Just a few miles west of Interstate 59, nestled in charming downtown Poplarville, you’ll find one of the architectural jewels of southern Mississippi: The Pearl River County Courthouse.The Neo-Classical building is located at the intersection of Main and Willie Street. As Pearl River County experienced a growth spurt during the early 20th century, citizens and local government decided that the original county courthouse was inadequate, and in 1918, construction of the present courthouse commenced.

At the time, it cost the county $130,000. It was completed and occupied by county officials in June, 1920. In 1926, the United Daughters of the Confederacy along with the women of the South raised $8,500 to erect a monument to Confederate and World War 1 Veterans on the courthouse lawn.

Penn Jeffries Krouse, one of Mississippi’s most prolific architects, designed the three story brick and concrete courthouse. Krouse designed many of the state’s historical buildings, including the courthouses in Clarke, Jones, Yalobusha, Lauderdale, and Pearl River counties. Nearly a dozen of his buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Completed in 1920, the building has many interesting features. The east front has a large porch with four high columns rising to a wide header at the third story. There is ornamentation across the wide header which rises above the roof line while a center section projects from the main building. Decorative marble interiors, specially designed light fixtures and banisters of polished wood and metal recall an era in which public buildings were meant to reflect civic pride.