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Jones County was established in 1826 and was named for John Paul Jones. There
are other counties named Jones, but it appears that this is the only one named
for John Paul Jones. Ellisville, the county seat, was named for Powhatan
Ellis, a member of the Mississippi Legislature who claimed to be a direct
descendant of Pocahontas. During the economic hard times in the 1830s and
1840s, there was an exodus of population from South Mississippi, principally
to Texas, and the slogan "GTT" ("Gone to Texas") came into currency. The
situation was especially acute in Jones County, which became so depopulated
that it acquired the derisive nickname "The Free State of Jones". During the
War of 1861-1865, Jones County and neighboring counties, especially Covington
County to its west, became a haven for Confederate deserters. A group of
deserters led by Newt Knight engaged in sporadic battles with State and
Confederate units sent to arrest them for desertion. The notoriety of Newt
Knight's "rebellion" led to the fabrication of elaborate stories alleging
Jones County's "secession" from the Confederacy and the establishment of an
entity called "The Free State of Jones". There was no such "State", but the
legend gained strength from the fact that Jones County already had been widely
known as "The Free State of Jones". After the War, the Mississippi Legislature
punished Jones County's disloyalty to the "Cause" by changing its name to
Davis (for Jefferson Davis) and the name of its county seat to Leesburg (for
Robert E. Lee). The Reconstruction Constitution of 1869 repealed these acts
and restored the names of Jones County and Ellisville. The county was divided
into judicial districts in 1906, with seats of justice at Ellisville (First
District) and Laurel (Second District).
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