% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 444 | 2.42% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 18,333 people, 6,334 households, and 4,560 families residing in the county.
On April 25, during the 2012 regular session of theMississippi Legislature, Concurrent Resolution 643 was adopted by the state Senate and state House of Representatives, stating that Stone County be named and declared theMural County of Mississippi.[14] 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, 23murals, in the form of paintings and mosaic tiles, were created in cooperation with the Art Department,Perkinston campus ofMississippi 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.[15]
Stone County has been a Republican stronghold for decades. The last Democrat to carry it wasJimmy 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 sinceNixon in 1972.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1916 | 31 | 6.37% | 451 | 92.61% | 5 | 1.03% |
| 1920 | 16 | 5.00% | 299 | 93.44% | 5 | 1.56% |
| 1924 | 56 | 11.97% | 412 | 88.03% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1928 | 436 | 62.82% | 258 | 37.18% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 32 | 6.99% | 424 | 92.58% | 2 | 0.44% |
| 1936 | 23 | 3.29% | 675 | 96.43% | 2 | 0.29% |
| 1940 | 28 | 3.37% | 802 | 96.63% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1944 | 43 | 4.17% | 989 | 95.83% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 17 | 1.51% | 50 | 4.45% | 1,056 | 94.03% |
| 1952 | 569 | 37.09% | 965 | 62.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 293 | 25.09% | 761 | 65.15% | 114 | 9.76% |
| 1960 | 275 | 19.15% | 343 | 23.89% | 818 | 56.96% |
| 1964 | 1,776 | 90.84% | 179 | 9.16% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 258 | 9.51% | 314 | 11.58% | 2,140 | 78.91% |
| 1972 | 2,467 | 88.49% | 293 | 10.51% | 28 | 1.00% |
| 1976 | 1,575 | 48.05% | 1,648 | 50.27% | 55 | 1.68% |
| 1980 | 1,888 | 49.21% | 1,821 | 47.46% | 128 | 3.34% |
| 1984 | 2,980 | 71.07% | 1,185 | 28.26% | 28 | 0.67% |
| 1988 | 3,007 | 66.84% | 1,452 | 32.27% | 40 | 0.89% |
| 1992 | 2,295 | 54.53% | 1,447 | 34.38% | 467 | 11.10% |
| 1996 | 2,288 | 53.45% | 1,551 | 36.23% | 442 | 10.32% |
| 2000 | 3,702 | 67.03% | 1,677 | 30.36% | 144 | 2.61% |
| 2004 | 4,146 | 72.29% | 1,528 | 26.64% | 61 | 1.06% |
| 2008 | 5,149 | 71.06% | 1,996 | 27.55% | 101 | 1.39% |
| 2012 | 5,420 | 71.96% | 2,003 | 26.59% | 109 | 1.45% |
| 2016 | 5,306 | 75.32% | 1,573 | 22.33% | 166 | 2.36% |
| 2020 | 5,964 | 75.70% | 1,802 | 22.87% | 112 | 1.42% |
| 2024 | 6,214 | 78.47% | 1,620 | 20.46% | 85 | 1.07% |
Media related toStone County, Mississippi at Wikimedia CommonsMunicipalities and communities ofStone County, Mississippi,United States | ||
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30°47′N89°07′W / 30.79°N 89.12°W /30.79; -89.12
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