Wilkinson County is a county in Mississippi, United States, in the state’s extreme southwest corner along the Mississippi River. It had a population of 8,587 at the 2020 census and covers 688 square miles (1,780 km2) centred near 31°10′N 91°19′W.
Woodville is the county seat, and its postal code is 39669. The county has three incorporated municipalities — one city and two towns — and around twenty unincorporated communities scattered through its farmland and forest. Wilkinson County sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Wilkinson County
Wilkinson County’s settlements range from Woodville, its historic county-seat city, to small rural crossroads communities that never incorporated. Centreville and Crosby both straddle the Wilkinson–Amite county line, with their built-up centres on the Wilkinson side. “Unincorp.” below marks places that have never held municipal status.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodville | City · seat | — | 39669 |
| Centreville | Town | — | 39631 |
| Crosby | Town | — | — |
| Artonish | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ashwood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Darrington | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Doloroso | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Donegal | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fort Adams | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hiram | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ireland | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Laneheart | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lessley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Loch Leven | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mount Pleasant | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Newtonia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Perrytown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pinckneyville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Possum Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rosetta | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Saukum | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Turnbull | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Whitaker | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wilkinson | Unincorp. | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 39669 — Woodville (county seat, also serves the county’s southern and eastern communities)
- 39631 — Centreville (also serves nearby Crosby-area addresses)
Most of the county’s small unincorporated places use a Woodville or Centreville mailing address rather than a ZIP code of their own.
Geography
Wilkinson County lies in the loess bluffs of Mississippi’s southwest corner, where rolling hills drop toward the Mississippi River, the county’s entire western boundary. A large share of the county’s eastern half falls inside the Homochitto National Forest, and the terrain outside the forest is given over to cattle pasture, cotton and soybean fields, and pine timberland. Of the county’s 688 square miles, 9.7 square miles is water.
Wilkinson County borders Adams County to the north, Franklin County to the northeast, and Amite County to the east, all in Mississippi. Across the state line in Louisiana it borders East Feliciana Parish to the southeast, West Feliciana Parish to the south, and Concordia Parish to the west across the Mississippi River.
Demographics
Wilkinson County had a population of 8,587 at the 2020 census, giving it a density of roughly 13 people per square mile — one of the more sparsely settled counties in Mississippi. Woodville and Centreville are its two largest communities. Median household income in the county runs well below the Mississippi median of $54,203, consistent with the county’s heavily rural, agriculture-dependent economy.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture and forestry anchor the local economy: cattle ranching, row crops, and timber harvested from private land and the Homochitto National Forest. Wilkinson County government and the Wilkinson County School District are among the largest employers in Woodville. The county draws heritage tourism through Rosemont Plantation just outside Woodville, the boyhood home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, which is open for public tours.
History
Wilkinson County was organized in 1802, one of the original counties of the Mississippi Territory, and named for James Wilkinson, a Revolutionary War officer who served as the first governor of the Louisiana Territory after its transfer to the United States in 1803. Woodville, laid out soon after, grew into a cotton-trading hub for planters along the Mississippi River bluffs, and its antebellum architecture — including several homes and churches predating the Civil War — still defines the town’s core today.
Getting There
U.S. Route 61 runs the length of the county north–south, with Mississippi Highways 24 and 33 crossing it to the east and west.
- Natchez, Mississippi — 35 miles north
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana — 60 miles south
- St. Francisville, Louisiana — 25 miles south
- McComb, Mississippi — 45 miles east
The nearest commercial airport is Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, about 65 miles south; Natchez–Adams County Airport, roughly 35 miles north, offers general-aviation service only.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Wilkinson County, Mississippi?
It sits in the state’s extreme southwest corner, on the Mississippi River across from Louisiana’s Concordia and West Feliciana parishes.
What is the population of Wilkinson County?
8,587 people, according to the 2020 census.
How big is Wilkinson County?
688 square miles (1,780 km2), of which 9.7 square miles is water.
What is the county seat of Wilkinson County?
Woodville is the county seat.
How many towns are in Wilkinson County?
Three incorporated municipalities — Woodville, Centreville, and Crosby — plus about twenty unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Wilkinson County?
39669 (Woodville) and 39631 (Centreville) are the county’s two ZIP codes.
What is Rosemont Plantation?
A historic estate near Woodville that was Jefferson Davis’s boyhood home, now open for public tours.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Mississippi.