Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census, with the population now being 48,730 in 2020. Hattiesburg is the principal city of the Hattiesburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses Covington, Forrest, Lamar, and Perry counties. The city is located in the Pine Belt region.
Development of the interior of Mississippi by European Americans took place primarily after the American Civil War. Before that time, only properties along the major rivers were developed as plantations. Founded in 1882 by civil engineer William H. Hardy, Hattiesburg was named in honor of Hardy's wife Hattie. The town was incorporated two years later with a population of 400. Hattiesburg's population first expanded as a center of the lumber and railroad industries, from which was derived the nickname "The Hub City". It now attracts newcomers because of the diversity of its economy, strong neighborhoods, and the central location in South Mississippi.
Hattiesburg is home to the
University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...
(founded as Mississippi Normal College, for the training of teachers) and
William Carey University
William Carey University (also known as Carey, William Carey, or WCU) is a private Christian university in Mississippi, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus is in Hattiesbur ...
(formerly William Carey College). South of Hattiesburg is Camp Shelby, the largest
US National Guard
The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, which hosts up to 100,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists annually.
History
During European colonization, this area was first claimed by the French. Between 1763 and 1783 the area that is currently Hattiesburg fell under the jurisdiction of the colony of British West Florida. After the United States gained its independence, Great Britain ceded this and other areas to it after 1783. The United States gained a cession of lands from the Choctaw and Chickasaw under the terms of the
Treaty of Mount Dexter
The Treaty of Mount Dexter was signed between the United States and the Choctaws. The treaty was signed November 16, 1805. The area ceded was from the Natchez District to the Tombigbee Alabama River watershed, mostly in present-day Mississipp ...
in 1805. After the treaty was ratified, European-American settlers began to move into the area.
In the 1830s, the Choctaw and Chickasaw were relocated by United States authorities by treaties authorized by the Indian Removal Act, which sought to relocate the Five Civilized Tribes from the Southeast to west of the Mississippi River. They and their slaves were moved to
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
in today's
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
.
Hattiesburg developed at the confluence of the
Leaf
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...
and Bouie rivers. It was founded in 1882 by Captain William H. Hardy, a civil engineer. The city of Hattiesburg was incorporated in 1884 with a population of approximately 400. Originally called Twin Forks and later Gordonville, the city received its final name of Hattiesburg from Capt. Hardy, in honor of his wife Hattie. Hattiesburg is centrally located less than 100 miles from the state capital of Jackson, as well as from the Mississippi Gulf Coast,
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama.Reagan L. Grimsley, ''Hattiesburg In Vintage Postcards'', (SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2004.)
In 1884, a railroad—known then as the New Orleans and Northeastern—was built from
Meridian
Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to
Science
* Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon
* ...
, Mississippi, in the center of the state, through Hattiesburg to
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
. The completion of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SIRR) from Gulfport, to the capital of Jackson, Mississippi, also ran through Hattiesburg. It stimulated a lumber boom in 1897, with interior pine forests being harvested at a rapid pace. Although the railroad took 20 years to be developed, the G&SIRR more than fulfilled its promise. It gave the state access to a deep water harbor at Gulfport, more than doubled the population of towns along its route, stimulated the growth of the City of Gulfport, and made Hattiesburg a railroad center. In 1924, the G&SIRR operated as a subsidiary of the
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...
but lost its independent identity in 1946.
Hattiesburg gained its nickname, the Hub City, in 1912 as a result of a contest in a local newspaper. It was named because it was at the intersection of a number of important rail lines. Later
U.S. Highway 49
U.S. Route 49 (US 49) is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Piggott, Arkansas, at an intersection with US Route 62/Highway 1/ Highway 139 (US 62/AR 1/AR 139). Its southern terminus is ...
,
U.S. Highway 98
U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola, Florida, Pensacola and Apalachicola, F ...
and U.S. Highway 11, and later, Interstate 59 also intersected in and near Hattiesburg.
The region around Hattiesburg was involved in testing during the development of weapons in the nuclear arms race of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. In the 1960s, two nuclear devices were detonated in the
salt dome
A salt dome is a type of structural dome formed when salt (or other evaporite minerals) intrudes into overlying rocks in a process known as diapirism. Salt domes can have unique surface and subsurface structures, and they can be discovered using ...
s near Lumberton, Mississippi, about 28 miles southwest of Hattiesburg. Extensive follow-up of the area by the EPA has not revealed levels of nuclear contamination in the area that would be harmful to humans.
