Amite County, Mississippi

Amite County Education, Geography, and History

Amite County is a county located in the state of Mississippi on its southern border with Louisiana. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 13,131. Its county seat is Liberty. The county is named after the Amite River which runs through the county. The name is derived from the French amitié, meaning "friendship."

Amite County is part of the McComb, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Amite County Name

Amite is based on the Latin language word amicus (friend) or amare (to love), via the French language; the French named the Amite River in honor the friendly local Native Americans.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Amite County History

While Mississippi was still a territory, Amite County was organized, February 24, 1809. Its name is derived from the Amite River, the two branches of which water its soil, and that stream was thus designated by the French in commemoration of their friendly treatment by the Indians. Amite was originally organized from Wilkinson County, and in 1870 a part was taken from it and attached to Lincoln County.

The old boundary line, as established by the Choctaw treaty of 1801, runs a few miles west of its original eastern boundary line. At the time of its establishment, it contained a population of about 1,500. Subsequently, from its eastern area were formed the counties of Pike, Marion, Perry, Greene and Lamar. The county seat is Liberty; which was incorporated in 1828.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 732 square miles (1,895 km²), of which, 730 square miles (1,890 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (5 km²) of it (0.28%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Franklin County (north)
• Lincoln County (northeast)
• Pike County (east)
• Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana (southeast)
• St. Helena Parish, Louisiana (south)
• East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana (southwest)
• Wilkinson County (west)

Education

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