Formed April 7, 1870 (66th county)
Prentiss County (25,000), Booneville (9,110)
The 1925 tan brick Spanish Revival structure is on a square surrounded by College, Court, Main, and Church streets. Mississippi State Highway 145 is five blocks west of the courthouse. The building was designed by Noah Webster Overstreet. It was renovated in 1990 and restored in 2005. A Chancery Court building was added in 1939. There was a classier 1905 courthouse in Booneville, the only county seat. The courthouse grounds have a canon and a Veterans memorial. The county was established on April 7, 1870 from parts of Itawamba and Tishomingo counties as the 66th county. It is named for local politician Smith Prentiss. The county seat is named for R. H. Boone, a relative of frontiersman Daniel Boone. The county center is 5.2 miles Southeast of Booneville.
The area of the county is 415 square miles. It is 71 out of 82 in the state. It ranks 38 out of 82 in population in the state. It has a density of 60.2 persons per square mile making it 25 out of 82 in the state. Prentiss County has 46.2% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 45 crosses the county north to south from Alcorn County to Lee County. The county looks like the number 9 with its leg shortened. Booneville is located in the northwest corner of the county. Booneville is the county seat and the largest city. It is 36.4% of the county population.
Prentiss County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Supervisors. Four Chancery Court Judges serve Prentiss, Alcorn, Itawamba, Lee, Monroe, Pontotoc, Tishomingo, and Union counties and Four District Court Judges serve Prentiss, Alcorn, Itawamba, Lee, Monroe, Pontotoc, and Tishomingo counties. Prentiss County is in the northeast part of the state. Memphis, Tennessee is northwest and Jackson, Mississippi is southwest of the county. The county is surrounded clockwise by Alcorn, Tishomingo, Itawamba, Lee, Union, and Tippah counties.
Booneville
Jumpertown
Marietta
Baldwyn
