SUMNER — Work is progressing on the Tallahatchie County Courthouse annex here, which during the first half of next year is scheduled to become the official seat of government for the county’s 2nd District.
Being constructed on the south side of courthouse square, just a stone's throw from the southernmost doors of the existing historic courthouse, the annex will house all county offices, records and functions, including court proceedings, that have been domiciled in the two-story courthouse. In addition, the offices of the 2nd District justice court clerk and justice court judge will be moved into the annex from a nearby county-owned building on the west side of the square. The tax assessor's office will remain at its present location on the east side of the square.
The annex, at 149 S. Court St., will feature both old and new facilities — a 3,200-square-foot gutted and retrofitted building formerly used as a Mississippi State Department of Health WIC warehouse, and a new addition of about 4,600 square feet. When completed, the annex will include total interior space of about 7,800 square feet.
The cavernous Sumner courthouse, built in 1910, is most widely known for the 1955 trial and acquittal of two white men accused of killing 14-year-old Black Chicago youth Emmett Till while he was visiting with relatives in Mississippi. The two men later confessed to their guilt in a magazine article, but double jeopardy prevented them from being retried. The miscarriage of justice is credited with playing a major role in sparking the nation's Civil Rights Movement.
Designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1990 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, the Sumner courthouse is now the property of the U.S. government and has been added to the National Park System under a 2023 series of agreements and transactions between multiple parties, including the Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center (ETIC), the National Park Service (NPS), the National Park Foundation (NPF) and the nonprofit NPF Schoodic Woods LLC.
On April 7, 2023, the county donated the Sumner courthouse, and the 0.35 acres on which it stands, to NPF, through NPF Schoodic Woods. NPF then donated the property to NPS. Through a lease arrangement, the county is being allowed to utilize the facility for up to three years pending completion of the annex, an arrangement that ends in early 2026. At that time, while retaining the name of Tallahatchie County Courthouse, the building will cease to function as a working courthouse.
From its own funds, the county paid $150,000 to buy the Alma Jean Curtis property in Sumner that included the old WIC building, built in 2001, and the adjacent land on which the annex addition will be raised.
Per agreements, a $1.5 million grant was awarded to the nonprofit ETIC by the nonprofit NPF, then through a series of payments the funds were funneled to Tallahatchie County to finance the ongoing courthouse relocation work at the annex. ETIC also agreed to provide up to $350,000 of matching in-kind and/or direct funds for use on the project.
On July 25, 2023, former President Joe Biden signed a proclamation designating the establishment of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, which includes the Tallahatchie County 2nd District Courthouse; Graball Landing in Tallahatchie County, the site where Till's body may have been pulled from the Tallahatchie River; and the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, where the funeral of Till was held.
While ETIC has for years offered visitor tours of the Sumner courthouse, including some after-hours visits by appointment only, the relocation of all county offices to the annex will allow the historic courthouse to fill an expanded role as a dedicated, full-time NPS site that can be further developed with interactive, interpretive and educational content.
The courthouse was built in a Richardsonian Romanesque style that is said to include French, Spanish and Italian Romanesque characteristics. The Sumner courthouse is the last remaining courthouse in the state with these qualities.
Timbo's Construction of Cleveland is the general contractor for the courthouse annex project, utilizing plans drawn up by Belinda Stewart Architects of Eupora.
Including the land purchase, it is estimated that the project may cost up to $1.9 million total, including $1.7 million for retrofitting and construction, and $40,000 in relocation expenses for moving county offices from the courthouse into the annex. There also is a $100,000 contingency fund for cost overruns.
The original WIC area of the annex building will house the offices of the circuit and chancery clerks, including separate vaults and storage space for each; two witness rooms; janitor and storage; and information technology.
The new addition will house a 1,775-square-foot courtroom and foyer entry; judge’s chambers; jury room; offices and storage for the 2nd Judicial District justice court clerk and justice court judge; a boardroom for county supervisors’ meetings; a break room and restrooms.
Construction is expected to be completed within the first or second quarter of 2026.
County officials have noted that in addition to helping ensure the historical significance of the Sumner courthouse is preserved for future generations, transitioning local government operations to the new annex will result in a "tremendous savings" to taxpayers over time due to the expense involved in upkeep, maintenance and utilities on a 115-year-old building.
