PERRY COUNTY
Chapter XLIV, pages 809-811
Situated in the long leaf, or yellow pine
belt of southeastern Mississippi, Perry County originally formed the western
part of the large county of Greene. It received its name in honor of Commodore
Oliver H. Perry. In the act of February 3, 1820, which created it, the
boundaries of Perry County are defined as follows: “Beginning on the line
of demarcation where the line that divides the thirteenth and fourteenth
ranges intersects the said line of demarcation; thence with said range
line to where the fifth parallel township line crosses the same; thence
east with the said township line, to where the line that divides the eighth
and ninth ranges crosses the same; thence with the line of demarcation;
thence west to the beginning.” The county was afterward enlarged by adding
townships 1, in ranges 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, south of the 31st parallel,
and township 5, in range 14, north of the 31st parallel, so that it embraced
a total area of thirty-one townships. In 1908, Forrest County was formed
from its western townships, and it was reduced to its present area of 644
square miles. It is now bounded on the north by Jones and Wayne counties,
on the east by Greene and George counties, on the south by George and Stone
counties and on the west by Forrest County. The county was settled by a
large number of hardy pioneers along its watercourses during the first
years of the last century. Its civil officers during the first year of
its existence were Jacob H. Morris, Chief Justice of the Quorum, and John
Jenkins, John Green, Jacob Carter, Craven P. Moffitt, Associate Justices;
Alex. McKenzie, Eli Moffitt, Benj. H.G. Hartfield, William Hudson, John
Moffitt, Seth Granberry, Lewis W. Ball, Henry Easterling, Wm. Reynolds,
Justices of the Peace; John McDonald, Assessor and Collector; Geo. Harrison,
Ranger; Joel Lewis, Surveyor; John Barlow, Constable; Wm. Tisdale, Coroner;
J.J.H. Morris, Notary Public; Martin Chadwick, Sheriff. Some of the other
county officers, 1821-1827, were Griffin Hollomon, J.J.H. Morris, John
F. Mapp, Abner Carter, Judges of Probate; Lewis Rhodes, Sheriff; Anthony
Pitts, Adam Ulmer, Jonathan Taylor, Geo. B. Dameron, Sterling Brinson,
John Deace, Daniel Miley, James Simmons, Sherod Byrd, Isham H. Clayton,
James Overstreet, Uriah Millsapp, Justices of the Peace; Hugh McDonald,
Treasurer; Farr Proctor, Geo. Harrison, Lewis Rhodes, Assessors and Collectors.
The original county seat, until recently, was the old town of Augusta,
near the center of the county on the east bank of the Leaf River. Though
it is a century in age, it has not kept step with the march of time and
remains a small village, a result which is largely due to the fact that
the railways have never quite come to it. New Augusta, two miles south
of old Augusta, on the Gulf, Mobile & Northern line, was made the county
seat a number of years ago. Hattiesburg, the seat of Forrest County, formerly
shared that honor with New Augusta. Richton, in the northeastern part of
the county, is a flourishing lumber and market town. Other stations along
the two lines of the New Orleans, Mobile & Chicago railroad in Perry
County are Kittrell, Hintonville, Glazier, Hemphill and Wingate. The principal
streams are Leaf River, which flows through the center of the county from
the northwest to the southeast with its numerous tributaries, and Black
Creek and its tributaries in the southern part. The general surface of
the county is undulating—level on the creek and river bottoms. The prevailing
timber is the long leaf pine, but on the rivers and creeks other varieties
abound.
Although Perry County is not one of the
largest industrial districts of the State, it stands well in that regard.
Its establishments pay to the employes in the lumber mills and otherwise
engaged in manufacturing the various products of the pineries nearly $300,000
in wages. The value of the total output was $1,298,000 in 1919. The farm
property of the county was estimated at $2,645,000; its crops of all kinds
were valued at $820,000 and its live stock was $546,000.
The county increased slowly in population,
from 2,438 in 1850 to 14,682 in 1900. Before the next national census was
taken, Forrest County was carved from its territory, so that the year 1910
shows an apparent decline to 7,685. The population as given in the 1920
census was 8,987.
