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Mississippi State...
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Mississippi Counties
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Mississippi Counties
There are 82 counties in Mississippi. |
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DeSoto County, Mississippi
DeSoto County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Hernando
Year Organized: 1836
Square Miles: 478 |
Court House: 2535 Highway 51 S.
County Courthouse
Hernando, MS 38632-2132
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
DeSoto is named for Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. The county seat, Hernando, is named in honor of Spanish
explorer Hernando de Soto, who allegedly died there in May 1542, although some believe that he died near Lake City,
Arkansas. Hernando de Soto (Jerez de los Caballeros, Badajoz, Spain, c.1496/1497–May 21, 1542) was a Spanish
explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day
United States, was the first European to discover the Mississippi River.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Established February 9, 1836, De Soto was one of the twelve counties formed in that year from the territory
originally belonging to the Chickasaw nation and ceded by the Indians under the Pontotoc treaty of 1832. The original
act defined its boundaries as follows:
"Beginning at the point where the northern boundary line of the State intersects the Mississippi River, and
running thence down the said river, to the point where the line between townships 2 and 3 intersects the same;
thence with the said township line, to the line between ranges 9 and 10 west; thence south with the said range
line to the center of township 6; thence east through the center of township 6, according to the sectional
lines, to the center of range 5 west; thence north through the center of range 5 west, according to the
sectional lines, to the northern boundary line of the State; thence west with the said boundary line to the
place of beginning."
Its original area was about 24 townships, or about 864 square miles. December 23, 1873, it contributed to form
the new county of Tate. It was organized during the first administration of Gov. Charles Lynch, and was named after
Hernando De Soto, the discoverer of the Mississippi.
Its county seat is Hernando, just south of the center of the county. It was named in honor of Hernando De Soto. It
was originally called Jefferson and was organized in 1836 by a bill introduced by Senator A.G. McNutt of Warren
County. It became the home of many wealthy and prominent families, whose glory before the war is told by the remains
of their handsome homes. It was the home of Col. Felix Labauve, who was one of its earliest settlers and quite a
remarkable character. A native of France, of distinguished ancestry, and coming as a child to the new world, he was
identified in later years with the history of Mississippi. His bequest of $20,000 for the education of poor youths
of De Soto County, makes him deservingly remembered as one of its wisest benefactors.
Geography
DeSoto County is the most northwestern of Mississippi's 82 counties, in a corner that borders Tennessee and
Arkansas. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 497 square miles (1,287 kmē), of
which, 478 square miles (1,238 kmē) of it is land and 19 square miles (49 kmē) of it (3.81%) is water.
Neighboring Counties:
- Shelby County, Tennessee - north
- Crittenden County, Arkansas - west
- Tunica County - southwest
- Tate County - south
- Marshall County - east
Cities and Towns:
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- Hernando
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Horn Lake |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Olive Branch |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Southaven |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Walls |
town |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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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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