Pearl River County, Mississippi

Pearl River County Education, Geography, and History

Pearl River County is a county located in the state of Mississippi. The population was 55,834 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Poplarville.

Pearl River County comprises the Picayune, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond, LA-MS Combined Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Pearl River County Name

Pearl River County is named for Pearl River, which early on was the site of French-run pearl fisheries.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Pearl River County History

Pearl River County was created on February 22, 1890 from Hancock and Marion Counties. The County seat is Poplarville and was named for the Pearl River which forms its western boundary and separates it from Louisiana.

In 1904, some of its northern territory was detached and transferred to the new county of Lamar, while in 1908 it received an accession from Hancock County. The result of these changes was to leave Pearl River County with an area of 797 square miles.

On September 2, 2005, the 1st Battalion, 134th Field Artillery (Ohio Army National Guard) arrived at the National Guard armory in Poplarville to assist the community and Pearl River County in recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Initial efforts were the security of banks, pharmacies and gas stations as well as initial responses to rural emergencies. The unit stayed for three weeks ultimately checking on every family and structure in the county.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 819 square miles (2,121 km²), of which, 811 square miles (2,101 km²) of it is land and 8 square miles (20 km²) of it (0.93%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Lamar County (north)
• Forrest County (northeast)
• Stone County (east)
• Hancock County (south)
• St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana (southwest)
• Washington Parish, Louisiana (west)
• Marion County (northwest)

Education

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