Quitman County advances Rosenwald, HUD projects through public records

Quitman County’s public record now shows three major projects moving at once: restoring the 1910-11 courthouse in Marks, preserving the 1922 Rosenwald School on Humphrey Avenue, and advancing a workforce training center improvement tied to federal HUD money. The filings point to the kind of administrative steps that determine whether residents eventually see repaired buildings, new training space and more activity around the county seat.

The courthouse at 220 Chestnut Street remains the center of county business, and its history still weighs heavily in the paper trail. Designed by Chamberlin & Associates in the Neoclassical style, the building was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1990. Quitman County was awarded $400,000 in bond funds in 2020 for courthouse restoration, a commitment that now sits alongside the county’s newer engineering and publication records. Those filings include a revised request for qualifications for engineering services, a request to advertise qualifications for engineering and architect services, a Willis Engineering agreement and a proof-of-publication file, all signs that the county is pushing the restoration work through formal channels rather than leaving it at the level of plans and promises.

The same public documents also keep attention on the Rosenwald School at 400 Humphrey Avenue in Marks. Built in 1922 by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation, the building is one of the few remaining Rosenwald Schools in Mississippi and was designated a Mississippi Landmark in July 2015. Mississippi Department of Archives and History helped fund Phase Two of the project in 2019, tying the school’s preservation to a broader effort to protect one of Quitman County’s most important links to Black educational history. The county’s records show that preservation work is still active, not just remembered as a past priority.

On the development side, Quitman County’s HUD materials identify the current project as Workforce Development Training Center Improvements under HUD No. B-24-CP-MS-1296. Mississippi procurement records show the bid package was advertised on August 25, 2025, with sealed bids due September 15, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. to the Quitman County Board of Supervisors in the office of the Chancery Clerk in Marks. The Delta Regional Authority also has a project page for the Quitman County Workforce Development Center, reinforcing that the county’s paperwork trail is part of a larger effort to link public investment, job training and downtown momentum in Marks.