Scott County, MS
| Scott County, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
1900 Scott County Courthouse (replaced 1924 and again in 1955)
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 Location in the U.S. state of Mississippi |
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 Mississippi's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1833 |
| Named for | Abram M. Scott |
| Seat | Forest |
| Largest city | Forest |
| Area | |
| • Total | 610 sq mi (1,580 km2) |
| • Land | 609 sq mi (1,577 km2) |
| • Water | 1.2 sq mi (3 km2), 0.2% |
| Population | |
| • (2010) | 28,264 |
| • Density | 46/sq mi (18/km²) |
| Congressional district | 3rd |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www |
Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 28,264. Its county seat is Forest. The county is named for Abram M. Scott, the Governor of Mississippi from 1832 to 1833.
In September 2014 the ACLU and the MacArthur Justice Center filed a class-action suit against the Scott County court and the Scott County Sheriff's Office for violations of the Sixth and Fifteenth amendments to the US constitution through their lengthy detention of suspects and failure to provide them with counsel soon after arrest, setting unfair bail, taking too long to reach indictments, and failing to provide speedy trials. The US District Court did not certify the three classes, but did retain the claims for damages by the two named plaintiffs; as of late 2015, the case was proceeding.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 610 square miles (1,600 km2), of which 609 square miles (1,580 km2) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2) (0.2%) is water.
It is an approximately 45 minute driving distance from Jackson.
This area was developed by European Americans for cotton plantations. After the American Civil War, many freedmen worked as sharecroppers or tenant farmers on the plantations. In 1890 the state legislature disenfranchised most blacks, who were a majority in the state, by creating barriers to voter registration; it also passed Jim Crow laws, treating freedmen and their descendants as second-class citizens.
From 1877 to 1950, there were nine lynchings of blacks in Scott County. It was a form of racial terrorism that was at its height at the turn of the 20th century.
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Wikipedia