Sardis, MS

Sardis is one of Panola County's two seats, a town that grew when the railroad depot north of the Little Tallahatchie River drew activity away from the river port of Belmont. The community incorporated in 1866, took the shorter name Sardis when its first proposed post-office name was rejected, and became a county seat by 1871. The old center still carries that history: the 1858 Heflin House on South Main is now a house museum, while Panola Playhouse operates in a former movie house at the heart of town. North Panola schools serve the community, with the high school in Sardis and the junior high in Como. Sardis is a courthouse-and-theater town with the Tallahatchie close at hand.