Jayess is an unincorporated community in Lawrence County, Mississippi, United States.[1]

Jayess, Mississippi
Unincorporated community
Jayess Show map of Mississippi Jayess Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 31°21′54″N 90°12′21″W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Lawrence
Elevation	446 ft (136 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	39641
Area code(s)	601 & 769
GNIS feature ID	671818[1]

History

Jayess was named for J.S. Butterfield, owner of the Butterfield Lumber Company.[2] The Butterfield Company laid down a railroad through Jayess in 1912 to transport timber being harvested in the area to the company's sawmill in Norfield, approximately 15 mi (24 km) west of Jayess.[3] J.S. Butterfield's initials were used until the Postal Department changed it in when opened in 1912, to create the name "Jayess.".[2] A post office is still located at the settlement.[4]

Both a sawmill and a cotton gin were located in Jayess.[3][5]

A klavern of the Ku Klux Klan was located in Jayess during the early 1960s.[6]

The Jayess Baptist Church is located at the settlement.[7] Located west of Jayess is the Boyd-Cothern House, constructed in 1837, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[8]

Notable people

• Jimmy Boyd, singer, musician, and actor best known for 1950s holiday hit "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."[9]
• Clem Nettles, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives.[10]
• Ineva May-Pittman, civil rights activist; recipient of Jackson, Mississippi City Council's 2015 "Woman of the Year" award.[11][12]

References