Humphreys

Formed January 1, 1918 (82^nd county)

Humphreys County (7,790), Belzoni (1,897)

The masonry and tan brick Neo-Classical courthouse was erected in 1922 and is on Castleman and Hayden streets.  United States Highway 49W is five blocks west of the courthouse.  The architects are Kramer & Lindsley.  The county was formed on January 1, 1918 from parts of Holmes, Sunflower, Washington, and Yazoo counties as the 82^nd and final county.  It is named for Governor Benjamin G. Humphreys.  The county seat is named for Italian archeologist Giovanni Battista Belzoni.  Belzoni has always been the county seat. 

Humphreys 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.)  Three Chancery Court Judges serve Humphreys, Issaquena, Sharkey, Sunflower, Warren, and Washington counties, One District Court Judge serves Humphreys, Holmes, and Yazoo counties and a court clerk serves Humphreys County (judicial.) The county is in western Mississippi.  Jackson, Mississippi is south and Memphis, Tennessee is north of the county.  The county center is 3.1 miles Southwest of Belzoni.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Leflore, Holmes, Yazoo, Sharkey, Washington, and Sunflower counties. 

The area of the county is 418 square miles.  It is 69 out of 82 in the state.  It ranks 76 out of 82 in population in the state.  It has a density of 18.6 persons per square mile making it 71 out of 82 in the state.  Humphreys County has 37.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 49W crosses the county north to south from Sunflower County to Yazoo County.  The county looks like a capital letter F with extra growths on the north and west.  Belzoni is in the northeast quarter of the county.  Belzoni is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 24.4% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced BEL-ZOE-NA.

Silver City