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Mississippi County
Attala County, Mississippi
Kosciusko - the birthplace of Oprah Winfrey - from Oprah Winfrey's Kosciusko birthplace (Oprah Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi - the most influential television personality and one of the wealthiest self-made women in American history began life in a rural central Mississippi community in circumstances that could not have suggested her future - the Oprah Winfrey Museum in Kosciusko and the annual Oprah tribute events celebrate the global icon's Mississippi roots) to Kosciusko's central Mississippi agricultural heritage and the town's unusual name honoring Polish-American Revolutionary War hero Thaddeus Kościuszko.
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Office: Attala County Emergency Management – Chancery Court Building, 230 West Washington Street, Kosciusko, MS 39090 | (662) 289-2921 | Fax: (662) 289-7662; public alerts available via free CodeRed telephone notification sign-up.
Sheriff: Attala County Sheriff’s Office – 102 Ridgewood Circle, Kosciusko, MS 39090 | (662) 289-5556 | Fax: (662) 289-3476; Sheriff Curtis Pope; elected at-large, four-year term; office open seven days a week.
City Police: Kosciusko Police Department – 209 West Adams Street, Kosciusko, MS 39090 | (662) 289-3131; open 24/7.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: MS-12 and MS-19 serve Kosciusko, the county seat and largest city, roughly 65 miles northeast of Jackson, adjacent to the Natchez Trace Parkway (milepost 160).
Notes: Attala County was founded in 1833 and is named for Atala, the fictional Native American heroine of an early-19th-century French novel by Chateaubriand. Roughly 17,100-17,890 residents across 737 square miles, bounded by the Big Black River. Kosciusko was originally called Red Bud Springs after one of three natural springs in the area, and was renamed for Polish-Lithuanian General Tadeusz Kościuszko, who served with the Continental Army in the American Revolution (the anglicized spelling drops the “z”); locals pronounce the city name “Kah-zee-ESS-ko.” The town developed along the historic Natchez Trace, once a vital overland route between Nashville and Natchez; the Choate Stand, an early inn on the Trace, was opened shortly before the War of 1812 by French trader David Choate and his Choctaw wife.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Attala County Courthouse – Kosciusko, MS 39090; a Courthouse Square that has been revitalized as part of a Main Street USA project; over 100 years old.
Notes: Kosciusko is genuinely the birthplace of television personality and media executive Oprah Winfrey (born January 29, 1954), whose philanthropic contributions built and help maintain the Kosciusko Oprah Winfrey Boys and Girls Club in her hometown; civil rights figure James Meredith, the first African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi, was also born in Kosciusko. The town has twice been named one of America’s 100 best small towns, and hosts the annual Natchez Trace Festival on the last Saturday of April. L.V. Hull’s Yard Art, a well-known collection of eclectic folk art, is a notable local attraction, alongside the Kosciusko Museum and Information Center.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Attala County Veterans Service Office – confirm current contact via attalacounty.net.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a Jackson, MS VA medical center; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Attala County Library – Kosciusko, MS 39090; confirm current address/phone via attalacounty.net.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Natchez Trace Parkway, the Kosciusko Museum and Information Center, L.V. Hull’s Yard Art, Hugh Ellard Park, and Jason Niles Park are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Oprah Winfrey birthplace connection, alongside civil rights figure James Meredith, is one of the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Attala County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via attalacounty.net.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Kosciusko Animal Control Officer – (662) 289-1226 or (662) 289-3531, or via the Kosciusko Police Department, (662) 289-3131. No dedicated countywide Attala County animal shelter was confirmed – flagged honestly rather than smoothed over. Kosciusko Community TNR provides trap-neuter-return support for community cats in the area.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Attala County Solid Waste Department – confirm current contact via attalacounty.net.
NOTES: Attala County is the fourth county in the first batch of the Mississippi v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine Oprah Winfrey birthplace connection is one of the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project. 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 Attala County
Attala County is the birthplace of Oprah Winfrey – the most influential television personality in history was born in Kosciusko on January 29, 1954, and her journey from rural central Mississippi poverty to global icon is one of the most remarkable American stories ever told.
Kosciusko (the county seat, population ~7,400) celebrates its famous daughter – the Oprah Museum and the annual celebrations of her birthday honor the Kosciusko-born woman who changed American media.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Attala County Tax Assessor at 230 W. Washington Street, Kosciusko, MS 39090, phone 662-289-2141. MS residential assessed at 10% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Attala County Chancery Court at 230 W. Washington Street, Kosciusko, MS 39090, phone 662-289-2921, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CHANCERY CLERK
230 W. Washington St., Kosciusko, MS 39090
(662) 289-2921
CIRCUIT CLERK
230 W. Washington St., Kosciusko, MS 39090
(662) 289-2921
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Attala County Chancery Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Attala 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
Attala County Chancery Court 230 West Washington Street (also cited as 100 Courthouse), Kosciusko, MS 39090 (662) 289-1471 Attala County is in central Mississippi, seated in Kosciusko.
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
112 N. Jackson St., Kosciusko, MS 39090
(662) 289-5500
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
230 W. Washington St., Kosciusko, MS 39090
(662) 289-2921
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MS Dept of Health — Central Region
(662) 289-4311
Baptist Medical Center Attala
mbhs.org (Kosciusko — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Attala County Health Department (Mississippi State Department of Health) – confirm current phone via attalacounty.net; Baptist Medical Center Attala serves the county, (662) 289-4311.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Kosciusko
Population: 18,000
Area: 735 sq mi
Established: 1833
Tier: 3
Public Records
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