Yazoo

Formed January 21, 1823 (20^th county)

Yazoo County (26,748), Yazoo City (10,316)

The white brick and masonry Beaux Arts facility was built in 1870 and remodeled in 1931 and 1992.  It is located on Broadway at Washington Street.  Mississippi State Highway 149 is Broadway in the city.  The building was enlarged in 1992 and an Office Building added.  Charles M. Oates is the building designer.  Veteran memorial slabs are in front of the courthouse.  The county was created on January 21, 1823 from Hinds County as the 20^th county.  Benton was the first county seat until 1848 when Yazoo City assumed the role.  The county and county seat are named for the Yazoo River.  Yazoo is reportedly a Native American word meaning “river of death.”  Yazoo County was the birthplace for 1 Mississippi Governor, Haley R. Barbour. 

Yazoo County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Supervisors.  Three Chancery Court Judges serve Yazoo, Holmes, Leake, and Madison counties, One District Court Judge serves Yazoo, Holmes, and Humphreys counties, and One County Court Judge serves Yazoo County.  Yazoo 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 4.1 miles South-Southeast of Yazoo City.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Humphreys, Holmes, Madison, Hinds, Warren, Issaquena, and Sharkey counties. 

The area of the county is 920 square miles.  It is 1 out of 82 in the state.  It ranks 35 out of 82 in population in the state.  It has a density of 29.1 persons per square mile making it 53 out of 82 in the state.  Yazoo County has 40.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 55 clips the northeast corner of the county from Holmes County, north, to Madison County, east.  United States Highway 49 is created by the joining of United States Highway 49 East and West and heads south into Hinds County.  United States Highway 49E comes in from Holmes County to merge into United States Highway 49.  United States Highway 49W enters from Humphreys County to become United States Highway 49.  The county looks like a scoop.  Yazoo City is located in the northern quarter of the county.  Yazoo City is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 38.6% of the county population.  The county and county seat are pronounced YA-ZOO.  This county is in the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Yazoo City