Marion County is one of the oldest counties in Mississippi, created in December, 1811, a little more than five years before the state government was set up in March, 1817. The county is a division of the Mount Dexter Treaty which was concluded in 1805 and which embraced all lands in South Mississippi. It lies just north of the Louisiana and Mississippi state line and in its original area it was of considerable size, embracing the present counties of Lawrence, Pike, and Lamar.

         Excerpts from the original territorial laws of Mississippi reads as follows:

         51, Section 3. All that tract of country within the following boundaries, to-wit: Beginning on the line of demarcation, where the fourth range of townships east of Pearl River intersect the side line, thence west with said line of demarcation to the sixty-mile post, east of the Mississippi, being the first range of townships to the Choctaw boundary lines thence along said Choctaw boundary line to the fourth range of townships east of Pearl River, thence with said range to the beginning, shall constitute a county which shall be called Marion.

         52, Section 4. Jessie Thompson, Josiah Skinner, Alexander McIntosh, William D. Phelps and James Hartfield be, and hereby are appointed Commissioners of Greene County; and that William Powe, George Evans, William Patten James Marshall and John M. Reddoch be and are hereby appointed Commissioners of Wayne County; and that John Ford, George Henry Mixon, William Whitehead, Stephen Noble and John Graves be, and hereby are appointed commissioners for Marion County with power and authority to fix and establish the permanent seat of justice within their several counties; and in case of division of said board of Commissioners, a majority shall rule.
Acts of December 23, 1815:

      Section 1. Charles Stovall, William Lott, Harmon Runnels, Jordan Morgan, John Ford, John McGuffie and Dougal McLaughlen, be and they are hereby appointed Commissioners, who or a majority of them, shall have full power to direct and superintend the opening and clearing the river Pearl, and they are hereby declared to have full power to do and perform all acts and doings, by this act authorized and required.

      Every person subject by law to work on public roads, who lives within five miles of the said river Pearl on either side within the Mississippi territory, from New Columbia down, may, by the Commissioners aforesaid, be made subject under their direction to work six days in each and every year in opening and clearing the river Pearl. The said Commissioners, or a majority of them, are hereby authorized to raise by way of lottery the sum of two thousand dollars for the purpose of improving the navigation of the said river or such a scheme as they may deem more expedient; which sum shall be applied to the purpose aforesaid in such manner as the Commissioners, or a majority of them may adopt.

      53, Section 5. The Commissioners appointed by this act to fix the permanent seat of Justice for Marion County, shall be bound to fix the same on the west side of Pearl River, and within township number 3.

Act of December 16, 1812:

                62, Section 1. The county town in the County of Marion is laid off in the fractional section number 14, in township number 3, range 18, east situated on the west bank of Pearl River, is hereby established, and shall be called and known by the href of New Columbia.