Kemper County: Lake and Historic Places

Kemper County Lake is located in De Kalb and covers 596 acres in Kemper County. Historic churches, houses, and markers offer a different perspective on the places and their history. For your trip planning, the landscape and the history of buildings and places are distinct topics to explore.

The Lake and Getting Your Bearings in the County

Several markers can be distinguished by their specific locations. In De Kalb, the markers for Reuben-Kemper and John C. Stennis are on the grounds of the Kemper County Courthouse. The courthouse itself was designed by Meridian architect P. J. Krouse. In Electric Mills, the marker is on the west side of Highway 45. The marker and Chapel Hill Church are on Chapel Hill Church Road, a few miles west of Porterville; access is via Firetower Road from Highway 45. In southwestern Kemper County, the Zion Baptist Church marker is on West Zion Road, off Zion Road. The Giles-Neville Cemetery marker is on Highway 16 at the junction with Giles Road.

Architecture and Building History

Zion Baptist Church is a rural church in vernacular architecture, with Carpenter Gothic details and an unusually high level of preservation. The present building was constructed in 1910–1911. The dates refer to the construction of this building, while the architectural terms describe its form and details.

The Oliver House is a distinctive example of nineteenth-century vernacular residential architecture in Mississippi. The Perkins House is notable for both its form and a later change of location: the one-story wood-frame house with a cross gable was moved in 2012 from its original location near the community of Moscow in Kemper County. Its present surroundings still resemble its original rural setting.

Churches, Founding of Places, and Earlier Uses

Chapel Hill Church was founded in 1874. Its first building, made of hewn logs, was completed in 1875 and was known as Narkeeta Chapel. The church grounds served as an overnight stop on the stagecoach line between Jackson, Mississippi, and Greensboro, Alabama. This use is part of the route’s history; it does not describe a current service.

The dates associated with these places refer to different events: 1874 marks the founding of Chapel Hill Church, 1875 the completion of its first building, 1910–1911 the construction of the present Zion Baptist Church building, and 2012 the relocation of the Perkins House. Electric Mills was founded in 1913 and was among the first places in Mississippi to have electric lighting.

Giles-Neville Cemetery is part of the plantation founded by Jacob Giles, a settler from North Carolina. A 2017 television report stated that Sciple’s Mill offered customers cornmeal, grits, and whole-wheat flour. If you are planning a visit specifically for one of these products, confirm in advance whether it is currently available for purchase.

Discover more destinations: Scooba, Grenada County, Harrison, Desoto, Neshoba County, Washington County, Simpson County, Lafayette.

For the broader travel overview: Mississippi.