Throughout the 20th century, Hattiesburg benefited from the founding of Camp Shelby (now a military mobilization center), two major hospitals, and two colleges,
The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...
and
William Carey University
William Carey University (also known as Carey, William Carey, or WCU) is a private Christian university in Mississippi, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus is in Hattiesbur ...
. The growing metropolitan area that includes Hattiesburg, Forrest and Lamar counties, was designated a
Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
in 1994 with a combined population of more than 100,000 residents.
Although about inland, Hattiesburg was hit very hard in 2005 by
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
. Around 10,000 structures in the area received major damage of some type from the heavy winds and rain, as the hurricane tracked inland. Approximately 80 percent of the city's roads were blocked by trees, and power was out in the area for up to 14 days. The storm killed 24 people in Hattiesburg and the surrounding areas. The city has struggled to cope with a large influx of temporary evacuees and new permanent residents from coastal Louisiana and Mississippi towns to the south, where damage from Katrina was catastrophic.
The City is known for its police department, as it was the first—and for almost a decade the only— Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies federally accredited law enforcement agency in the State of Mississippi. The department is served by its own training academy. It is considered one of the most difficult basic academies in the country, with a more than 50% attrition rate.
The Hattiesburg Zoo at Kamper Park is a longstanding tourist attraction in the city.
In 2011, the Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood District was named one of the "Great Places In America," to live by the
American Planning Association
The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...
. Places are selected annually and represent the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest. The twenty-five-block neighborhood has one of the best collections of Victorian-era houses in Mississippi, with more than ninety percent of the houses substantially renovated and maintained. The Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood District
HND HND or H&D may refer to:
Transport
* Haneda Airport, serving Tokyo, Japan
* Hanborough railway station, in England
* Henderson Executive Airport, in Nevada, United States
* Hinterland Aviation, an Australian airline
Other uses
* Croatian Journ ...
was Hattiesburg's first recognized historic district and was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1980. It is also part of an Historic Conservation District and protected by Historic Hattiesburg Design Guidelines.
In 2013, the Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood District celebrated the 38th Annual Victorian Candlelit Christmas and Holiday Tour of Homes. During the two nights of the Victorian Candlelit Christmas, thousands of candles burn in white bags lining the sidewalks. Christmas carolers from the three churches: Sacred Heart, Court Street Methodist, and Bay Street Presbyterian, stroll house to house singing Christmas music. Horse-drawn carriages carry visitors through the neighborhood at a walking pace.
The Miss Hospitality Pageant began in 1949. Hattiesburg was chosen in 1997 to sponsor the state pageant. The purpose of the pageant is the selection and presentation of a young, knowledgeable lady to help promote the state in tourism and economic development. Contestants are judged on the following categories: panel interview, one-on-one interview competition, Mississippi speech competition, commercial/black dress competition, and evening gown competition. The 2011 winner was Ann Claire Reynolds, a junior at University of Southern Mississippi who was majoring in elementary and special education.
Hattiesburg is home to the
African American Military History Museum
The African American Military History Museum, also known as ''East Sixth Street USO Building'', located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, opened to the public on May 23, 2009. The museum building was originally constructed in 1942 as a USO Club for Af ...
. The building opened as a
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
club in 1942 to serve African Americans serving at Camp Shelby, as local facilities were racially segregated. It has been listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. This building is the only remaining USO club site in the United States. It has been adapted for use as a museum interpreting African-American military history. Exhibits show their participation in all the major wars and the founding of Hattiesburg: exhibits include the Revolutionary War, Buffalo Soldiers, World Wars I and II, Desegregation, Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Global War on Terrorism, You Can Be A Soldier, Hattiesburg's Hall of Honor, and World Map. The museum is dedicated to the many African-American soldiers who have fought for their country.
Civil rights movement
Hattiesburg and the unincorporated
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
community of Palmers Crossing played a key role in the civil rights transitions of the 1960s. In 1959, black
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
veteran
Clyde Kennard
Clyde Kennard (June 12, 1927July 4, 1963) was an American Korean War veteran and civil rights leader from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In the 1950s, he attempted several times to enroll at the all-white Mississippi Southern College (now the Univers ...
applied to attend then all-white Mississippi Southern College (today
University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...
). He was denied admission because of his race, as state colleges were legally segregated. When he persisted, the newly formed
Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission
The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission (also called the Sov-Com) was a state agency in Mississippi from 1956 to 1977 tasked with fighting desegregation and controlling civil rights activism. It was overseen by the Governor of Mississippi. T ...
