Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Mississippi County
Tippah County, Mississippi
Ripley's Col. W.C. Falkner - William Faulkner's great-grandfather and original inspiration - from Col. William Clark Falkner's Ripley legacy (William Faulkner's great-grandfather - the original "Colonel" who built a railroad, wrote a bestselling novel, fought in two wars, and was shot dead on a Ripley street in 1889 - was the dominant figure of north Mississippi in his era and the real-life inspiration for Colonel Sartoris in Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha novels - the Falkner monument in Ripley's cemetery stands where the Colonel was buried after his murder) and Ripley's Antique Market heritage as one of the premier antique shopping destinations in Mississippi.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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: Tippah County Emergency Management – confirm current phone via co.tippah.ms.us.
Sheriff: Tippah County Sheriff’s Office – 205 West Spring Street, Ripley, MS 38663 | (662) 837-9336 | Fax: (662) 837-1191; Sheriff Karl Gaillard.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Ripley Police Department: (662) 837-2215 / (662) 837-3333.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: MS-15 and MS-4 serve Ripley, the county seat, about 30 miles from Elvis Presley’s Tupelo birthplace and roughly an hour from Graceland.
Notes: Tippah County was founded in 1836, one of the original “Chickasaw Cession” counties; its name derives from a Chickasaw word meaning “cut off,” from the Tippah Creek that flows through the county before emptying into the Tallahatchie River. Roughly 21,390-21,815 residents across 458-460 square miles, on Mississippi’s northern border. One of President Bill Clinton’s great-grandfathers is buried in the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Tippah County Courthouse – Ripley, MS 38663.
Notes: Ripley is genuinely, richly literary. Colonel William Clark Falkner (1825-1889) – lawyer, Confederate soldier, railroad builder, and author of “The White Rose of Memphis” – was a prominent Ripley resident and the great-grandfather of Nobel laureate William Faulkner; Falkner’s colorful life and violent death (shot on the town square by a former business partner) are widely believed to have inspired Faulkner’s character Colonel John Sartoris. A 20-foot marble statue of Falkner stands in Ripley Cemetery. Falkner founded the Ripley Railroad Company in 1871, later expanded and eventually extended to New Albany, where William Faulkner himself was born in 1897 – a direct, documented link between the Falkner family’s railroad ambitions and Faulkner’s birthplace. Author John Grisham also spent his school years in Ripley, and modeled his fictional Ford County Courthouse on Ripley’s own; the town holds an annual Faulkner Festival with a historic walking tour each November. Ripley’s First Monday Trade Day, established in 1893, is among the oldest outdoor flea markets in the nation, held the weekend before the first Monday of each month.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Tippah County Veterans Services Office – confirm current contact via co.tippah.ms.us.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a Tupelo, MS VA clinic; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Ripley public library address/phone via co.tippah.ms.us.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Colonel Falkner statue and grave in Ripley Cemetery, the historic Faulkner walking trail, and First Monday Trade Day are the county’s most distinctive attractions.
Notes: The genuine, direct literary lineage connecting Ripley to both William Faulkner and John Grisham is among the richest local cultural facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Tippah County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via co.tippah.ms.us.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Animal Rescue of Tippah County – Ripley, MS; a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Ru To The Rescue – Tippah County, MS; a foster-based nonprofit animal rescue.
Animal Clinic of Tippah County (veterinary, not a shelter) – 9950 Highway 15 S, Ripley, MS | (662) 837-7400.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Tippah County Solid Waste Department – confirm current contact via co.tippah.ms.us.
NOTES: Tippah County is the seventh and final county in the tenth batch of the Mississippi v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine, direct literary lineage connecting Ripley to both William Faulkner and John Grisham is among the richest local cultural 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 Tippah County
Tippah County is north Mississippi’s Faulkner family origin story county – Colonel W.C. Falkner, William Faulkner’s great-grandfather and the original Colonel Sartoris, built his railroad empire and was shot dead in Ripley, where his monument still stands in the cemetery.
Ripley (the county seat, population ~5,000) celebrates both its antique market tradition and the Falkner family heritage that gave American literature one of its most important family legends.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Tippah County Tax Assessor at 100 Court Square, Suite 1, Ripley, MS 38663, phone 662-837-8071. MS residential assessed at 10% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Tippah County Chancery Court at 100 Court Square, Ripley, MS 38663, phone 662-837-7370, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CHANCERY CLERK
101 N. Main St., Ripley, MS 38663
(662) 837-7374
CIRCUIT CLERK
101 N. Main St., Ripley, MS 38663
(662) 837-7374
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Tippah County Chancery Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Tippah 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
Tippah County Chancery Court 101 East Spring Street, Ripley, MS 38663 (662) 837-7374
Tippah County was founded 1836, its name from a Chickasaw word meaning “cut off,” in Mississippi’s northeastern corner, seated in Ripley.
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
101 N. Main St., Ripley, MS 38663
(662) 837-9341
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
101 N. Main St., Ripley, MS 38663
(662) 837-7374
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) 837-9421
Tippah County Hospital
tippahcountyhospital.com (Ripley — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Tippah County Hospital – (662) 837-9221; Tippah County Ambulance Service – (662) 837-3122.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Ripley
Population: 22,000
Area: 459 sq mi
Established: 1836
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Tippah County residents.
