Benton was settled in 1828 by William P. Gadberry. The first county court was held in his log home.

​

The county seat was moved from Beatties Bluff to Benton in 1829. Benton developed quickly, and soon became the center of trade. Benton was chartered in 1836, and incorporated in 1846. In 1849, the county seat was moved to Yazoo City, to which a Mr. Benton wrote at the time:

With the removal of the county seat, Benton began to decline and each year its population lessens, and the few houses left are dilapidated, dingy, decaying, and tumbling down. Its population is about forty or fifty. It has two or three small stores, which do a limited neighborhood business. ~ Wikipedia