Formed February 21, 1834 (43rd county)
Yalobusha County (12,487), Coffeeville (801), Water Valley (3,384)
The 1890 painted red brick Romanesque courthouse in Coffeeville is on Main Street and Court Street. Mississippi State Highway 7 is two blocks west of the site. W. E. Mooring was the architect of the Coffeeville courthouse. It was restored in 2005. The Water Valley tan and red brick Neo-Classical structure was built in 1913. It is sited at Blackmur and Cook streets. Blackmur is Mississippi State Highway 315 in the town. P. J. Krouse designed the Water Valley facility. It was restored in 2004 and features stone window sills. Coffeeville had an 1837 courthouse earlier. Water Valley had an 1897 courthouse which is the basis for the current building. Yalobusha County was founded on February 21, 1834 from parts of Monroe, Washington, and Yazoo counties as the 43rd county. Coffeeville was the first county seat and joined by Water Valley in 1873. The county’s name is Native American meaning “tadpole place.” Coffeeville is named for government negotiator General John Coffee. Water Valley is presumably a geographical term for the area.
Yalobusha 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 Yalobusha, DeSoto, Grenada, Montgomery, Panola, and Tate counties, Four District Court Judges serve Yalobusha, DeSoto, Panola, Tallahatchie, and Tate counties and a court clerk serve Yalobusha County (judicial.) The county is in northern Mississippi. Memphis, Tennessee is northwest and Jackson, Mississippi is southwest of the county. The county center is 3.5 miles Northwest of Coffeeville. The county is surrounded clockwise by Lafayette, Calhoun, Grenada, Tallahatchie, and Panola counties.
The area of the county is 467 square miles. It is 56 out of 82 in the state. It ranks 63 out of 82 in population in the state. It has a density of 26.7 persons per square mile making it 56 out of 82 in the state. Yalobusha County has 37.2% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 55 travels north to south in the county from Panola County to Grenada County. United States Highway 51 parallels Interstate Highway 55 from Panola to Grenada counties. The county is an overall rectangle with extensions on the northeast and southeast borders. Coffeeville is in the southern third of the county. Water Valley is in the northeast corner of the county. Coffeeville is one of the county seats. Water Valley is the other county seat and the largest city. Coffeeville is 6.4% of the county population while Water Valley is 27.1% of the county population. The county is pronounced YA-LOE-BUSH-A.
Coffeeville
Oakland
Tillatoba
Water Valley
