Pike County Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Pike County MSGHN

Welcome to the Pike County Mississippi Genealogy & History Network website providing free information to genealogical and historical researchers.

To share your Pike County, Mississippi genealogy or history information, send an email to msghn@outlook.com - we will be pleased to include it here. If you have information to share for other Mississippi Counties, visit the Mississippi Genealogy & History Network state website and choose the appropriate county.

About Pike County, Mississippi...

Pike County was organized in 1815 in the Mississippi Territory and was drawn from what was Marion County and officially formed in 1817 when Mississippi was admitted into the Union. Pike County, as well as Pike's Peak, Colorado, was named for Brig. General Zebulon Pike, who had explored the Louisiana Territory for the U.S. Government.

"Beginning on the line of demarcation at the southeast corner of Amite County, running thence east along said line thirty miles; thence a line to run due north to its intersection with the summit of the dividing ridge between the waters of the Bogue Chitto and Pearl Rivers, after the same shall cross the waters of Magee’s Creek; thence along the said ridge until it intersects the southern boundary of Lawrence County; and all that tract of territory formerly a part of Marion County, lying north and west of the lines thus described, shall form a new county to be named Pike (in honor of General Zebulon Pike.)"

McComb was founded in 1872 after Henry Simpson McComb of the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad, a predecessor of the Illinois Central Railroad (now part of the Canadian National Railway), decided to move the railroad's maintenance shops away from New Orleans, Louisiana, outside of the attractions of that city's saloons. Main Street is one of the main streets in the downtown area with all the shops, attractions, and business. The railroad purchased land in Pike County, and three nearby communities, Elizabethtown, Burglund, and Harveytown, agreed to consolidate.

During the 1960s, McComb played a critical role in the Civil Rights Movement. It was the location of SNCC's first voter registration project which was met with violence and intimidation on the part of authorities and the KKK. More than 100 McComb high school students were arrested in 1961 for protesting the murder of voter-registration activist Herbert Lee and the expulsion of Brenda Travis. McComb was the setting for several bombings involving racial strife. Malcolm Boyd took part of COFO's Freedom House as a member of a clerical delegation to assist African-American voter registration.

Summit, Mississippi, was founded in 1856 by Col. William H. Garland, grand-nephew of the famed patriot Patrick Henry. However, there would have been no Summit had there been no decision to route a major north-south rail connector through the beautiful, hilly, piney forested lands of SW Mississippi.

The county has a total area of 410.78 square miles, of which 408.89 square miles is land and 1.89 square mile (0.46%) is water. The population recorded in the 1820 Federal Census was 4,438. The 2010 census recorded 40,404 residents in the county.

Neigboring counties and parishes are Lincoln County (north), Walthall County (east), Washington Parish, LA (southeast), Tangipahoa Parish, LA (south), and Amite County (west). Communities in the county include Magnolia, McComb, Osyka, Summit, Chatawa, Fernwood, Holmesville, Kirkville, Pricedale, and Progress.

Pike County, Mississippi Records

Pike County MSGHN has many records here on our website. Marriage Records, Cemetery listings, tombstone photos, and more. Look at the Pike County Data links for a list of available data.

Birth Records - The Mississippi Department of Health maintains records of births after November 1, 1912 on file. This was the year Mississippi began keeping official birth records. You can obtain official copies of birth certificates by mail by using this birth record application on their website. If you just have to order by internet or phone, or use a credit card, you can use VitalCheck, a third party records company recognized by the Mississippi Dept. of Health. Since there are no official birth records before November 1, 1912 for births prior to that date you will need to determine birth information from census records, bible records, baptismal records, cemetery tombstones, etc.

Death Records - The Mississippi Department of Health maintains births recorded after November 1, 1912 on file. This was the year Mississippi began keeping official death records. You can obtain official copies of death certificates by mail by using this death record application on their website. If you just have to order by internet or phone, or use a credit card, you can use VitalCheck, a third party records company recognized by the Mississippi Dept. of Health. Since there are no official death records before November 1, 1912  ...READ MORE