Monticello, Mississippi

Monticello is a town in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Mississippi, United States.^[3] The population was 1,571 at the 2010 census.^[4]

Monticello, Mississippi
Town
Lawrence County Courthouse in Monticello
Flag Logo
Motto:  "A river of possibilities"[1]
Location of Monticello, Mississippi
Monticello, Mississippi Location in the United States
Coordinates: 31°33′15″N 90°6′36″W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Lawrence
Area [2]
• Total	4.26 sq mi (11.04 km2)
• Land	4.17 sq mi (10.80 km2)
• Water	0.09 sq mi (0.24 km2)
Elevation	194 ft (59 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,441
• Density	345.48/sq mi (133.39/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	39654
Area code	601
FIPS code	28-48560
GNIS feature ID	0673748
Website	www.monticello.ms.gov

Geography

Monticello is in central Lawrence County, on the west side of the Pearl River. U.S. Route 84 runs through the north side of the town on a four-lane bypass. US 84 leads east 15 miles (24 km) to Prentiss and west 22 miles (35 km) to Interstate 55 in Brookhaven. Mississippi Highway 27 passes through the west side of Monticello, leading north 37 miles (60 km) to Crystal Springs and south 33 miles (53 km) to Tylertown.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Monticello has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11.0 km²), of which 4.2 square miles (10.8 km²) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²), or 2.17%, are water.^[5]

Climate

Climate data for Monticello, Mississippi (1991–2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	61.7 (16.5)	66.7 (19.3)	73.8 (23.2)	80.9 (27.2)	87.8 (31.0)	93.5 (34.2)	95.8 (35.4)	95.8 (35.4)	91.0 (32.8)	81.9 (27.7)	71.5 (21.9)	64.2 (17.9)	80.4 (26.9)
Daily mean °F (°C)	48.9 (9.4)	53.2 (11.8)	60.1 (15.6)	66.9 (19.4)	74.5 (23.6)	81.0 (27.2)	83.5 (28.6)	83.3 (28.5)	78.5 (25.8)	67.7 (19.8)	57.5 (14.2)	51.3 (10.7)	67.2 (19.6)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	36.0 (2.2)	39.7 (4.3)	46.4 (8.0)	52.9 (11.6)	61.2 (16.2)	68.5 (20.3)	71.3 (21.8)	70.7 (21.5)	66.1 (18.9)	53.5 (11.9)	43.6 (6.4)	38.5 (3.6)	54.0 (12.2)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	5.97 (152)	5.95 (151)	5.70 (145)	5.76 (146)	4.49 (114)	4.71 (120)	5.88 (149)	4.22 (107)	3.56 (90)	4.24 (108)	4.67 (119)	5.20 (132)	60.35 (1,533)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	0.1 (0.25)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.1 (0.25)	0.2 (0.5)
Source: NOAA[6]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	221		—
1870	200		−9.5%
1910	450		—
1920	464		3.1%
1930	606		30.6%
1940	802		32.3%
1950	1,382		72.3%
1960	1,432		3.6%
1970	1,790		25.0%
1980	1,834		2.5%
1990	1,755		−4.3%
2000	1,726		−1.7%
2010	1,571		−9.0%
2020	1,441		−8.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]

Monticello racial composition as of 2020^[8]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	894	62.04%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	468	32.48%
Asian	10	0.69%
Pacific Islander	1	0.07%
Other/Mixed	38	2.64%
Hispanic or Latino	30	2.08%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,441 people, 640 households, and 350 families residing in the town.

Education

The town of Monticello is served by the Lawrence County School District. The district is under the supervision of Superintendent Tammy Fairburn, who took office in 2012.^[9]

Notable people

• Richard Olney Arrington, justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1950-1963^[10]
• Erick Dampier, NBA center
• Katherine Ettl, sculptor^[11]
• Major Everett, former NFL running back
• Cindy Hyde-Smith, United States Senator^[12]
• Al Jefferson, forward/center for the NBA Indiana Pacers
• Kendra King, Miss Mississippi USA 2006
• J. B. Lenoir, blues singer
• Charles Lynch, 8th and 11th Governor of Mississippi^[13]
• Henry Mayson, former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives and attended the 1868 Mississippi Constitutional Convention^[14]
• Harvey McGehee, former member of the Mississippi State Senate and justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi^[15] from 1937 to 1964
• Jim Pace, professional racing driver^[16]
• Rod Paige, former U.S. Secretary of Education
• Neville Patterson, justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1962 to 1986^[17]
• Rosalind Peychaud, former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives^[18]
• Hiram Runnels, 9th Governor of Mississippi^[19]
• George Washington Russell, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives 1916 to 1924^[20]
• Francis M. Sheppard, former member of the Mississippi State Senate and Mississippi House of Representatives^[21]
• Byther Smith, blues singer^[22]
• T. B. Stamps, former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and the Louisiana State Senate^[23]
• William Sutton Sr., former President of Mississippi Valley State University^[24][25]
• Matthew Wells, American football linebacker^[26]

See also

• Mississippi portal

• Atwood Music Festival