Simpson County History and Facts

Simpson County lies in the south central part of the State, and was organized January 23, 1824, and named in honor of Judge Josiah Simpson, a former Pennsylvanian, educated at Princeton. He later lived at Green Hill, near Natchez, and became a territorial judge of Mississippi and served as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1917. It was part of the Choctaw cession of 1820, termed the New Purchase, and subsequently formed the eastern part of the county of Copiah (erected in 1823). It has a present area of 575 square miles. As early as 1837 it had a free white population of 2,329, slaves 891, a majority of these early settlers coming from the older portions of the State on the west and south.

     At the time of it's organization, Simpson County was one of the most attractive Counties of the great Southwest and that is why for the first twenty years after, it grew so rapidly in population. Doubtless the early settlers from Scotland, New England, Virginia and the Carolinas sent back to their relatives glowing accounts of this new country.

     The following is a list of the county officers for the year 1824, the year the county was created: Duncan McLaurin, Judge of Probate; Wm. Morris, Peter Stubbs, Neal McNair, Richard Nall, James B. Satturfield, Associate Justices; Laughlin McLaurin, Jacob Carr, James Briggs, John C. Halford, Justices of the Peace; Richard Sparks, Sheriff; Neal McNair, Assessor and Collector; Daniel McCaskill, Coroner; Eli Nichols, Surveyor; John C. McFarland, Treasurer; Daniel L. Ferrington, Notary Public; Gideon Royal, Ranger; other county officers in 1825, 1826 and 1827 were John Briggs, Joseph R. Plummer, John Campbell, Absalom Harper, James Welch, Joseph Carr, Justices of the Peace; John R. Hubert, Associate Justice; William B. Easterling, Treasurer and Surveyor; M. McDuffee, Ranger.

     The first courts of the county were held at the house of William Gibson, and in 1827 the village of Westville was made the seat of justice. The county seat was eventually moved to Mendenhall. It was returned to Westville in the fall of 1905, but an election in the following year decided the contest for Mendenhall. .

Simpson County is bordered by Rankin County (north), Smith County (east), Covington County (southeast), Jefferson Davis County (south), Lawrence County (southwest) and Copiah County (west) . Cities and Towns include Braxton, D'Lo, Harrisville, Magee, Mendenhall, Pinola . The County Courthouse was destroyed in 1840 and 1872, All records were destroyed.

Page created November 15, 2008
Copyright 2008 Jane Combs All Rights Reserved