# Stone County, Mississippi

Stone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,333. Its county seat is Wiggins. Stone County was formed from the northern portion of Harrison County on June 5, 1916. The county was named for John M. Stone, who served as Governor of Mississippi from 1876 to 1882 and again from 1890 to 1896. Stone County is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1918, the Stone County Courthouse was completed at a cost of $29,515.18, and is still in use today, after several renovations.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 448 square miles (1,160 km$^2$), of which 445 square miles (1,150 km$^2$) is land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km$^2$) (0.6%) is water.

### Major highways

* U.S. Highway 49
* Mississippi Highway 15
* Mississippi Highway 26
* Mississippi Highway 29

### Adjacent counties

* Perry County (northeast)
* George County (east)
* Jackson County (southeast)
* Harrison County (south)
* Pearl River County (west)
* Forrest County (northwest)

### National protected areas

* De Soto National Forest (part)
* Sweetbay Bogs Preserve

## Demographics

Stone County by race as of 2020 :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White | 13,822 | 75.39% |
| Black or African American | 3,239 | 17.67% |
| Native American | 79 | 0.43% |
| Asian | 89 | 0.49% |
| Pacific Islander | 9 | 0.05% |
| Other/Mixed | 651 | 3.55% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 444 | 2.42% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 18,333 people, 6,334 households, and 4,560 families residing in the county.

## Arts and culture

On April 25, during the 2012 regular session of the Mississippi Legislature, Concurrent Resolution 643 was adopted by the state Senate and state House of Representatives, stating that Stone County be named and declared the Mural County of Mississippi. During the previous 8 years, a Telling Trees Project was developed in Stone County to document and celebrate Stone County's history and heritage. As part of that project, 23 murals, in the form of paintings and mosaic tiles, were created in cooperation with the Art Department, Perkinston campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and are on public display throughout the county. The murals tell visual stories of Stone County's ecosystems, people, landmarks, and industries.

## Communities
### Cities

* Wiggins (county seat)

### Census-designated place

* Bond

### Unincorporated communities

* Beatrice
* Big Level
* McHenry
* Perkinston
* Ramsey Springs
* Silver Run
* Ten Mile
* Texas

## Education
### Public school districts

* Stone County School District

### Colleges

* Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Perkinston Campus

## Politics

United States presidential election results for Stone County, Mississippi :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 6,214 | 78.47% | 1,620 | 20.46% | 85 | 1.07% |
| 2020 | 5,964 | 75.70% | 1,802 | 22.87% | 112 | 1.42% |
| 2016 | 5,306 | 75.32% | 1,573 | 22.33% | 166 | 2.36% |
| 2012 | 5,420 | 71.96% | 2,003 | 26.59% | 109 | 1.45% |
| 2008 | 5,149 | 71.06% | 1,996 | 27.55% | 101 | 1.39% |
| 2004 | 4,146 | 72.29% | 1,528 | 26.64% | 61 | 1.06% |
| 2000 | 3,702 | 67.03% | 1,677 | 30.36% | 144 | 2.61% |
| 1996 | 2,288 | 53.45% | 1,551 | 36.23% | 442 | 10.32% |
| 1992 | 2,295 | 54.53% | 1,447 | 34.38% | 467 | 11.10% |
| 1988 | 3,007 | 66.84% | 1,452 | 32.27% | 40 | 0.89% |
| 1984 | 2,980 | 71.07% | 1,185 | 28.26% | 28 | 0.67% |
| 1980 | 1,888 | 49.21% | 1,821 | 47.46% | 128 | 3.34% |
| 1976 | 1,575 | 48.05% | 1,648 | 50.27% | 55 | 1.68% |
| 1972 | 2,467 | 88.49% | 293 | 10.51% | 28 | 1.00% |
| 1968 | 258 | 9.51% | 314 | 11.58% | 2,140 | 78.91% |
| 1964 | 1,776 | 90.84% | 179 | 9.16% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 275 | 19.15% | 343 | 23.89% | 818 | 56.96% |
| 1956 | 293 | 25.09% | 761 | 65.15% | 114 | 9.76% |
| 1952 | 569 | 37.09% | 965 | 62.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 17 | 1.51% | 50 | 4.45% | 1,056 | 94.03% |
| 1944 | 43 | 4.17% | 989 | 95.83% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 28 | 3.37% | 802 | 96.63% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 23 | 3.29% | 675 | 96.43% | 2 | 0.29% |
| 1932 | 32 | 6.99% | 424 | 92.58% | 2 | 0.44% |
| 1928 | 436 | 62.82% | 258 | 37.18% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 56 | 11.97% | 412 | 88.03% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1920 | 16 | 5.00% | 299 | 93.44% | 5 | 1.56% |
| 1916 | 31 | 6.37% | 451 | 92.61% | 5 | 1.03% |