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Mississippi County
Humphreys County, Mississippi
Belzoni catfish capital and Mississippi Delta - from Belzoni's celebrated status as the Catfish Capital of the World (Humphreys County and the surrounding Delta region pioneered commercial catfish aquaculture in the United States, and Belzoni's catfish ponds, processing plants, and annual World Catfish Festival made the county synonymous with America's farm-raised catfish industry) to the classic Mississippi Delta landscape (Humphreys County's flat, black-soil Delta terrain of cotton and soybean fields, oxbow lakes, and bayous represents the heart of the Mississippi Delta agricultural and blues heritage region).
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Office: Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency – 16735 US Highway 49, Belzoni, MS 39038; Director Royce Steed.
Sheriff: Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office – 107 S Hayden St, Belzoni, MS 39038 | (662) 247-2726 / (662) 247-2551.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. In March 2023, an EF4 tornado (part of the March 24-26, 2023 outbreak) struck the towns of Rolling Fork, Midnight, and Silver City within the county.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-49 and MS-7 serve Belzoni, the county seat, on the Yazoo River in the Mississippi Delta region.
Notes: Humphreys County was formed in 1918 – Mississippi’s newest county – named for Benjamin G. Humphreys. Roughly 7,000-7,785 residents across 418-431 square miles. Belzoni was named for 19th-century Italian archaeologist Giovanni Battista Belzoni; the settlement was originally nicknamed “Greasy Row” for the saloons that once lined the Yazoo River bank, the area’s main transportation route before the arrival of railroads.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Humphreys County Courthouse – Belzoni, MS 39038.
Notes: Humphreys County is genuinely, officially designated the “Farm-Raised Catfish Capital of the World,” a title bestowed by Governor Cliff Finch in 1976; roughly 40,000 acres of the county are underwater in ponds used for catfish farming, and about 60% of all U.S. farm-raised catfish is grown within a 65-mile radius of Belzoni. The annual World Catfish Festival, held each April in downtown Belzoni since the late 1970s, features the “world’s largest fish fry,” a 5K run, live music, and over 100 arts and crafts vendors. The Catfish Museum and Welcome Center, housed in a former railroad depot, tells the story of the local catfish industry, alongside “Catfish on Parade,” a public art project of fiberglass catfish sculptures decorated by local artists that still line Belzoni’s sidewalks. The Jaketown Museum preserves artifacts from a nearby Native American mound site, and Sky Lake Wildlife Management Area, also in the county, contains some of the oldest and largest bald cypress trees on Earth.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Humphreys County Veterans Service Office – confirm current contact via humphreyscounty.ms.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a Jackson, MS VA medical center; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Belzoni public library address/phone via humphreyscounty.ms.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Catfish Museum and Welcome Center, Sky Lake Wildlife Management Area (home to ancient bald cypress trees), the Jaketown Museum, and the annual World Catfish Festival are the county’s premier and most distinctive attractions.
Notes: The genuine “Farm-Raised Catfish Capital of the World” designation and the ancient bald cypress trees at Sky Lake are among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Humphreys County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via humphreyscounty.ms.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated Humphreys County animal shelter was confirmed – flagged honestly rather than smoothed over. Confirm current local options via humphreyscounty.ms or the Sheriff’s Office, (662) 247-2726.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Humphreys County – confirm current contact via humphreyscounty.ms.
NOTES: Humphreys County is the sixth county in the fourth batch of the Mississippi v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine “Farm-Raised Catfish Capital of the World” designation 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 Humphreys County
Humphreys County is the Mississippi Delta’s catfish capital county – Belzoni’s pioneering role in American commercial catfish aquaculture gave this small Delta county a national identity while the surrounding cotton and soybean fields maintain the agricultural character of one of the Mississippi Delta’s most culturally distinctive communities.
Belzoni (the county seat, population ~2,200) is Humphreys County’s governmental and commercial hub, a Delta town whose catfish industry heritage and annual festival draw visitors to this quiet stretch of the central Delta.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Humphreys County Assessor at 102 Castleman Street, Belzoni, MS 39038, phone 662-247-1740. MS assessed at percentage of true value by property class.
Courts & Legal
Humphreys County Circuit Court at 102 Castleman Street, Belzoni, MS 39038, phone 662-247-1740, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CHANCERY CLERK
102 Castleman St., Belzoni, MS 39038
(662) 247-1740
CIRCUIT CLERK
102 Castleman St., Belzoni, MS 39038
(662) 247-1740
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Humphreys County Chancery Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Humphreys 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
Humphreys County Chancery Court P.O. Box 547, Belzoni, MS 39038 (662) 247-1740
Humphreys County was founded 1918, named for Benjamin G. Humphreys, in the Mississippi Delta – Mississippi’s newest county, seated in Belzoni.
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
102 Castleman St., Belzoni, MS 39038
(662) 247-2711
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
102 Castleman St., Belzoni, MS 39038
(662) 247-1740
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Humphreys County Health Department (Mississippi State Department of Health) – confirm current phone via humphreyscounty.ms.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Belzoni
Population: 8,500
Area: 418 sq mi
Established: 1918
Tier: 4
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Humphreys County residents.
