Collins, Mississippi
| Collins, Mississippi | |
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| City | |
Covington County Courthouse in Collins
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| Motto: Come Grow With Us! | |
 Location of Collins, Mississippi |
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 Collins, Mississippi
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| Coordinates: 31°38′32″N 89°33′34″W / 31.64222°N 89.55944°WCoordinates: 31°38′32″N 89°33′34″W / 31.64222°N 89.55944°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Covington |
| Settled | Late 1800s |
| Incorporated | November 24, 1906 |
| Named for | Fred W. Collins |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-Council |
| • Mayor | V. O. Smith |
| • City Clerk | Suzette Davis |
| • Deputy Clerk | Carrie Underwood |
| • Alderman At-Large & Mayor ProTem | Bobby A. Mooney |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7.99 sq mi (20.69 km2) |
| • Land | 7.96 sq mi (20.62 km2) |
| • Water | 0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2) |
| Elevation | 292 ft (89 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,586 |
| • Density | 325/sq mi (125.4/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 39428 |
| Area code(s) | 601 |
| FIPS code | 28-15140 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0668700 |
| Website | www |
Collins is a city in Covington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,586 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Covington County.
Collins was originally incorporated as Williamsburg Depot in 1899. The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad had completed construction, and bypassed Williamsburg, the county seat at that time. The sawmills moved to the new town of Williamsburg Depot in order to be closer to the railroad. As lumber was an important industry during the time, the town moved with them. Not long after, Williamsburg Depot grew to a town of 6,000 - 7,000 people.
Eventually, the difficulties of having such a long town name, Williamsburg Depot, became clear. The length caused many people to write it over their stamps, voiding the postage. In order to correct this issue, the postmaster asked to have the town name changed in 1905, and the postal service came up with a short and easy name "Bad". For reasons that may be clear, the residents rejected this name, and eventually came up with Collins, in honor of Fred W. Collins, leader of the state's Republican party and U. S. Marshal for the Southern District of Mississippi. The town's name was officially changed on November 24, 1906.
In 1906, a portion of the west side of Covington County became Jefferson Davis County. As a result, Williamsburg lost its position at the center of the county, and a new county seat was needed. Collins eventually emerged over Seminary and Ora as this location, and a new county courthouse was built. The first court was held in 1908.
Eventually, the lumber industry in Collins exhausted the timber resources and moved. The town population dwindled from 7,000 to 700. However, industry began to return to the town in 1936 when U.S. 49 and U.S. 84 were built, putting the town at the crossroads of these two major highways. In addition, the Plantation Pipeline was run from Baton Rouge to the east coast. It passed through the community of Kola, which was soon annexed by Collins.
The city of Collins lies near the intersection of two major highways, U.S. Route 49 and U.S. Route 84. U.S. 49 passes through the city southwest of the downtown; it leads 63 miles (101 km) northwest to Jackson, the state capital, and 28 miles (45 km) southeast to Hattiesburg. U.S. 98 bypasses the center of the city, crossing U.S. 49 at an interchange in the northern part of the city, and leads east 27 miles (43 km) to Laurel and west 55 miles (89 km) to the vicinity of Brookhaven.
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