Marion County, Mississippi

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

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 549 sqmi, of which 542 sqmi is land and 6.2 sqmi (1.1%) is water.

Major highways

 * US 98.svg U.S. Highway 98
 * Circle sign 13.svg Mississippi Highway 13
 * Circle sign 35.svg Mississippi Highway 35
 * Circle sign 43.svg Mississippi Highway 43
 * Circle sign 44.svg Mississippi Highway 44

Adjacent counties

 * Jefferson Davis County (north)
 * Lamar County (east)
 * Pearl River County (southeast)
 * Washington Parish, Louisiana (south)
 * Walthall County (west)
 * Lawrence County (northwest)

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

Government and infrastructure
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.

City

 * Columbia (county seat & only incorporated place)

Census-designated places

 * Foxworth
 * Kokomo

Unincorporated communities

 * 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. 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.
 * Good Hope
 * Goss
 * Hopewell
 * Hub
 * Morgantown
 * Sandy Hook

Notable people

 * Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), "Father of Modern Rodeo," Mississippi Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee, producer of Marion County's first rodeo in 1935
 * 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