Marker Highlights History of Walthall County

Walthall County Courthouse and Jail was honored with its own State Historical Marker, appropriately placed between the two buildings and facing east towards Ball Avenue. The sign encapsulates the history of Walthall County: Named for U.S. Senator Edward C. Walthall (1831-1898), it was created from sections of Pike and Marion counties in 1910 by the legislature and ratified by local voters in 1914. Tylertown was incorporated in 1907 and declared the county seat. Construction of the Neoclassical and Prairie style courthouse and jail began in 1916 and was completed in 1917. The buildings were designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1989 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

The marker was furnished by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH). Founded in 1902, MDAH is the official archival and historical agency for the state of Mississippi. Since 1949 their State Historical Marker program has identified and interpreted historic sites across Mississippi. More than 1,000 markers can be found near buildings, battlefields, cemeteries, churches, temples, forts, homes, schools, and abandoned towns.

The Walthall County Courthouse and Jail is the sixth site in Walthall County to be recognized with the iconic green marker. The other sites are Simmons House, China Grove Methodist Church, Founders Cemetery, Conerly’s P.O. and Lampton’s Store, and Walthall Training School.

The Walthall County Historical Society partnered with Walthall County to secure the State Historical Marker for the courthouse and jail, sharing equally the expense. The County took responsibility for erecting the monument and landscaping the grounds. Landscaper Kyle Johnson encircled the marker with a border of round, smooth stones, covering the enclosed ground with white pebbles. A flower bed stretching the length of the parking area between the two buildings, all the way to the MSU Extension Service building, was planted with junipers and rose bushes in keeping with the landscaping in the front of the courthouse.

The Walthall County Historical Society is especially grateful to MDAH staff member William “Brother” Rogers, who first suggested the idea of a State Historical Marker for the courthouse and jail, and MDAH Board member Dr. Luke Lampton, who inspired and supported the Society’s efforts to secure the marker.