Laurel is located in Jones County, Mississippi, which lies in the southeastern part of the Magnolia State. The population of Jones county is 63,898 (2000 Census figures). 51.6% of them are female, 48.4% male. 72.2% are white, 27.1% are black, the other 2.6% are Hispanic, Native American, Asian, or some other race (in that order). Laurel is the largest city and the county seat of the Second Judicial District of Jones County. (Ellisville is also a county seat for the First Judicial District of Jones County.) The City of Laurel has a population of 18,393 (2000 Census figures). Of those, 41.4% are white, 55.9% are black, and 4.7% are hispanic or some other race. The city is located at 31.695º N, 89.131º W. Jones County is named after Commodore John Paul Jones. In the era of Jacksonian Democracy, it was a popular practice to name new counties after American heroes, especially those who had come from humble beginnings such as Jones. Jones was an immigrant to the American shore in the years just preceding the American Revolution. He was Scottish by birth, and as was the case for so many Scots of the time, Jones was soon apprenticed to the sea. His first trip to America was at the tender age of twelve while an apprentice aboard a merchant ship. Once settled in America, he continued his naval career and joined the service of the Continental Navy during the Revolution. He was the commander of the Bonhomme Richard, a forty gun frigate given to the American navy by the king of France and named for Benjamin Franklin (Bonhomme Richard is French for "Little Richard"). It was as commander of this ship and its fleet that Jones engaged HMS Sarapis of the Royal Navy off the coast of Scotland. In the heat of the battle when it seemed that Jones had been beaten, he was asked to surrender by the captain of Sarapis, upon which he replied with his now famous words: "I have not yet begun to fight!" Jones, though he lost his own ship, captured Sarapis and sailed back for safe harbor in France. Jones' naval expertise during and following the war earned for him the title "Father of the American Navy". Laurel was named after the mountain laurel bushes (Kalmia latifolia) that once grew naturally in the underbrush of the Piney Woods. Over-harvesting of the yellow pines by the lumbering industry eventually destroyed the natural habitat of mountain laurel, and one rarely (if ever) finds it growing naturally in the forests today. However, local gardeners are attempting to bring the graceful foliage back in their gardens with much success. Many of the private and public gardens of the city have mountain laurel growing happily along with the azaleas, gardenias, camellias and other flowering shrubbery that are popular in Southern gardens. Laurel, Mississippi shares its name with 15 other towns, five of which are in the South. Of these 15 towns, Laurel is the largest in area (at just over 15 square miles) and second largest in population (just behind Laurel, Maryland). Laurel has been called home by several celebrities. It was the hometown of singers Leontine Price and Lance Bass, Olympic gold medalist Ralph Boston, and actor Ray Walston. Author James Street and journalist Chuck Scarborough have also lived in Laurel. William H. Mason invented Masonite, an important building material since the Depression, in Laurel. Laurel is an important oil production center in the United States, and continues to be a leader in the production of forestry and wood products. Howard Industries was founded by Laurel native and resident Billy Howard, Sr., making Laurel the world leader in the production of electrical transformers. In addition, Laurel and the surrounding region is an important center of the poultry processing industry.