In 1940, the United States government purchased approximately ten-thousand acres of the former W. E. Jones estate as part of the Resettlement Administration.

The community was home to a cotton gin, school, store, blacksmith shop, and medical clinic.

In 2000, the West Holmes Community Development Organization and the state of Mississippi began operating a farmers' market in Mileston.

[7] Marion Post Wolcott documented people and scenes from the Mileston plantation in 1939 as part of her work with the Farm Security Administration.

[8] In March 1963, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee began work in Holmes County after being contacted by residents of Mileston.