Winston County

Also known as Winston County, Mississippi, Winston County, MS

county in Mississippi, United States

Key facts

Country: United States
State: Mississippi
Named after: Louis Winston
Seat: Louisville
Largest city: Louisville
Total: 610 sq mi (1,600 km )
Land: 607 sq mi (1,570 km )
Water: 2.8 sq mi (7.3 km ) 0.5%
Estimate 2025: 17,473
Density: 29.2/sq mi (11.3/km )
Time zone: UTC−6 ( Central )
Summer dst: UTC−5 ( CDT )
Congressional district

~6 min read

Article

Winston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. In the 2020 census, the population was 17,714. Its county seat is Louisville. The county is named for Louis Winston (1784–1824), a colonel in the militia, a prominent lawyer, and a judge of the Mississippi Supreme Court.

The county is the site of Nanih Waiya, an ancient mound built in the Woodland period, about 1 CE-300 CE. Since the 17th century, it has been venerated by the Choctaw people who later occupied the area. As of 2008, the mound is owned by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a federally-recognized tribe.