, a taxpayer-supported agency ostensibly set up to encourage tourism, allegedly conspired to have him framed for a crime. He was sentenced to seven years in Parchman Prison. For years,
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...
leaders Medgar Evers, Vernon Dahmer, and other Forrest County civil rights activists fought to overturn the conviction. The MSSC allegedly conducted outrageous activities against citizens of the state: it was claimed that agents investigated citizens, it created blacklists of activists and black professionals who were suspected of working for civil rights, it conducted economic boycotts against black-owned businesses, or arranged for blacks to be fired from state and local jobs. They reportedly also worked to have black activists or suspected activists evicted from rental housing. All of this was conducted in secret, until later allegations of revelations brought the state's activities into the open.
Forrest County Registrar Theron Lynd prevented blacks in the area from registering to vote, based on such devices in the state constitution as poll taxes, and
literacy
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
and comprehension tests, subjectively administered by whites. In 1960, thirty percent of the population in the county was black, but less than 1% of blacks had been able to register, regardless of their education level. Registration by whites was close to 100%. In 1961, the U.S.
Justice Department
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
filed suit against Lynd. He was the first southern registrar to be convicted under the
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first federal civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The bill was passed by the 85th United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwigh ...
for systematically violating African-American voting rights.
In 1962, the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, often pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emerging in 1960 from the student-led sit-ins at segrega ...
(SNCC) began one of its first voter-registration projects in Hattiesburg under the auspices of the
Council of Federated Organizations
The Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) was a coalition of the major Civil Rights Movement organizations operating in Mississippi. COFO was formed in 1961 to coordinate and unite voter registration and other civil rights activities in the sta ...
(COFO). By 1964, the
Delta Ministry
The Delta Ministry played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. It was begun in September 1964, by the National Council of Churches as a civil rights project operating in Mississippi to support the southern black freedom strug ...
was active in the city. In cooperation with the NAACP and local civil rights leaders, they formed the Forrest County Voters League. In conjunction with the 1963 elections, civil rights leaders organized a statewide Freedom Ballot, a mock election that claimed both the statewide pattern of voting rights discrimination and the strong desire of Mississippi blacks for the franchise. Despite the serious risk of both physical and economic retaliation, nearly half of Forrest County blacks participated, the highest turnout in the state.
January 22, 1964, was "Freedom Day" in Hattiesburg, a major voter registration effort supported by student demonstrators and 50 northern clergymen. For the first time since
Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
, an inter-racial protest was allowed to picket the courthouse for voting rights without being arrested. Roughly 100 African Americans attempted to register, though only a few were allowed into the courthouse due to (occupancy and space constraints) and fewer still succeeded in gaining entry on the rolls. Each day thereafter for many months, activists resumed the courthouse protest in what became known as the "Perpetual Picket."
During
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer, also known as the Freedom Summer Project or the Mississippi Summer Project, was a volunteer campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi. ...
in 1964, the Hattiesburg/Palmers Crossing project was the headquarters for all civil rights activity in
Mississippi's 5th congressional district
Mississippi's 5th congressional district existed from 1855 to 2003. The state was granted a fifth representative by Congress following the 1850 census.
From 1853 to 1855, the fifth representative was elected at-large instead of by district, favo ...
. This was the largest and most active site in the state, with more than 90 volunteers and 3,000 local participants. Hundreds of Forrest County blacks tried to register to vote at the courthouse, but blacks once again claimed without data that most were prevented from doing so. More than 650 children and adults attended one of the seven
Freedom Schools Freedom Schools were temporary, alternative, and free schools for African Americans mostly in the South. They were originally part of a nationwide effort during the Civil Rights Movement to organize African Americans to achieve social, political and ...
in Hattiesburg and Palmers Crossing, three freedom libraries were set up with donated books, and a community center was established. It was alleged that “many” whites opposed civil rights efforts by blacks, and both summer volunteers and local African Americans endured arrests, beatings, firings, and evictions.
Forrest County was also a center of activity for the
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), also referred to as the Freedom Democratic Party, was an American political party created in 1964 as a branch of the populist Freedom Democratic organization in the state of Mississippi during the ...
