Clarke

Formed December 23, 1833 (27^th county)

Clarke County (15,615), Quitman (2,062)                

The dark red and tan brick Neo-Classical courthouse was built in 1913 on Archusa Street at Church Street.  Mississippi State Highway 18 is three blocks north of the courthouse.  Penn J. Krouse was the architect.  The building was enlarged in 1969 & 1998 and renovated in 2009.  An Annex has been added in 1998.  The structure features columns and veteran memorials.  Clarke County was established on December 23, 1833 from Wayne County as the 27^th county.  Enterprise and Quitman have served as the only county seat.  It is named for Judge Joshua G. Clarke.  The county seat is named for Governor John A. Quitman.  He is also the namesake of Quitman County. 

Clarke 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 Clarke and Lauderdale counties, Two District Court Judges serve Clarke, Kemper, Lauderdale, and Wayne counties and a court clerk serves Clarke County (judicial.) The county is in eastern Mississippi on the border with Alabama.  Jackson, Mississippi is west and Mobile, Alabama is southeast of the county.  The county center is 3.3 miles North-Northeast of Quitman.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Lauderdale County and Alabama and Wayne and Jasper counties. 

The area of the county is 691 square miles.  It is 22 out of 82 in the state.  It ranks 57 out of 82 in population in the state.  It has a density of 22.6 persons per square mile making it 63 out of 82 in the state.  Clarke County has 26.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 59 cuts the northwest corner of the county from Lauderdale County, north, to Jasper County, west.  United States Highway 11 parallels Interstate Highway 59 from Lauderdale to Jasper counties.  United States Highway 45 goes north to south from Lauderdale County to Wayne County.  The county is rectangular with both the south and east borders slanted.  Quitman is located in the western half of the county.  Quitman is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 13.2% of the county population.  This county is in the Meridian Micropolitan Statistical Area.