Chickasaw County, Mississippi

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

County Seat: Houston
Year Organized: 1836
Square Miles: 502

Court House:

101 North Jefferson Street
County Courthouse
Houston, MS 38851-2219

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Chickasaw is named for the Chickasaw Native American people.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Chickasaw County was established February 9, 1836, during the administration of Gov. Charles Lynch. It was named for the Chickasaw Indians and was part of the territory ceded by that tribe in the treaty of Pontotoc, October 20, 1832. Indian philologists derive the word Chickasaw from chikasha (rebellion), probably referring to the separation of the nation from the Creeks and Choctaws.

Chickasaw County has a land surface of 501 square miles. Its original area was about 30 townships, or 1,080 square miles, which has been reduced to its present territory by portions taken from it in the formation of Clay, Webster and Calhoun counties. Houston and Okalona are the County seats.

The County Courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1863, most records were destroyed.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 504 square miles (1,306 km²), of which, 502 square miles (1,299 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) of it (0.54%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Pontotoc County (north)
Lee County (northeast)
Monroe County (east)
Clay County (southeast)
Wesbter County (southwest)
Calhoun County (west)

Cities and Towns:

- Houston (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- New Houlka	town	Incorporated Area
- Okolona	city	Incorporated Area
- Woodland	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."