Benton County, Mississippi

Benton County
County
The Old Benton County courthouse in Ashland
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 34°49′N 89°11′W / 34.82°N 89.19°W / 34.82; -89.19
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Founded	1870
Named for	Samuel Benton
Seat	Ashland
Largest town	Hickory Flat
Area
• Total	409 sq mi (1,060 km2)
• Land	407 sq mi (1,050 km2)
• Water	2.0 sq mi (5 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,646
• Density	19/sq mi (7.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	bentoncountyms.gov

Benton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,646.^[1] Its county seat is Ashland.^[2]

It is locally believed that residents convinced the post-Civil War Reconstruction government that Benton County was named after U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton, but the name actually honored Confederate Brigadier General Samuel Benton of nearby Holly Springs in Marshall County, nephew of the senator.

Benton County is included in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area.