The first Tippah County Courthouse was a log structure built in 1836 and located on the northeast corner of the Ripley Square. It was replaced in 1838 by the first permanent courthouse, a brick building constructed by architect Peter Garland in the middle of the Square. For many decades, the Courthouse was one of only two brick structures in Ripley. The first brick Courthouse survived until July 9, 1864, when Union soldiers burned the courthouse and much of the rest of the town square.
After the end of the Civil War, a new Courthouse was built in 1870. It was similar in design to the first brick courthouse, with the addition of two porticos on the east and west sides of the building. This third Courthouse survived for nearly sixty years, before it was replaced with the more modern Courthouse that stands today. This new Courthouse was built in 1928 by architect Nash Webster Overstreet in the more modern Colonial Revival style.
The current Courthouse is a two-story, scored brick structure with a central hip roof section flanked by two flat-roof sections. A central, round arch entrance is framed by columns with capitals, and a Confederate statute is located outside the main entrance.
Hill Country History 