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Mississippi County
Amite County, Mississippi
Liberty and southwest Mississippi pine belt - from Liberty's role as the governmental hub of one of Mississippi's more rural southwestern counties to Amite County's position in the longleaf pine belt along the Louisiana border (the county's forested hills and creek drainages support commercial timber operations, small cattle farms, and the quiet rural character that defines the hill country of southwest Mississippi, distinct from the flat Delta counties to the north and the Gulf Coast to the south).
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Office: Amite County Emergency Management Agency – PO Box 279, 185 Irene St, Liberty, MS 39645 | (601) 657-1011 | Email: [email protected]; also administers the county’s floodplain management program.
Sheriff: Amite County Sheriff’s Office – 243 S Broad Street, PO Box 208, Liberty, MS 39645-0208 | (601) 657-8057 | Fax: (601) 657-4199 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Tim Wroten; a four-year elected term, supervising road patrol, investigations, court services, jailers, and dispatchers.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-98 and MS-24/MS-48 serve Liberty, the county seat, in southwestern Mississippi on the Louisiana state line, part of the McComb Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Notes: Amite County was established February 1809 from the eastern portion of Wilkinson County – one of the earliest counties in the Mississippi Territory (just eleven existed in 1810) – and named for the Amite River, itself named by French explorers for “amitié” (friendship), reflecting hoped-for good relations with local indigenous peoples. Roughly 12,720 residents (2020 census) across 732 square miles. The county was Mississippi’s third-largest by population in 1820. Towns include Liberty, Centreville, Crosby, Gloster, Gillsburg, and Smithdale.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Amite County Courthouse – Liberty, MS 39645; built 1839-1841, genuinely the oldest extant county courthouse building still in continuous use in the entire state of Mississippi, a designated Mississippi Landmark and NRHP-listed 1974.
Notes: The Homochitto National Forest, established July 20, 1936 as the first of Mississippi’s six national forests (191,839 total acres, named for the Homochitto River, meaning “big red” in the local indigenous language), extends into northern Amite County, offering hunting, hiking, fishing, and a nationally recognized mountain bike trail. During the Civil War, Union Colonel Benjamin Grierson’s cavalry camped near Liberty in April 1863 as part of the broader Vicksburg Campaign.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Amite County Veterans Service Office – confirm current contact via amitecounty.ms.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a Jackson, MS or Baton Rouge, LA VA medical center; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Liberty public library address/phone via amitecounty.ms.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The historic Amite County Courthouse (Mississippi’s oldest in continuous use) and the Homochitto National Forest (hunting, camping, hiking, and mountain biking) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine distinction of hosting Mississippi’s oldest continuously used courthouse building is a notable local fact.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Amite County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via amitecounty.ms.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Liberty Animal Shelter (City of Liberty) – works to adopt out or place stray animals with rescue partners; also enforces animal-related ordinances within Liberty city limits; humane live-capture traps available to city residents for a $30 refundable deposit; confirm current address/phone via amitecounty.ms or the City of Liberty. Animal cruelty/neglect reports countywide may also be directed to the Amite County Sheriff’s Office, (601) 657-8057.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Amite County – confirm current contact via amitecounty.ms.
NOTES: Amite County is the third county in the first batch of the Mississippi v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine distinction of hosting Mississippi’s oldest continuously used courthouse building is a notable local fact. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Amite County
Amite County is southwest Mississippi’s pine belt border county – timber, cattle, and small-scale farming sustain one of Mississippi’s older and more rural counties while Liberty serves as the quiet governmental hub for communities spread across the forested hills near the Louisiana state line.
Liberty (the county seat, population ~650) is Amite County’s governmental center, one of Mississippi’s smaller county seats serving a sparsely populated rural county in the state’s southwest corner.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Amite County Assessor at 243 W. Main Street, Liberty, MS 39645, phone 601-657-8022. MS assessed at percentage of true value by property class.
Courts & Legal
Amite County Circuit Court at 243 W. Main Street, Liberty, MS 39645, phone 601-657-8022, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CHANCERY CLERK
243 W. Main St., Liberty, MS 39645
(601) 657-8022
CIRCUIT CLERK
243 W. Main St., Liberty, MS 39645
(601) 657-8022
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Amite County Chancery Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Amite County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Amite County Chancery Court 243 W. Main Street (also cited as 243 Main St.), Liberty, MS 39645 (601) 657-8022
Amite County was founded 1809, in southwestern Mississippi on the Louisiana border, seated in Liberty.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Mississippi has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code and instead follows its own statutory framework under Miss. Code Ann. Title 91, Chapter 7. Mississippi’s small-estate threshold, at $75,000, is one of the lowest in the country, so most estates end up needing at least some court involvement.
Small Estate Affidavit (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322) – personal property only, up to $75,000 (excluding liens and encumbrances). A 30-day waiting period after death applies. The affidavit is presented directly to whoever holds the property (a bank, for instance); that party is not required to investigate the truth of the affidavit and is protected from liability once it complies.
Muniment of Title (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-35) – a limited proceeding to transfer real property named in a will, without full administration, when the estate’s non-real-estate assets are $75,000 or less and all debts (including taxes) have been paid. A petition is still filed with the Chancery Court to declare the will valid; the will and court order are then recorded in the land records.
Formal Administration – required for most estates with real property beyond the muniment-of-title threshold or significant liquid assets. The Chancery Judge reviews the petition, the will (if any), and supporting documents before issuing Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration appointing the personal representative.
Step 2: filing for probate
File a petition with the Chancery Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The personal representative inventories assets and notifies creditors; Mississippi’s creditor claim period runs 90 days (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-145).
Claims and disputes are adjudicated by the Chancery Court if contested.
Once debts are settled and the creditor period closes, the estate can be distributed and closed.
What it costs
Costs are the Chancery Clerk’s per-county filing fee (built on the statewide base under Miss. Code § 25-7-9), plus recording fees and publication costs.
Mississippi has no state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could separately apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
243 W. Main St., Liberty, MS 39645
(601) 657-4541
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
243 W. Main St., Liberty, MS 39645
(601) 657-8022
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MS Dept of Health — Southwest Region
(601) 657-8492
Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center
smrmc.com (McComb — accessible regional hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Amite County Health Department (Mississippi State Department of Health) – confirm current phone via amitecounty.ms.
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