Formed January 1, 1802 (3rd county)
Claiborne County (9,135), Port Gibson (1,275)
The pleasant white stucco Greek Revival and Antebellum courthouse was erected in 1845. It is located on Market Street at Orange Street. United States Highway 61 passes two blocks east of the site. Armstrong & Thomson are the building architects. The building was remodeled in 1903 and 1951 and restored in 1973 and 1988. Claiborne County was formed on January 1, 1802 from Jefferson County as the 3rd county with Port Gibson as the only county seat. It is named for Governor William C. C. Claiborne. The county seat is named for settler Samuel Gibson. Claiborne County was the birthplace for 1 Mississippi Governor, Benjamin G. Humphreys.
Claiborne County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a collector, a coroner, an assessor and a clerk (executive). It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.) Two Chancery Court Judges serve Claiborne, Adams, Jefferson, and Wilkinson counties, One District Court Judge serves Claiborne, Copiah, and Jefferson counties and a court clerk serves Claiborne County (judicial.) The county is in the southwest part of the state. Louisiana is on its western border. The Mississippi River forms its western border. Jackson, Mississippi is northeast of the county. The county center is 4.4 miles East-Northeast of Port Gibson. The county is surrounded clockwise by Warren, Hinds, Copiah, and Jefferson counties and Louisiana.
The area of the county is 487 square miles. It is 51 out of 82 in the state. It ranks 72 out of 82 in population in the state. It has a density of 18.8 persons per square mile making it 70 out of 82 in the state. Claiborne County has 14.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 61 goes north to south in the county from Warren County to Jefferson County. The county is overall triangular. Port Gibson is located in the southwest quarter of the county. Port Gibson is the county seat and the largest city since it is the only incorporated city. It is 14.0% of the county population.
Port Gibson
