Lexington, Mississippi is the county seat of Holmes County, which was organized in 1833 while the city was incorporated in 1836. Lexington was founded by European-Americans after the Choctaw people were forced to cede their land to the United States. The first settlers established cotton plantations along the Yazoo River and Black River, highly dependent upon slave labor, who soon made up the majority of the county’s population. Following the American Civil War, freed slaves joined the Republican Party and elected several blacks to local offices, sought educational opportunities, and became landowners. Then, in 1890, they were deprived of the right to vote by the Mississippi legislature, after which the area’s black population was reduced to being sharecroppers and tenant farmers on land owned by whites. In the early 1900s, mechanism of the cotton and agricultural industries led to a decline in the city’s population, as many of its black residents moved north, both for work and to escape persecution, although the population of Lexington remains largely African-American. Edmond Favor Noel, the 37th governor of Mississippi, was born near Lexington, and he died there. The musician, B.B. King, lived in Lexington for a time, and Charles Harrison Mason founded the Church of God in Christ in Lexington, where it is still headquartered. Nearby communities include Bowling Green, Brozville, Jones Crossing, and Owens Wells. Jackson, Mississippi is about sixty-two miles south of Lexington.
 
 
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Published in Lexington since 1959, the weekly newspaper offers local and regional news, business and event reports, employment opportunities, obituaries, and other features. Readers may subscribe to its print edition online, and full access to its electronic edition requires a subscription.
http://www.holmescountyherald.com/
Profits from the coffee roasting company in Lexington, Mississippi are used to provide financial resources for the mission of Central Holmes Christian School, such as improvements on its campus, purchasing teaching aids, curriculum, or other needs. Its products, wholesalers, and fundraising programs are highlighted.
http://www.lexingtoncoffeecompany.com/
Locally owned and operated, the hardware store in Lexington, Mississippi is affiliated with the Do it Best chain. Its location, hours of operation, contacts, products and services are highlighted, along with career information, a photo gallery, and an online shopping area.
http://www.lexingtonhomecenter.com/
Located on Pine Street in Lexington, Mississippi, the funeral home offers a pre-planning program, and is also able to accommodate immediate needs. Its location, contacts and office hours are posted, and its services, merchandise and policies are discussed. Obituaries are published to the site.
http://www.southernfuneralhomes.com/
Organized in 1878, the congregation’s current building was constructed in 1901. A monthly service schedule is published to the site, its programs and ministries are outlined, leadership contacts and office hours, congregational photographs, a church newsletter, and directions to the church in Lexington, Mississippi are given.
http://www.stmaryslexington.dioms.org/