Sharkey

Formed January 1, 1876 (73^rd county)

Sharkey County (3,798), Rolling Fork (1,871)                

The pleasant Classical Revival courthouse was built in 1902 at the corner of Locust and Martin Luther King streets.  United States Highway 61 is five blocks to the east of the courthouse.  William S. Hull provided the designs for this light brown brick and stone courthouse.  The building was enlarged in 1965 and renovated in 2002.  The facility features a dome.  The county was established on January 1, 1876 from parts of Issaquena, Warren, and Washington counties as the 73^rd county with Rolling Fork as the only county seat.  Sharkey County is named for Governor William L. Sharkey.  The county seat is named for a local plantation.  Sharkey County was the birthplace for 1 Mississippi Governor, Fielding L. Wright. 

Sharkey 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 Sharkey, Humphreys, Issaquena, Sunflower, Warren, and Washington counties, Two District Court Judges serve Sharkey, Issaquena, and Warren counties and a court clerk serves Sharkey County (judicial.) Sharkey County is in the western part of the state.  Jackson, Mississippi is southeast and Memphis, Tennessee is north of the county.  The county center is 6.7 miles Northeast of Rolling Fork nearer Anguilla.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Washington, Humphreys, Yazoo, and Issaquena counties. 

The area of the county is 428 square miles.  It is 64 out of 82 in the state.  It ranks 81 out of 82 in population in the state.  It has a density of 8.9 persons per square mile making it 81 out of 82 in the state.  Sharkey County has 68.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 61 travels north to south in the county from Washington County to Issaquena County.  The county is shaped like a capital letter L.  Rolling Fork is located in the western half of the county.  Rolling Fork is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 49.3% of the county population.