Panola

Formed February 9, 1836 (52^nd county)

Panola County (33,209), Batesville (7,518), Sardis (1,753)

Two twin basic red/brown brick and concrete Modern facilities support Panola County, one for Batesville from 1967 and one for Sardis from 1974.  The Batesville courthouse is on Court and Broadway at Public Square.  Mississippi Highway 35 is Broadway.  A liberty type bell sits in front of both courthouses.  Pritchard and Nickles designed the Batesville courthouse.  They also designed the Sardis facility.  The Sardis facility is on Pocahontas and Kycle streets.  Mississippi Highway 315 is three blocks north of the facility.  There were earlier courthouses in Batesville (1880) and in Sardis (1902) as both have always been the county seats.  Panola County was created on February 9, 1836 from parts of Monroe and Washington counties as the 52^nd county.  Panola is from a Native American word meaning “cotton.”  Batesville is named for railroad conductor, Jim Bates.  Sardis is a Biblical name for a location.  Panola County was the birthplace for 2 Mississippi Governors, C. Clifton Finch and D. Ronald Musgrove. 

The area of the county is 684 square miles.  It is 23 out of 82 in the state.  It ranks 24 out of 82 in population in the state.  It has a density of 48.6 persons per square mile making it 30 out of 82 in the state.  Panola County has 35.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 55 travels north to south in the county from Tate County to Yalobusha County.  United States Highway 51 parallels Interstate Highway 55 from Tate to Yalobusha counties.  United States Highway 278 goes east to west from Lafayette County to Quitman County.  The county is a rectangle with the southwest corner missing.  Batesville is in the southern third of the county.  Sardis is in the northern third of the county.  Batesville is one of the county seats and the largest city.  Sardis is the other county seat.  Batesville is 22.6% of the county population while Sardis is 5.3% of the county population. 

Panola County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Supervisors.  Three Chancery Court Judges serve Panola, DeSoto, Grenada, Montgomery, Tate, and Yalobusha counties and Four District Court Judges serve Panola, DeSoto, Tallahatchie, Tate, and Yalobusha counties.  The county is in the northwest part of the state Memphis, Tennessee is north and Jackson, Mississippi is south of the county.  The county center is 7.6 miles North-Northeast of Batesville nearer Sardis.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Tate, Lafayette, Yalobusha, Tallahatchie, Quitman, and Tunica counties.  The county is pronounced PAN-OE-LA.  The smaller county seat is pronounced SAR-DIS.

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