Pearl River County
200 South Main St. Poplarville, Ms. 39470 601-403-2300 www.pearlrivercounty.net Board of supervisers: Dennis Dedeaux, Anthony Hales, J. Patrick Lee, Malcolm Perry, Sandy Kane Smith |
Pearl River County School District
7441 U.S. 11
Carriere, MS 39426
601-798-7744
www.prc.k12.ms.us/pages/Pearl_River_SD
7441 U.S. 11
Carriere, MS 39426
601-798-7744
www.prc.k12.ms.us/pages/Pearl_River_SD
Pearl River Baptist Association
P.O. BOX 489, McNeill
Mississippi 39457, United States
601-798-2372
www.pearlriverbaptistassn.org
P.O. BOX 489, McNeill
Mississippi 39457, United States
601-798-2372
www.pearlriverbaptistassn.org
Pearl River County is a county located in the U.S. 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.
Pearl River County was officially organized by an act of the Legislature in February, 1890, on lands taken from Marion and Hancock Counties.
The land area of the new county had earlier been a part of the short-lived Pearl County. Pearl County was officially formed in 1872. The county courthouse was located in a Masonic building which burned not long after the county was formed, destroying all its early records. Because of financial problems, a sparse population and a limited tax base, Pearl County was abolished in 1878 and the land was returned to Marion and Hancock Counties.
Prior to the establishment of Pearl River County, a rail line, the New Orleans and Northeastern, was built through the area, and it aided greatly the area's population growth.
Pearl River County's seat of government, Poplarville, was named after "poplar" Jim Smith, who had owned the land on which it was located. Incorporated March 4, 1886, Poplarville boasted 236 residents in 1890 when Pearl River County was formed. The first Pearl River County courthouse was built in l892 at a cost of $8,298. The original courthouse later housed the Pearl River County Hospital and then offices of the county welfare department.
The first school in the county opened in Lumberton in 1890, and two years later, a school opened at Poplarville.
In 1900, the young county suffered a setback when residents of one of its two main towns, Lumberton, voted to become a part of neighboring Lamar County. How- ever, in 1908 it received a tremendous boost when an area approximately one- third the size of the original Pearl River County was taken from Hancock County and added to it. With the addition of this new territory, Pearl River County reached its present size of 828 square miles, making it the fourth largest of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Included in the added territory was the town of Picayune. Incorporated September, 30,1904, Picayune had a population of 846 by 1910, and it has since become Pearl River County's largest city.
In 1907, a young lawyer-minister-farmer from Pearl River County, Theodore Gilmore Bilbo, was elected to the Mississippi Senate, beginning a long political career which took him twice to the governors mansion and finally to a 12-year tenure in the United States Senate. History shows that Bilbo was an extremely progressive governor, and his first term (1916-1920) particularly was a period of tremendous progress for this state.
In his book, The Emergence of the Now South, 1913-1945, George B. Tindall said, "In the four Bilbo years (his first term as governor), according to the Federal Commission of Education, Mississippi made more educational progress than any other state."
In 1909, two years prior to Bilbo's election to the post of Lieutenant Governor, Pearl River County Agricultural High School was established at Poplarville. In 1923, the progressive community opened the first of Mississippi's junior colleges at the Agricultural High School.
As Pearl River County continued to grow and prosper, its citizens decided that the original county courthouse was inadequate, and in 1918, construction of the present courthouse was begun. The $130,000 building was completed and occupied by county officials in June, 1920. In 1926, the United Daughters of the Confederacy raised $8,500 to erect on the courthouse lawn a monument to Confederate and World War I Veterans and to the women of the South.
In the mid-1930's another Pearl River Countian, Heber Ladner, began a long career of public service to Mississippi. Ladner was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives from Pearl River County in 1936. From 1940-42, he served as Secretary of the State Budget Commission and from 1942-48 as Clerk of the House. In 1947, Ladner was elected Secretary of State, and he held that post continuously until retiring in 1980. During his tenure as Secretary of State, Ladner brought recognition to the state by serving a term as president of the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Pearl River County comprises the Picayune, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond, LA-MS Combined Statistical Area.
Pearl River County was officially organized by an act of the Legislature in February, 1890, on lands taken from Marion and Hancock Counties.
The land area of the new county had earlier been a part of the short-lived Pearl County. Pearl County was officially formed in 1872. The county courthouse was located in a Masonic building which burned not long after the county was formed, destroying all its early records. Because of financial problems, a sparse population and a limited tax base, Pearl County was abolished in 1878 and the land was returned to Marion and Hancock Counties.
Prior to the establishment of Pearl River County, a rail line, the New Orleans and Northeastern, was built through the area, and it aided greatly the area's population growth.
Pearl River County's seat of government, Poplarville, was named after "poplar" Jim Smith, who had owned the land on which it was located. Incorporated March 4, 1886, Poplarville boasted 236 residents in 1890 when Pearl River County was formed. The first Pearl River County courthouse was built in l892 at a cost of $8,298. The original courthouse later housed the Pearl River County Hospital and then offices of the county welfare department.
The first school in the county opened in Lumberton in 1890, and two years later, a school opened at Poplarville.
In 1900, the young county suffered a setback when residents of one of its two main towns, Lumberton, voted to become a part of neighboring Lamar County. How- ever, in 1908 it received a tremendous boost when an area approximately one- third the size of the original Pearl River County was taken from Hancock County and added to it. With the addition of this new territory, Pearl River County reached its present size of 828 square miles, making it the fourth largest of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Included in the added territory was the town of Picayune. Incorporated September, 30,1904, Picayune had a population of 846 by 1910, and it has since become Pearl River County's largest city.
In 1907, a young lawyer-minister-farmer from Pearl River County, Theodore Gilmore Bilbo, was elected to the Mississippi Senate, beginning a long political career which took him twice to the governors mansion and finally to a 12-year tenure in the United States Senate. History shows that Bilbo was an extremely progressive governor, and his first term (1916-1920) particularly was a period of tremendous progress for this state.
In his book, The Emergence of the Now South, 1913-1945, George B. Tindall said, "In the four Bilbo years (his first term as governor), according to the Federal Commission of Education, Mississippi made more educational progress than any other state."
In 1909, two years prior to Bilbo's election to the post of Lieutenant Governor, Pearl River County Agricultural High School was established at Poplarville. In 1923, the progressive community opened the first of Mississippi's junior colleges at the Agricultural High School.
As Pearl River County continued to grow and prosper, its citizens decided that the original county courthouse was inadequate, and in 1918, construction of the present courthouse was begun. The $130,000 building was completed and occupied by county officials in June, 1920. In 1926, the United Daughters of the Confederacy raised $8,500 to erect on the courthouse lawn a monument to Confederate and World War I Veterans and to the women of the South.
In the mid-1930's another Pearl River Countian, Heber Ladner, began a long career of public service to Mississippi. Ladner was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives from Pearl River County in 1936. From 1940-42, he served as Secretary of the State Budget Commission and from 1942-48 as Clerk of the House. In 1947, Ladner was elected Secretary of State, and he held that post continuously until retiring in 1980. During his tenure as Secretary of State, Ladner brought recognition to the state by serving a term as president of the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Nicholson is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Pearl River County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,092. Its ZIP code is 39463.
McNeill, Mississippi is an unincorporated community in Pearl River County, Mississippi.The zip code is: 39457. Donna Pope of McNeill was crowned Miss Mississippi in 1980, and was second runner-up at the Miss America Pageant
