Bay Springs, MS

Bay Springs is Jasper County's western seat, where Mississippi Highways 15 and 18 cross. Joe Blankenship's 1880s sawmill gave the town its first industrial base in yellow pine; railroads later helped turn the crossroads into a trade center with a barrel-stave mill, cotton gin, and lumber businesses. The county has two seats—Bay Springs and Paulding—so its courthouse map is split between western and eastern districts. A spring and gazebo mark the highway intersection, while West Jasper schools and Bay Springs High School connect the city to present-day education. Bay Springs is a Mississippi timber town with a two-seat county map and a highway crossroads.