Yazoo County Courthouse
201 East Broadway
This three-story, hipped roof, stucco-covered brick structure was completed in 1872 at the cost of $65,000. The building replaced an 1849 Greek Revival structure, designed by William Nichols (architect of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion), that was burned in 1864 by Union soldiers. An octagonal cupola housing the town clock is a noticeable feature of this Beaux Arts Classicism building. The original weights used for the weekly winding of the clock are still in place. In 1992 the courthouse was completely renovated and restored to its 1872 grandeur.
B.S. Ricks Memorial Library
310 North Main Street
The B.S. Ricks Memorial Library was donated to the City in 1900 by Mrs. B.S. Ricks in memory of her husband, a Confederate general. The interior of the library features a beautiful marble foyer with a gold-leaf ceiling and a stained glass skylight. This structure is the oldest library in Mississippi and houses the second oldest library association in the state.
Triangle Cultural Center
332 North Main Street
home of the Yazoo County Convention and Visitors Bureau
(662) 746-1815 1-800-381-0662
Open Weekdays 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Located in the Downtown area, the Triangle Cultural Center, originally a school building completed in 1904, is considered by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to be one of the finest examples of a turn of the twentieth-century school in the state. Today it houses a theater, a meeting room for civic organizations, the Yazoo County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Yazoo Historical Society Museum, and ballet and art classes.
Historic Churches
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
214 South Monroe
The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, built during the 1800s, was the first brick church to be erected by African-Americans in the state of Mississippi. The pulpit furniture, the bell and bell tower are part of the original church structure.
First United Methodist Church
Washington at Madison
The first Methodist services were held in Yazoo City as early as 1828. In 1889 a beautiful brick church was built on the site of the present church. The original building was destroyed in the fire of 1904. Through heroic efforts of its members, the present main structure of the church was completed in 1908.
Trinity Episcopal Church
323 North Main
(662) 746-5038 / (662) 746-7984
Open Weekdays
9 a.m.-12 noon; 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Open other times by appointment
This is the third church to stand on this site. The first had been built only six years when it was destroyed by the fire of 1904. One year later the church was rebuilt, only to be flooded by the Mississippi River and its tributaries in 1927. Again, six years later, in 1933, the church was devastated by a tornado which left only the altar, flowers, and a prayer book remaining. The present structure was completed in 1941. The altar of General John J. Pershing from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Philippines, given by an early rector of Trinity, is used today in the chapel.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Main at Madison Street
The first church of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, organized in 1851, was a small white wooden framed building completed in 1856 at the present location. Two lovely brick churches have been erected at this site since then. The present church was completed in 1907. Beautiful stained glass windows, as well as the intricate craftsmanship and design is worth admiring in the historical church.
Mt. Vernon Baptist Church
137 West Canal
In 1870, the Reverend Newton Thomas organized the first Negro Baptist Congregation in Yazoo City, which later became the Mt. Vernon Church. In 1877, T.J. Ross sold to L.C. Jordan, who was then pastor, lot number 458 and part of lot number 544 on North Main Street for twenty dollars. It was on this site that the first Mt. Vernon Church, a wood frame structure, was built. This church burned in the early 1920s and the present edifice was built in 1926. Special features include the beautiful stained glass windows and the balcony with Gothic lettering and stairway.
St. Francis Catholic Church
735 East Powell Street
Although not as old as the other churches in this district, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church was dedicated in 1942, joining St. Francis School in this area.This structure, designed by Jackson architect James P. Canizaro, built of brick with simple lines reminiscent of a barn, cost $10,000 to build. A point of interest is that this location, which had been a lonely, rugged bluff where Confederate cannons had guarded the Yazoo River, is now 60 feet lower than when it was purchased. Thanks to Joe Hamel, a parishioner of St Mary’s and a friend of this fledgling mission, ten thousand yards of dirt were removed from this bluff.
First Presbyterian Church
Washington at Powell
Formed on August 15, 1841, some of the current members are descendants of the original seven founders. After the 1904 fire, the present church was built in 1905. The beautiful sanctuary seats 365 in “theater” seats rather than conventional pews. If needed, 600 can be seated by mechanically raising a wall, which divides the sanctuary and chapel areas