Pike County was formed on December 9, 1815, from Marion County. Its first Seat of Justice was located in Holmesville, a bustling community on the Bogue Chitto River that was ratified by the Mississippi General Assembly on December 11, 1816. Holmesville was named for Major Andrew Hunter Holmes and was chosen because of its proximity to the geographic center of the new county. After the Illinois Central Railroad was completed through Pike County in 1857, the railroad became the new channel of commerce, and Holmesville declined as people and trade shifted to rail towns. As part of this change, the county seat moved from Holmesville to Magnolia in 1873. The chancery clerk's office building was built in 1848 and is thought to have housed the Pike County Clerk, though it was also known locally as the old courthouse. The building was expanded in 1934 by the DAR for use as a community center, renovated in 1974 with toilets added inside the original structure, designated a Mississippi Landmark Building in 2001, and continued to serve as a local community center and voting precinct. It was renovated again in 2017 to stabilize structural and deterioration issues.