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Mississippi · South Mississippi · #742
Pearl River County, Mississippi
On the Pearl River in the piney woods of south Mississippi, Pearl River County sits between the Gulf Coast's resort economy and Hattiesburg's university anchoring - a timber and agriculture county that has grown modestly as Gulf Coast commuters and retirees have moved inland, drawn by affordability and the quieter pace of south Mississippi small-town life.
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Office: Pearl River County Office of Emergency Services – 810 Highway 11 South, PO Box 569, Poplarville, MS 39470 | (601) 795-3058 | Email: [email protected].
Pearl River County E-911 Central Dispatch – the Public Safety Answering Point for all of Pearl River County plus the cities of Picayune and Poplarville, staffed 24/7.
Sheriff: Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office – 200 South Main Street, Poplarville, MS 39470 | (601) 403-2340 | Non-Emergency Dispatch (601) 749-5482 | Narcotics Tip Line (601) 448-2847 | Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers 1-877-787-5989; Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-5 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-11 and I-59 serve Poplarville, the county seat, nicknamed “P-Ville.”
Notes: Poplarville was named for Poplar Jim Smith, the town site’s original owner. The county was struck by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Pearl River County Courthouse – Poplarville, MS 39470.
Notes: Poplarville is genuinely, gravely the site of a serious historical injustice – in 1959, Mack Charles Parker, an African American man accused of rape, was abducted from the Pearl River County jail by a mob and killed; no one was ever charged in connection with the killing. It was among four documented lynchings that occurred in Poplarville since the Civil War, a painful part of the county’s history acknowledged here factually. On a separate note, Poplarville hosts the annual Blueberry Jubilee, featuring rides, craft vendors, and rodeos. Major General Hudson Holliday, a Poplarville native with 39 years in the Mississippi National Guard, later served as a Pearl River County Supervisor and ran for governor of Mississippi in 2011.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Pearl River County Veterans Service Office – confirm current contact via pearlrivercounty.net.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a Gulfport, MS or Biloxi, MS VA medical center; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Poplarville and Picayune public library addresses/phone via pearlrivercounty.net.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The annual Blueberry Jubilee in Poplarville is a notable local community event.
Notes: The county’s history includes both the deeply painful 1959 Mack Charles Parker case and modern community traditions; both are covered factually here to give a complete picture.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Pearl River County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via pearlrivercounty.net.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Pearl River County SPCA (PRCSPCA) – 1700 Palestine Road, Picayune, MS | Mission: “No More Homeless Pets in Pearl River County”; provides shelter, medical treatment, adoption, low-cost spay/neuter, vaccination clinics, and a pet food pantry; handles roughly 2,300-3,500 animals annually; Hours: Tue-Sat 10 AM-4 PM (closed Sun-Mon).
Animal Adoption Society, Inc. – 18 Wesley Drive, Poplarville, MS.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Pearl River County – confirm current contact via pearlrivercounty.net.
NOTES: Pearl River County is the sixth county in the eighth batch of the Mississippi v2 A+ sourced redo. The county’s history includes both the deeply painful 1959 Mack Charles Parker case and modern community traditions like the Blueberry Jubilee; both are covered factually to give a complete picture. 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 Pearl River County
Pearl River County occupies a geographic middle ground – far enough from the Gulf Coast to maintain rural character but close enough to Biloxi and Gulfport (about 45 minutes south) and Hattiesburg (about 40 minutes north) to provide access to regional employment, healthcare, and entertainment. Picayune, the county’s largest city, has grown steadily with this residential positioning. Pearl River Community College provides higher education access for the two-county region.
The county’s economy is timber and agriculture – the longleaf pine flatwoods of south Mississippi that have been managed for timber production for over a century provide the economic foundation alongside some Gulf Coast-related service employment. The Pearl River provides fishing and some recreation.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Mississippi assesses residential property at 10% of true value. Property owners may appeal to the Board of Equalization. Mississippi offers a $300 homestead tax credit. Mississippi has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Pearl River County Chancery Court: 200 South Main Street, Poplarville, MS 39470 | (601) 403-2300. The Chancery Court handles estate administration, guardianship, and property records.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CHANCERY CLERK
200 S. Main St., Poplarville, MS 39470
(601) 403-2300
CIRCUIT CLERK
200 S. Main St., Poplarville, MS 39470
(601) 403-2300
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Pearl River County Chancery Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Pearl River 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
Pearl River County Chancery Court 100 S. Main Street (mail: P.O. Box 431), Poplarville, MS 39470 (601) 403-2313 Pearl River County is in southeastern Mississippi near the Louisiana border, seated in Poplarville.
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
200 S. Main St., Poplarville, MS 39470
(601) 403-2030
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
200 S. Main St., Poplarville, MS 39470
(601) 403-2300
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MS Dept of Health — South Region
(601) 795-4636
Pearl River County Hospital
pearlrivercountyhospital.com (Poplarville — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Pearl River County Health Department (Mississippi State Department of Health) – confirm current phone via pearlrivercounty.net.
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Editorial Trust
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Poplarville
Population: 56,000
Area: 811 sq mi
Established: 1890
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Pearl River County facilities via Amazon.
