Land Clearing
Overgrown acreage, lots, pasture and cutover opened up with excavators, dozers, a tree shear and root rakes, or mulched in place. The debris goes out on our own trucks.
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Most land around Quitman is in timber, and Clarke County is about two thirds forest. Pine and mixed hardwoods grow on the hills, with sweetgum and water oak down in the creek bottoms. Maybe a tract off MS 18 was cut over and grew back thick. Or the old pasture you want to use again has gone to brush and saplings.
Presto Contractors is based in Waynesboro in Wayne County, and we come up US 45 about 28 miles to Quitman. Land clearing comes first, with the trees and stumps taken out and hauled off on our own trucks. Ground you will not build on can be mulched in place, and we also build house pads and driveway entrances. Dirt work, underground utilities, demolition and bush hogging are ours too, so call or text (601) 410-5339.
Tell us about the land, the lot or the job. We look at the site and put the quote in writing.
The ground around Quitman is steep in places and wet in others. The NRCS soil survey puts about 27 percent of Clarke County on slopes of 12 percent or more. About a quarter of the county is creek and river bottom that the survey rates to flood occasionally or often.
Near town, the soil survey maps steep clayey hills and wide creek bottoms. Boswell, one of the hill soils, holds water about 18 inches down from November to March. Across the county, more of the hills carry Smithdale, a well drained sandy loam that grows pine. In the bottoms, Bibb soils flood often and stay wet much of the year.
That mix decides how a tract gets cleared. Where a house or a pasture is going, the stumps come out and the ground is left clean for grading. On a steep slope you will not build on, mulch keeps the ground covered. In a wet bottom, the timing matters as much as the machine.
The Chickasawhay River borders Quitman on the west. Keel boats on the river once brought in the building supplies that started the town. Archusa Creek runs down the east side of town and meets the river south of it. Souenlovie Creek comes in from the west.
Flash floods reach town, too. Storm reports from the National Weather Service list flooded roads and water in some homes in Quitman in December 2018. In January 2023, homes and businesses in Quitman took on floodwater. Both Quitman and Clarke County work from FEMA flood maps dated September 2, 2011.
Inside the city limits, Quitman's zoning ordinance puts the FEMA 100-year floodplain in a Flood Protection Overlay. A structure built there needs its finished floor 12 inches above the base flood elevation. Check the flood map before a bottom gets cleared for a house. Placing fill in a wetland can also need a permit from the Corps of Engineers.
Timber is a major part of the Clarke County economy. MSU Extension counted 548 forest-related jobs in the county, about 11 percent of all jobs. Logging accounts for 307 of them. After a timber cut, we can clear the tract for a homesite or mulch lanes through it for hunting.
Clarke County has oil fields too. Its wells produced about 287,000 barrels of oil in 2025, by the Oil and Gas Board's numbers. The Quitman and West Quitman fields rank among the county's top producers. We also do oilfield site work: location pads and lease roads, with rock hauled in on our own trucks.
On April 13, 2019, an EF2 tornado touched down at the south edge of Archusa Creek Water Park. It crossed US 45 and ran about six miles north-northeast. The Weather Service survey found a corridor of hardwood and softwood trees mowed down. Blown-down timber is land clearing work, and the debris leaves on our own trucks.
Quitman is the Clarke County seat, with its own rules inside the city limits. City Hall has a building and demolition permit application, and a 2016 zoning ordinance sets what can go where. That ordinance decides which districts allow a manufactured home, so check before a mobile home pad goes in.
Out in the county, the Clarke County Road Department handles culverts and ditching on county roads. Ask them about a culvert before a new driveway crosses the road ditch. We build the entrance to what the county asks for.
Water inside the city comes from the City of Quitman. Outside it, rural systems such as the East Quitman and Harmony water associations serve the area. Mississippi law calls for a locate request through Mississippi 811 at least 3 working days before digging. We can trench and lay the water line to the house.
Communities and areas we serve around Quitman: Chickasawhay River, Archusa Creek, Souenlovie Creek, Archusa Creek Water Park, Clarkco State Park, Davis, De Soto, Harmony, Stonewall, Enterprise, Pachuta, Shubuta.
Quitman ZIP codes served: 39355.
We come over from Waynesboro, look at the site and put the quote in writing.
(601) 410-5339 Overgrown acreage, lots, pasture and cutover opened up with excavators, dozers, a tree shear and root rakes, or mulched in place. The debris goes out on our own trucks.
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A mulching head grinds brush, saplings and small trees into mulch where they stand. The roots stay in the ground, and the mulch stays on top as cover.
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We take a raw lot to a site ready to build, with the pad built up and shaped to drain. Fill dirt and gravel come in on our own trucks.
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Excavators and dozers for cut and fill, digging, ditches, drainage and grading. Dirt comes in and goes out on our own trucks.
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We trench and lay water and sewer lines, storm pipe and culverts for houses and commercial sites. We also cut conduit trenches for your electrician and backfill them.
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We cut pasture, fields, overgrown lots and fence lines with a bush hog. Choose a one-time cleanup or seasonal mowing, with the quote in writing.
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We take down houses, mobile homes, barns and old slabs, and the debris leaves on our own trucks. Then we clear and grade the lot so it is ready for what comes next.
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Yard grading, drainage, pads, haul roads and site utilities for industrial plants and commercial sites. Our own trucks haul the rock and dirt on and off the job.
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Location pads and lease roads for oil and gas operators in the Wayne County and south Alabama fields. Rock and dirt go on and off location in our own trucks.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Quitman. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us about the land or the job, and text photos if you have them. Call or text (601) 410-5339 or use the form, and we will get back to you.
Tell us about the land, the lot or the job. We look at the site and put the quote in writing.