Webster County, Mississippi

Webster County Education, Geography, and History

Webster County is a county located in the state of Mississippi. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 10,253. Its county seat is Walthall. The county is named after statesman Daniel Webster.

Etymology - Origin of Webster County Name

Webster is named for American statesman Daniel Webster.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Webster County History

Webster County was established April 6, 1874, under the name of Sumner County, and was organized from parts of Chickasaw, Montgomery, Choctaw and Oktibbeha counties, On January 30, 1882, its name was changed to Webster, in honor of the great statesman, Daniel Webster. The present county has a land surface of 416 square miles.

By the act creating the county, the Governor was authorized to appoint and commission five persons to act as a Board of Supervisors, to proceed at once to organize the new county, and was also empowered to appoint the usual county officers. The act further recited that the county site should be determined by a vote of all the people of the new territory, which placed it at Walthall, near the geographical center. Meanwhile courts continued to be held at Greensboro, the old county seat of justice for Choctaw County until 1876. This old town was located in section 8, twp. 19, range 9, east. It once had about 250 inhabitants and some ten business houses. Its courts were attended by such men as J.Z. George, Reuben Davis, E.C. Walthall, Wiley P. Harris and Bob Hudson. Its most prominent citizens in the early days were J.V. Steen, Wiley Marshall, Frank Liddell, T.N. Davis, John Nolen, Capt. J.B. Dunn, Col. Wm. Brantley, and J.J. Campbell. It was a favorite stopping place for legislators en route to Jackson 120 miles away, via the old Natchez Trace. The old town was burned during the war, and the court house in 1871, when the place began to rapidly decay. The old log jail in 1839 or 1840 was the last of Greensboro to disappear.

The county seat is Walthall above mentioned named for Gen. B.C. Walthall.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 423 square miles (1,096 km²), of which, 422 square miles (1,094 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (2 km²) of it (0.20%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Calhoun County (north)
• Chickasaw County (northeast)
• Clay County (east)
• Oktibbeha County (southeast)
• Choctaw County (south)
• Montgomery County (west)
• Grenada County (northwest)

Education

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