Calhoun County, Mississippi

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

County Seat: Pittsboro
Year Organized: 1852
Square Miles: 587

Court House:

P.O. Box 8
County Courthouse
Pittsboro, MS 38951-0008

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Calhoun is named after U.S. Vice President and US Senator from South Carolina, John C. Calhoun. John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850) was a leading United States Southern politician from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. He was the first Vice President to resign his office. Calhoun was an advocate of slavery, states' rights, limited government, and nullification. He was the first Vice President born as a U.S. citizen.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Calhoun County was created on March 8, 1852 from LaFayette, Yalobusha and Chickasaw counties , during the gubernatorial administration of Henry S. Foote. It was named for John C. Calhoun. Its boundaries have not been changed since it was established in 1852.
Porter A. Davis, W. H. Duberry, L. Brasher, M. Murphree, C. Orr, John Hunter and James McCrory were appointed commissioners to organize the county, and it was provided by the act that the Board of Police select a seat of justice as near the geographical center as possible. Pittsboro was thus chosen and was named in honor of one of the early settlers.

The County court house was destroyed by fire on December 22, 1922 all recoreds were destroyed

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 588 square miles (1,523 km²), of which, 587 square miles (1,519 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (4 km²) of it (0.24%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Lafayette County (north)
Pontotoc County (northeast)
Chickasaw County (east)
Webster County (south)
Grenada County (southwest)
Yalobusha County (west)

Cities and Towns:

- Big Creek	village	Incorporated Area
- Bruce	town	Incorporated Area
- Calhoun City	town	Incorporated Area
- Derma	town	Incorporated Area
- Mantee	village	Incorporated Area
- Pittsboro (County Seat)	village	Incorporated Area
- Slate Springs	village	Incorporated Area
- Vardaman	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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