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Mississippi County
Lincoln County, Mississippi
Brookhaven's City of Churches heritage and the King Edward Hotel - from Brookhaven's "City of Churches" identity (Brookhaven's extraordinary concentration of historic churches - representing virtually every Protestant denomination plus Catholic traditions - earned the city its "City of Churches" nickname, and the community's faith heritage has shaped its civic culture for nearly two centuries) to the historic King Edward Hotel (the 1925 Italian Renaissance revival hotel in Brookhaven - once the finest hotel between New Orleans and Memphis - was restored in the 2000s and has become a symbol of Brookhaven's commitment to historic preservation and downtown revitalization).
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Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Lincoln County Emergency Management – Director/911 Coordinator Chris Reid; confirm current phone via golincolnms.com.
Sheriff: Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office – 215 Justice Street, PO Box 587, Brookhaven, MS 39601 | 24-hour non-emergency (601) 833-5231 | Fax: (601) 833-4492 | Email: [email protected].
City Police: Brookhaven Police Department – 24-hour non-emergency (601) 833-2424.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-84 and I-55 intersect at Brookhaven, the county seat and only city in the county, part of the Brookhaven Micropolitan Statistical Area within the larger Jackson-Vicksburg-Brookhaven Combined Statistical Area.
Notes: Lincoln County was created by the Mississippi legislature on April 7, 1870, during Reconstruction, formed from portions of Lawrence, Pike, Franklin, Copiah, and Amite Counties. Genuinely, distinctively named for President Abraham Lincoln – a notable choice for a Deep South county so soon after the Civil War. Roughly 34,900-35,010 residents across 586-588 square miles. Brookhaven itself was founded in 1818 and grew substantially after the railroad arrived in 1858.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Lincoln County Governmental Complex / Board of Supervisors – 301 S First Street, Brookhaven, MS 39601 | (601) 835-3411 | Fax: (601) 835-3423; Board meets first and third Monday of each month.
Notes: The Lincoln County Historical and Jewish Heritage Museum, housed in a former synagogue building converted to a museum in 2009, preserves local history including an exhibit on Brookhaven’s historic Jewish community. A museum in the old railroad depot covers Brookhaven’s WWII history.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Lincoln County Veterans Service Office – confirm current contact via golincolnms.com.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a Jackson, MS VA medical center; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Brookhaven public library address/phone via golincolnms.com.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Lincoln County Historical and Jewish Heritage Museum, the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Airport, Lake Lincoln State Park, and the WWII railroad depot museum are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine choice to name a Deep South county for Abraham Lincoln during Reconstruction is a distinctive local historical fact covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Lincoln County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via golincolnms.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Brookhaven Animal Rescue League (BARL) – 501 North Park Dr, PO Box 3477, Brookhaven, MS 39603-3477 | (601) 757-4367 | Email: [email protected]; a non-profit, no-kill, all-volunteer group serving Copiah, Franklin, and Lincoln Counties; dog adoption $100, cat adoption $85 (includes vaccinations, spay/neuter, microchip); does not receive government funding.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Lincoln County Litter & Solid Waste Control / Solid Waste Department – confirm current contact via golincolnms.com.
NOTES: Lincoln County is the first county in the seventh batch of the Mississippi v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine choice to name a Deep South county for Abraham Lincoln during Reconstruction is a distinctive local historical fact 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 Lincoln County
Lincoln County is southwest Mississippi’s City of Churches and King Edward Hotel county – Brookhaven’s remarkable concentration of historic houses of worship and the restored 1925 Italian Renaissance hotel define a southwest Mississippi community with deep faith heritage and revitalization ambition.
Brookhaven (the county seat, population ~12,000) is the commercial hub for southwest Mississippi – the King Edward Hotel’s restoration anchors a downtown that serves as a model for Mississippi small-city preservation.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Lincoln County Tax Assessor at 301 S. First Street, Suite 103, Brookhaven, MS 39601, phone 601-835-3402. MS residential assessed at 10% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Lincoln County Chancery Court at 301 S. First Street, Brookhaven, MS 39601, phone 601-835-3411, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CHANCERY CLERK
301 S. First St., Brookhaven, MS 39601
(601) 835-3411
CIRCUIT CLERK
301 S. First St., Brookhaven, MS 39601
(601) 835-3411
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Lincoln County Chancery Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Lincoln 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
Lincoln County Chancery Court P.O. Box 555, Brookhaven, MS 39602 (601) 835-3411 Lincoln County is in southwestern Mississippi, seated in Brookhaven.
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
301 S. First St., Brookhaven, MS 39601
(601) 835-3424
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
301 S. First St., Brookhaven, MS 39601
(601) 835-3411
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) 833-4873
King's Daughters Medical Center
kdmc.org (Brookhaven — quality regional hospital; major southwest Mississippi anchor)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Lincoln County Health Department (Mississippi State Department of Health) – confirm current phone via golincolnms.com.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Brookhaven
Population: 34,000
Area: 586 sq mi
Established: 1826
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Lincoln County residents.
