| Mississippi County | |
| Organized February
14, 1845, from Scott County and named for the Mississippi River.
Mississippi is derived from the Algonquin Indian words: missi
meaning "great" and seepee meaning "water".
County Seat: Charleston Address: Mississippi
County |
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| Photograph | |
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| History | |
| Although Mississippi became a
county in 1845 and a clerk's office was built in 1846, it was not until
1852 that County Court officials authorized construction of a frame
courthouse in Charleston. James T. Russell contracted the two-story
building, which remained standing in 1888, the date of Goodspeed's History
of Southeast Missouri; the structure appears on an 1886 Sanborn map
as a square shape. The 1852 courthouse reportedly burned in 1891.
After the fire the court used two, small, brick offices on the square and the opera house to conduct county business until 1900. A neighboring community, Hibbard, began vying for the county seat as early as 1893, but Charleston remained the county seat. Architect Jerome B. Legg planned the second courthouse after the court appropriated $25,000 in a special election September 30, 1899. St. Charles County used Legg's same design for their present courthouse, but selected gray stone building material. Legg's design for the Gasconade County courthouse, 1896, is similar, but constructed of brick. V. O'Bryan and the Central Bridge Co., of St. Louis, contracted Mississippi County's 114-by-70-foot, brick building. Construction began in February 1900 on the same block as the previous courthouse. The court accepted the finished courthouse in May 1901. The courthouse continues in use today, although repairs altered its appearance considerably after workmen on a Work Projects Administration repair crew, in September 1938, apparently set the tower on fire while using a blowtorch to remove paint. Copyright 2002 University of Missouri. Published by University Extension, University of Missouri-Columbia. |
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| Additional History | |
| In the early morning hours of Monday, Feb. 10, 1997, the courthouse erupted in flames. Within hours the 90-year-old structure was gutted by the blaze and the state fire Marshall had begun an arson investigation. By 5:00 p.m. that afternoon the harsh realities began to set in. County officials were struggling with how to keep the county government running, and debating where to set up temporary offices. In light of these "immediate" problems, no one was giving much consideration to the task of records recovery. Meanwhile, over 150 years of records were sitting in the charred ruin, and the effects of smoke, fire, and water damage were taking their toll. | |
| Records at Courthouse | |
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Recorder of Deeds: Index
to deeds, 1823-1895; Deed records, 1823-1891; Sheriff’s deeds,
1879-1920; Marriage records, 1845-1916. Clerk of the Circuit
Court: Index to circuit court records, 1845-1926; Circuit court
records, 1845-1927. |
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| More Links | |
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Birth & Death Records Database Search
for Mississippi County on Archives' Online Catalog Roll
by Roll Listing of Microfilm Missouri Birth & Death Records Database: Search & Record Availability |
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