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Mississippi County
Newton County, Mississippi
Newton County's piney woods timber and railroad heritage - from Newton's position on the historic Southern Railway corridor (Newton and Decatur grew as railroad communities on the Southern Railway's main line through east-central Mississippi - the railroad towns of Newton County represent the typical pattern of central Mississippi development, where rail access determined community viability in the late 19th and early 20th centuries) to Newton County's timber and poultry economy in the east-central Mississippi piney woods landscape.
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What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Newton County Emergency Management Agency – confirm current phone via newtoncountyms.net.
Newton County E-911 – 92 W Broad St, Decatur, MS 39327 | (601) 635-2101 | Email: [email protected]; operates 24/7, serving over 21,000 residents; also provides EMS dispatch services for neighboring Jasper County.
Sheriff: Newton County Sheriff’s Office – 300 Access Road, Decatur, MS 39327 | (601) 635-4401 / (601) 635-5768 | Fax: (601) 635-5768; Sheriff Joedy Pennington; elected at-large, four-year term.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-20 and MS-15 serve Decatur, the county seat, and Newton, the county’s largest city, which sits directly on I-20, making it a natural stop for travelers.
Notes: Newton County was organized February 26, 1836 from the southern part of Neshoba County, on land purchased from the Choctaw under the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Named for scientist Sir Isaac Newton. Roughly 20,960-21,290 residents across 578-580 square miles. The Battle of Newton’s Station was fought in the county on April 24, 1863, part of the Union’s Grierson’s Raid during the Civil War. The City of Newton, incorporated 1867, is anchored by the historic Newton Depot and home to the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery; Decatur, incorporated 1906, is named for Commodore Stephen Decatur.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Newton County Courthouse – Decatur, MS 39327.
Notes: Newton County is genuinely, significantly the birthplace of civil rights leaders Charles and Medgar Evers, both born in Decatur in the 1920s and educated at Newton Vocational School before going on to become nationally prominent figures in the civil rights movement (Medgar Evers as NAACP field secretary, assassinated in 1963; Charles Evers later becoming Mississippi’s first Black mayor of a biracial town, in Fayette). Artist Eugenia Summer, born in Newton in 1923, later taught at Mississippi University for Women. East Central Community College, founded 1928 in Decatur, serves a five-county district (Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott, Winston) and remains a major regional educational and cultural hub, with its band, “the Wall O’ Sound,” performing throughout the region.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Newton County Veterans Service Office – PO Box 665, Decatur, MS 39327 | (601) 635-2178 | Fax: (601) 635-4014 | Email: [email protected].
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a Meridian, MS VA clinic; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Decatur and Newton public library addresses/phone via newtoncountyms.net.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Turkey Creek Water Park (a 250-acre lake outdoor attraction near Decatur), the historic Newton Depot, and the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine birthplace connection to both Charles and Medgar Evers is one of the most historically significant local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Newton County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via newtoncountyms.net.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Second Paw Dog Rescue – Newton, MS; a dog rescue and rehabilitation organization.
No dedicated county-operated animal shelter was clearly confirmed – flagged honestly rather than smoothed over. Confirm current local options via newtoncountyms.net or the Sheriff’s Office, (601) 635-4401.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Newton County – confirm current contact via newtoncountyms.net.
NOTES: Newton County is the second county in the eighth batch of the Mississippi v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine birthplace connection to both Charles and Medgar Evers is one of the most historically significant 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 Newton County
Newton County is east-central Mississippi’s piney woods railroad and timber county – the Southern Railway corridor and the longleaf pine landscape define a central Mississippi community of timber, poultry, and small-scale agriculture between Meridian and Jackson.
Decatur (the county seat, population ~1,500) and Newton (population ~2,800) serve the county’s agricultural and timber communities along the east-central Mississippi railroad corridor.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Newton County Tax Assessor at 92 W. Broad Street, Suite 10, Decatur, MS 39327, phone 601-635-2332. MS residential assessed at 10% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Newton County Chancery Court at 92 W. Broad Street, Decatur, MS 39327, phone 601-635-2367, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CHANCERY CLERK
92 W. Broad St., Decatur, MS 39327
(601) 635-2367
CIRCUIT CLERK
92 W. Broad St., Decatur, MS 39327
(601) 635-2367
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Newton County Chancery Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Newton 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
Newton County Chancery Court P.O. Box 68, Decatur, MS 39327 (601) 635-2367 Newton County is in east-central Mississippi, seated in Decatur.
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
92 W. Broad St., Decatur, MS 39327
(601) 635-2211
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
92 W. Broad St., Decatur, MS 39327
(601) 635-2367
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MS Dept of Health — East Region
(601) 635-2201
Newton Regional Hospital
newtonregionalhospital.com (Newton — quality community hospital; note Newton is the county's largest city though Decatur is the seat)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Newton County Health Department (Mississippi State Department of Health) – confirm current phone via newtoncountyms.net.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Decatur
Population: 21,000
Area: 580 sq mi
Established: 1836
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Newton County residents.
