Benton County, Mississippi

Founding: 1870
Parent counties: Marshall and Tippah

Namesake: Uncertain—likely Thomas Benton, Missouri politician
Seat: Ashland (1871–)

Land area: 407 square miles

Population (2020): 7,646

Population (historic): 11,023 (1880); 10,510 (1900); 9,813 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1880; 1930s; 1970s; 2000s

Subdivisions: Three towns

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 154 (3.6%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 9.9%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 45.9%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 36.3%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $254
Average outbuilding value (1930): $97
Average farmhouse size (1940): 3.4 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 1,904
Average farm size (1920): 36.9 acres
Sources of settlement: Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina
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Ashland

Namesake: Ashland, Henry Clay's estate

Founding: 1870 (post office); 1871 (platting)

Population (2020): 551

Population (historic): 174 (1880); 162 (1900); 228 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1880; 1910–1940; 1960–1980; 1990s
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 34 (12.8%)
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