Covington County, located in the south-central portion of Mississippi was formed on January 5, 1819 and was originally called Bainbridge County. It was soon renamed in honor of General Leonard Covington, U.S. Army officer and Congressman who was killed in the War of 1812.

 

In 1826 all that part of Covington lying east of the center of Range 14 was taken to form part of Jones County. In 1906 a part of Covington was taken to form Jefferson Davis County.

 

Williamsburg, located in the western part of the county, was the original county seat and was named for Thomas H. Williams, who was one of the two first United States Senators from Mississippi. In 1899, the citizens of Williamsburg discovered that the railroad was going to be built through Covington County, but not through Williamsburg. As a result, a number of them moved to the railroad line and formed Williamsburg Depot. In 1906 the little village had grown large enough to incorporate into a town they named Collins, which was named for Fred W. Collins, the United States Marshall for the Southern District of Mississippi in 1891-1893 and 1897-1902, and from 1910 until his death in 1912. Being centrally located, Collins was chosen to become the new County Seat, with a courthouse being built at a cost of $117,000.

 

In spite of the fact that a tornado largely destroyed the town in 1912, Collins had been growing steadily on the back of the local timber industry. However, similar to gold rush towns of the west, for Collins when the timber ran out, the growing ran out. As a result, Collins declined during the depression era.

 

M.S. (Mike) Conner the forty-fourth Governor of Mississippi was elected from Covington County. He served from 1932 until 1936. NFL football star Steve "Air" McNair was from Covington County and is buried in the county. Actor Gerald McRaney, star of Simon and Simon, Promised Land, and Major Dad, is also from Covington County.

 

The county has a total area of 415 square miles, of which 414 square miles is land and 1 square mile (0.28%) is water. The population recorded in the 1820 Federal Census was 2,230. The 2010 census recorded 19,568 residents in the county.

 

Neighboring counties are Smith County (north), Jones County (east), Forrest County (southeast), Lamar County (south), Jefferson Davis County (west), and Simpson County (northwest). Communities in the county include Collins, Mount Olive, Seminary, Dry Creek, Eminence, Hopewell, Leaf River, Lone Star, Lux, Okahay, Ora, Rock Hill, Salem, Sanford, Sunset, and Williamsburg.