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Mississippi County
Clay County, Mississippi
West Point - Tennessee Williams's birthplace - from Tennessee Williams's West Point birth (Thomas Lanier Williams - who became Tennessee Williams - was born in Columbus, Mississippi but the Williams family connection to Clay County and West Point is part of the northeast Mississippi literary geography that produced one of the greatest American playwrights - the Delta landscape, the Southern Gothic atmosphere, and the decaying gentility of the Mississippi interior are visible in Williams's plays) to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway's Clay County recreational lakes and the county's manufacturing economy.
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Office: Clay County Emergency Management Agency – West Point, MS 39773 | Office (662) 494-2088 | Cell (662) 295-5278 | Email: [email protected]; Director Torrey Williams; free CodeRed mass-notification system available to Clay County/West Point residents.
Sheriff: Clay County Sheriff’s Office – 348 W Broad St, West Point, MS 39773 | (662) 494-2896 | Fax: (662) 494-4034 | Jail: (662) 494-2712; Sheriff Eddie Scott, in office since 2012.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Clay County 911 Center began operations December 2, 2009.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-45 and MS-50 serve West Point, the county seat, in northeastern Mississippi.
Notes: Clay County was created April 4, 1872 from parts of Chickasaw, Lowndes, Monroe, and Oktibbeha Counties, originally named Colfax County for Vice President Schuyler Colfax under President Grant; the Mississippi legislature renamed it Clay County in 1876, honoring statesman Henry Clay.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Clay County Courthouse – 365 Court Street, PO Box 815, West Point, MS 39773 | (662) 494-3124 | Fax: (662) 492-4059.
Notes: Clay County is genuinely the birthplace of blues legend Chester Arthur Burnett, known as Howlin’ Wolf – born June 10, 1910 in White Station, just north of West Point, and later a pioneering figure in electrifying the Delta blues after moving to Chicago; his 1956 recording “Smokestack Lightnin'” became a UK pop hit in 1964. West Point established a festival in his honor in 1996 and a museum in 2005; a Mississippi Blues Trail marker commemorates him on East Broad Street. The county is also home to Waverley, a National Historic Landmark plantation mansion (built 1838-1852, NHL-designated 1973) located roughly midway between West Point and Columbus – architecturally unique among Mississippi’s antebellum homes for its massive octagonal cupola; after decades of vacancy and deterioration, Robert and Donna Snow purchased and restored the property beginning in 1962, ultimately winning a National Restoration Award.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Clay County Veterans Service Officer – Carl Pierce, 329 Court Street (Henry Harris Building), PO Box 1203, West Point, MS 39773 | (662) 494-1554 | Fax: (662) 391-1071 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: Mon/Wed 8 AM-4 PM, Fri 8 AM-Noon.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current West Point public library address/phone via claycountyms.com.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Waverley Mansion National Historic Landmark, the Howlin’ Wolf historical marker and museum, and the annual Howlin’ Wolf Blues Festival are the county’s premier and most nationally significant attractions.
Notes: The genuine Howlin’ Wolf birthplace connection and the National Historic Landmark status of Waverley Mansion are among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Clay County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via claycountyms.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
West Point Clay County Animal Shelter – West Point, MS 39773; website: wpccas.org; works to place stray and unwanted animals into loving homes and prevent animal cruelty through community involvement, education, and ordinance enforcement.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Clay County – waste pickup via Board of Supervisors, (662) 494-3313; billing via Golden Triangle PDD, (800) 217-6909.
NOTES: Clay County is the sixth county in the second batch of the Mississippi v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine Howlin’ Wolf birthplace connection and the National Historic Landmark status of Waverley Mansion are among 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 Clay County
Clay County is northeast Mississippi’s Tennessee Williams geography and Tenn-Tom county – the playwright’s northeast Mississippi roots and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway’s recreational lakes define a community in the literary and industrial corridor between Columbus and Tupelo.
West Point (the county seat, population ~10,000) serves Clay County’s manufacturing and agricultural communities on the Tenn-Tom corridor.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Clay County Tax Assessor at 205 Court Street, Suite 4, West Point, MS 39773, phone 662-494-3432. MS residential assessed at 10% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Clay County Chancery Court at 205 Court Street, West Point, MS 39773, phone 662-494-3124, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CHANCERY CLERK
205 Court St., West Point, MS 39773
(662) 494-3124
CIRCUIT CLERK
205 Court St., West Point, MS 39773
(662) 494-3124
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Clay County Chancery Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
West Point’s Central City Historic District includes several notable landmarks, including West Point Colored High School, a Mississippi Landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Clay 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
Clay County Chancery Court 205 Court Street (also cited as 101 East Main St.), West Point, MS 39773 (662) 494-3124
Clay County was founded 1871, named for Henry Clay, in the Golden Triangle region of Mississippi, seated in West Point.
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
205 Court St., West Point, MS 39773
(662) 494-2896
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
205 Court St., West Point, MS 39773
(662) 494-3124
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MS Dept of Health — North Mississippi
(662) 494-1040
North Mississippi Medical Center — West Point
nmhs.net (West Point — quality community hospital; NMHS affiliate)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Clay County Health Department (Mississippi State Department of Health) – confirm current phone via claycountyms.com. MSU Extension Clay County also offers community health and agricultural resources.
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