Clarke County is named for Joshua Clarke, who was a judge and the first Chancellor of the State of Mississippi.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
E – Choctaw County, Alabama
S – Wayne County
W – Jasper County
Created: December 10, 1812 
County Seat:
Quitman 1833 -1869
Enterprise 1869 – 1873
Quitman 1873 – present
County Courthouse – Quitman
Location: 100 East Church Street / Archusa Avenue
Built: 1912 – 1916
Style: Neo-Classical
Architect: Penn Jeffries Krouse
Contractor: Hancock and McArthur
Description: The building faces west and is a three story dark red and tan colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Quitman. The west front has a projecting center section with a large porch with four white columns rising to a wide header below the roof line. There is a wide balcony across the second story. Above the roof live is a upper wall section of buff colored brick. In the interior, there is a north-south hallway with entrance hall at the central west side. At either ends are the staircases with metal balustrades and wooden rail. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the second story with jury box in the center. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 10th Judicial District, County Chancery Court and County Youth Court. In 1969, the north and south one story buff colored brick wings were constructed. The architect was D Barlev and the engineer was Charles N Clark. In 1998, the one story large dark red colored brick annex on the east side of building which houses the Justice Court was constructed. The contractor was Carter and Mullings, Inc. of Columbia and the engineer was Charles N Clark.
See: The architect, Penn Jeffries Krouse also designed courthouses in Clarke County, Jones County, Kemper County, Lauderdale County and Pearl River County.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Clarke County Courthouse
See: The 10th Judicial District includes Kemper County, Lauderdale County and Wayne County.
History: The county was created in 1812 and Quitman was selected as the county seat in 1833 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was built in Quitman in 1834 at South Jackson Street and Franklin Street and was burned during the Civil War. The second courthouse from 1866 to 1869 was the Markes Old Stone House. In 1869, the county seat was moved to Enterprise and the third courthouse was built. The county seat was moved back to Quitman in 1873 and the fourth courthouse was designed and constructed by Ruldoph Bez in 1880. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed in 1912 to 1916
County Courthouse – Quitman
County Circuit Court courtroom
County Courthouse Annex – Quitman
Photos taken 2012