Marion County, Mississippi Explained

County:	Marion County
State:	Mississippi
Flag:	Flag of Marion County, Mississippi.svg
Founded:	1811
Seat Wl:	Columbia
Largest City Wl:	Columbia
Area Total Sq Mi:	549
Area Land Sq Mi:	542
Area Water Sq Mi:	6.2
Area Percentage:	1.1
Population As Of:	2020
Population Total:	24441
Population Density Sq Mi:	auto
Web:	www.marioncountyms.com
Ex Image:	Marion County Mississippi Courthouse.jpg
Ex Image Cap:	Marion County courthouse in Columbia
District:	3rd
Time Zone:	Central
Named For:	Francis Marion

Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,441.^[1] Its county seat is Columbia.^[2] Marion County is named for American Revolutionary War guerrilla leader Francis Marion also known as The Swamp Fox.^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (1.1%) is water.^[4]

Marion County racial composition as of 2020^[5] !Race!Num.!Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	15,721	64.32%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	7,583	31.03%
Native American	42	0.17%
Asian	65	0.27%
Other/Mixed	624	2.55%
Hispanic or Latino	406	1.66%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 24,441 people, 9,483 households, and 5,863 families residing in the county.

The Mississippi Department of Human Services's Division of Youth Services operated the Columbia Training School in unincorporated Marion County. The facility was closed in 2008.^[6] ^[7]

Bunker Hill
Cheraw
Expose, an unincorporated area of Marion County that was founded by Harry Solomon Expose (born 1861), a community leader who owned a general store and served as postmaster.^[8] Monroe Work's Negro Yearbook listed it among "Negro Towns and Settlements in the United States." Football great Walter Payton's mom Alyne Sibley Payton was born in Expose on January 14, 1926.^[9]
Good Hope
Goss
Hopewell
Hub
Morgantown
Sandy Hook

Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), "Father of Modern Rodeo," Mississippi Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee, producer of Marion County's first rodeo in 1935^[10]
Charles C. Bass (1875–1975), "Father of Preventive Dentistry"; researcher in tropical medicine
Charles Coleman (American football) (born 1963), American football player
Logan Cooke - NFL punter
Peggy Dow, American actress
Walter Payton, American football player

Web site: Census - Geography Profile: Marion County, Mississippi. United States Census Bureau. January 14, 2023.
Web site: Find a County. June 7, 2011. National Association of Counties.
Book: Gannett, Henry. The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. 1905. U.S. Government Printing Office. 200.
Web site: 2010 Census Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. November 6, 2014. August 22, 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130928074019/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_28.txt. September 28, 2013.
Web site: Explore Census Data. December 16, 2021. data.census.gov.
https://www.census.gov U.S. Census Bureau profile of Columbia, MS
"Public Appearance Calendar Governor Ronnie Musgrove For the Week of December 31, 2001 ". Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Retrieved on July 21, 2010. "Columbia Training School 1730 Highway 44 Columbia, MS."
Book: Society, Marion County Historical. Marion County. February 20, 2012. Arcadia Publishing. 9780738591933. Google Books.
Book: Pearlman, Jeff. Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton. August 28, 2012. Penguin Publishing Group. 9781592407378. Google Books.
Book: Marion County. 2012. 9780738591933.