Pemiscot County is named for the Native American word meaning “liquid mud”.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
E – Lake County, Tennessee and Dyer County, Tennessee
S – Mississippi County, Arkansas
W – Dunklin County
Created: February 19, 1851 
County Seat:
Gayoso 1851 – 1899
Caruthersville 1899 – present
County Courthouse – Caruthersville
Location: 610 Ward Avenue / West 7th Street
Built: 1924 – 1925
Style: Classical Revival and Federalist
Architect: Henry H Hohenschild
Contractor: McCarthy Construction Company
Description: The building faces east and is a three story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Caruthersville. The east front has a projecting central section with stone framed entrance and two large columns rising from the second story to the top of the third story with a wide header above. The roof line is flat. The architect was Henry H Hohenschild and the contractor was McCarthy Construction Company. The building was renovated in 1974 and 1975.
See: The architect, Henry H Hohenschild, also designed courthouses in Barry County, Christian County, Osage County, Pike County, Pulaski County, Scott County and Washington County.
County Justice Center – Caruthersville
Location: 800 Ward Avenue / West 8th Street
Built: Unknown
Style: Modern
Architect: Goldberg Group Architects of St Joseph
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces east and is a one story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Caruthersville to the southwest of the courthouse. There is a recessed central entrance framed with red colored brick and concrete. Horizontal red colored brick bands run across the building The roof line is flat. The jail is located on the north side.
See: The 34th Judicial District covers New Madrid County and Pemiscot County
History: The county was created in 1851 and Gayoso was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a small frame structure built in Gayoso in 1854. The second courthouse was built in 1873 at a cost of $750. The courthouse burned on December 2, 1882. The third courthouse was a two story frame structure built by Major George W Carleton in 1883 at a cost of $4000. In 1899 the county seat was moved to Caruthersville. The fourth courthouse was a two story square white colored frame structure built by Charles B Faris in 1899. The present courthouse was constructed at a cost of $114,000.
County Courthouse - Caruthersville
County Justice Center - Caruthersville
Photos taken 2009