Formed January 1, 1824 (21st county)
Simpson County (25,950), Mendenhall (2,205), Magee (3,987)
The Classical Revival tan brick courthouse was built in 1907. It is on a square surrounded by Court, Elm, Pine, and Ash streets at the end of Main Street. Mississippi State Highway 149 is three blocks to the south of the facility. The structure was renovated in 1998 and 2007. A Chancery Court building was built in 1971. Andrew J. Bryan is the architect. The facility features a dome with a working clock. The county was created on January 1, 1824 from Copiah County as the 21st county with Mendenhall as the only county seat. It is named for Judge Josiah Simpson. The county seat is named for lawyer Thomas Mendenhall.
Simpson 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 Simpson, Covington, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, and Smith counties, Two District Court Judges serve Simpson, Covington, Jasper, and Smith counties and a court clerk serves Simpson County (judicial.) The county is in southern Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi is north and New Orleans, Louisiana is south of the county. The county center is 6.1 miles Southwest of Mendenhall nearer Pinola. The county is surrounded clockwise by Rankin, Smith, Covington, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Copiah, and Hinds counties.
The area of the county is 589 square miles. It is 34 out of 82 in the state. It ranks 37 out of 82 in population in the state. It has a density of 44.1 persons per square mile making it 41 out of 82 in the state. Simpson County has 26.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 49 crosses the county from northwest to southeast from Rankin County to Covington County. Simpson County is in south central Mississippi. Mendenhall is in the northern third of the county. Magee is in the southeast quarter of the county. Mendenhall is the county seat and Magee is the largest city. Mendenhall is 8.5% of the county population while Magee is 15.4% of the county population. This county is in the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Braxton
D’Lo
Magee
Mendenhall
