Alcorn County, Mississippi

Alcorn County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Corinth
Year Organized: 1870
Square Miles: 400

Court House:

P.O. Box 69
County Courthouse
Corinth, MS 38835-0069

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Alcorn is named for Governor of Mississippi James L. Alcorn.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Alcorn County was erected April 15, 1870, from Tippiah and Tishomingo counties, and named in honor of Gov. James L. Alcorn, the first chief executive of the State chosen under the constitution of 1869. It was the site of the Siege of Corinth, an early campaign in the American Civil War.

Corinth is the county seat, advantageously located at the junction of the Southern, Mobile & Ohio and Illinois Central railways. It has an interesting history connected with the days of the Confederacy, as has all the region surrounding it, a full account of which may be found in the chapters on the War for Southern Independence. With the exception of Columbus, it is the only large manufacturing point in the northern portion of the State, a section chiefly supplied by Memphis. In 1920 There are no other large towns in the county, the more important ones being Rienzi, the old rival of Corinth, and the only incorporated town in the county outside of Corinth; Kossuth, Jacinto, the first county seat of old Tishomingo County; Danville, an important town in the early history of Tishomingo; and Wenasoga.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 401 square miles (1,039 km²). It is the smallest county in area in Mississippi. 400 square miles (1,036 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (4 km²) of it (0.36%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

McNairy County, Tennessee (north)
Hardin County, Tennessee (northeast)
Tishomingo County (east)
Prentiss County (south)
Tippah County (west)
Hardeman County, Tennessee (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Corinth (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Farmington	town	Incorporated Area
- Glen	town	Incorporated Area
- Kossuth	village	Incorporated Area
- Rienzi	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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