Find your fireplace in Leflore County.

With such a mild, short heating season and winter lows that average 35°F, Leflore County just doesn't have the sustained cold that makes wood or pellet heat a practical primary fuel the way it would in, say, the upper Midwest. Gas fireplaces and gas inserts are the most common choice for homeowners who want real supplemental heat with the flip of a switch, and electric fireplaces are popular for bedrooms, dens, and any room where you want the look and a little warmth without venting work. Wood-burning fireplaces are still around, especially in Greenwood's older homes, but they're used more for ambiance on a cool December evening than for keeping a house warm all winter. Pellet stoves are essentially absent here—despite Lignetics, Hamer Pellet Fuel, and Greenway Renewable Energy all having regional distribution, that pellet supply is going to grills and smokers, not home heating appliances.

Yes. Gas fireplace and gas insert installations need a permit through the Leflore County Building Department if you're outside city limits, or through the City of Greenwood's permitting office if your home is inside Greenwood proper, along with a licensed gas fitter to make the actual line connection. Electric fireplace installs usually skip the permit process unless you're adding a new dedicated circuit for a built-in unit, which an electrician handles as part of the job. Most retailers we match homeowners with pull these permits themselves as part of the installation, so it's rarely something a homeowner has to manage directly.

Many homes in Greenwood's historic neighborhoods still have their original masonry fireplace, and plenty of homeowners keep using them for occasional fires on cold-front nights even though wood isn't anyone's primary heat source in this climate. The key step before lighting one up after months or years of disuse is a chimney inspection and sweep—old mortar, bird nests, and creosote buildup are common in fireplaces that haven't burned oak or pecan cordwood in a while. A local chimney sweep can tell you whether the flue is still sound or whether it needs relining before you use it again.

It's a demand issue, not a supply issue. Lignetics, Hamer Pellet Fuel, and Greenway Renewable Energy all have distribution in this part of Mississippi, but the bags that end up on shelves here are almost entirely grilling and smoking pellets for the region's catfish-and-barbecue culture, not the hardwood heating pellets a pellet stove burns. With such a mild, short heating season each year, there just isn't enough sustained cold demand to support a local pellet-stove installer base the way you'd find in a county with a real winter, so we don't route homeowners toward pellet as a realistic option here.

Atmos Energy runs natural gas service into Greenwood proper, which is where most gas fireplace and gas insert installs happen without any propane tank involved. Head out toward Itta Bena, Sidon, Schlater, Morgan City, or Money, and you're more likely to be on propane, either a leased tank from a local supplier or one you own outright. Either fuel works fine for a gas fireplace or insert—the main practical difference is whether your installer is running a gas line to an existing meter or setting up a propane tank and regulator alongside the unit.

Gas fireplaces, inserts, and stoves generally run $4,000–$9,500 here, with the low end covering a straightforward insert conversion on an existing Greenwood masonry hearth and the high end covering new gas-line runs for rural propane setups. Electric fireplaces are the most affordable entry point—$200–$2,500 for the unit, plus $300–$1,000 in labor if you're wiring in a built-in rather than plugging in a freestanding model. Restoring an older wood-burning fireplace for occasional use—chimney sweep, flue inspection, and any needed relining—typically runs $300–$1,800 depending on the chimney's condition. Pellet stove installs aren't something we typically recommend pricing out in this county given how little local demand and installer support exists for them.

For an average home—covering the fireplace, the vent pipe, and basic installation—a budget between $3,900 and $5,500 gives you a lot of options across wood, gas, and pellet. By the time you add finish work, gas line, and electrical, the average complete installation lands between $5,000 and $12,000 all-in. In a remodel or new build, a good rule is to put about 2.5% of the total project cost toward the fireplace.

If you're putting a fire in your house on purpose, it's best to work with an expert. Unless you're genuinely experienced in framing, gas line, vent pipe, and the national code on clearances to combustibles, have a professional do it—and ideally the same company that sells you the fireplace, so warranty, service, and liability all live under one roof.

Match the fuel to your life, not the other way around. Wood: lowest fuel cost and total power-outage independence, but you're hauling and stacking. Gas: press a button, set a thermostat, no maintenance to speak of. Pellet: wood economics with automatic feeding, in exchange for weekly cleaning and a need for electricity. Electric: plugs in anywhere with honest supplemental heat. Nobody regrets the fuel that fits how they actually live.

On average, a fireplace adds back to the home about the same amount you spent installing it. Add the monthly savings from heating the rooms you actually use instead of the whole house—often hundreds of dollars a year—and the value case is strong before you even count what a fire does for how your family uses the room.