Pontotoc County is named for Chief Pontotoc who was a Native American chief or for the Native American word meaning “weed prairie”.
Created: February 9, 1836
County Seat:
Pontotoc 1836 – present
County Courthouse – Pontotoc
Location: 29 Washington Street / South Main Street
Built: 1916 – 1917
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Noah Webster Overstreet of Jackson and Mahan & Broadwell of Memphis, Tennessee
Contractor: Dobson & Olive
Description: The building faces north and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Pontotoc. The north front has a large porch with four columns and four pillars rising to a wide header which has four short pillars rising to the roof line. The entrances are faced with white colored tile. The building has a mansard red colored title roof. The exterior was renovated in 2003. The architect was Belinda Stewart Architects of Eupora and the contractor was Hooker Construction Company, Inc. of Pontotoc. The building was restored in 2006 by the same architect and contractor.
See: The courthouse is similar in design to the Alcorn County courthouse also designed by Noah Webster Overstreet of Jackson and who also designed courthouses in Bolivar County, Choctaw County, Franklin County, Prentiss County, Rankin County, Tippah County and Webster County.
Note: The first courthouse was built in 1840. An addition was designed by Hiram Higgins and built in 1855.
Courthouses:
N – Union County
E – Lee County
S – Chickasaw County and Calhoun County
W – Calhoun County and Lafayette County
County Courthouse – Pontotoc
Photos taken 2012 and 2017