(MFDP). It sent a slate of delegates to the National Democratic Convention in Atlantic City that year to challenge the seating of the all-white, pro-segregation delegates elected by the regular party in primaries from which African Americans had been largely excluded due to alleged voter registration barriers. Victoria Jackson Gray of Palmers Crossing ran on the MFDP ticket against incumbent Senator
John Stennis
John Cornelius Stennis (August 3, 1901April 23, 1995) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from the state of Mississippi. He was a Democrat who served in the Senate for over 41 years, becoming its most senior member for his ...
, and John Cameron of Hattiesburg ran for Representative in the 5th District. With blacks not turning out to vote, these candidates knew they would not be elected, but their campaigns encouraged blacks to exercise their legal voting rights.
Even after passage of the federal
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...
, resistance continued in Mississippi and Hattiesburg. On the night of January 10, 1966, the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan reportedly attacked the Hattiesburg home of NAACP leader Vernon Dahmer with firebombs and gunfire. Dahmer was the most prominent black leader in the county and had been the primary civil rights leader for many years. Just prior to the attack, he had announced that he would help pay a $2
poll tax
A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources.
Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...
() for black voters too poor to do so themselves. Dahmer held off the Klan with his rifle to give his wife, their three young children, and elderly aunt time to escape their burning home, but he died of burns and smoke inhalation the next day. His murder sparked large protest marches in Hattiesburg. A number of Klansmen were arrested for the crime, and four were eventually convicted. After four previous trials had ended in deadlocks, KKK Imperial Wizard Samuel Bowers was finally convicted in August 1998 for ordering the assassination of Dahmer. He was sentenced to life in prison.
In 1970, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against trespass convictions of civil rights protesters in '' Adickes v. S.H. Kress Co.''. The case involved a
sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
Vela Uniform
Vela Uniform was an element of Project Vela conducted jointly by the United States Department of Energy and the Advanced Research Projects Agency. Its purpose was to develop seismic methods for detecting underground nuclear testing, and it involved ...
was an element of Project Vela, conducted jointly in the 1960s by the
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
and the Advanced Research Projects Agency. Its purpose was to develop seismic methods for detecting underground nuclear testing. The Project Dribble program involved two underground nuclear detonations. Test SALMON occurred on October 22, 1964, with a 5.3 kiloton yield; test STERLING was detonated December 3, 1966, with a yield of 380 tons. Both detonations took place within Tatum Salt Dome, southwest of the Hattiesburg/ Purvis area.
Geography
Most of Hattiesburg is in Forrest County. A smaller portion on the west side is in Lamar County, with abundant commercial land gained in a 2008 annexation. This consists of first, a narrow stretch of land lying east of
I-59
Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans from a junction with I-10 and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana, to a junction with I-24 near Wildwood, Georgia.
...
, and second, an irregularly shaped extension into West Hattiesburg. In the 2000 census, 42,475 of the city's 44,779 residents (94.9%) lived in Forrest County and 2,304 (5.1%) in Lamar County.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.63%, is water.
Hattiesburg is north of Biloxi and southeast of Jackson, the state capital.
Geology and paleontology
Hattiesburg is situated on an outcrop of the Pascagoula and Hattiesburg formation which is thought to be
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
in age. Miocene plant and animal fossils discovered from the vicinity of Hattiesburg indicate the area was once more swamp-like and dominated by low-growing palm trees.
Climate
Hattiesburg has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
, with short, mild winters and hot, humid summers. Snowfall is extremely rare, but on December 11, 2008, areas around Hattiesburg received . As is the case throughout the southern United States, severe thunderstorms can pose a threat, particularly during spring. Such storms spawn frequent lightning, heavy rain, occasional large hail, and tornadoes.
An EF4 tornado struck the Hattiesburg area on February 10, 2013, between roughly 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. CST. This tornado formed in Lamar County just west of Oak Grove and quickly increased in size and intensity. Although the most severe damage occurred in the Oak Grove area, especially near Oak Grove High School, the tornado continued eastward into Hattiesburg, causing widespread EF1-EF3 damage to the southern portion of the
University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...
campus and the areas just north of downtown. It then moved into neighboring
Petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
and rural Forrest County. More than 80 injured were reported but no fatalities. The prevention of deaths was attributed to the nearly 30-minute lead time of the tornado warning.
The most recent
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
struck on January 21, 2017, when an EF3 hit the city early in the morning, killing four and injuring twenty. Some 10,000 people were left without power.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 48,730 people, 17,778 households, and 9,165 families residing in the city.
2010 census
As of the
2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, there were 45,989 people living in the city. 52.8% were
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 40.5%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.0%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.1% from some other race and 1.1% from two or more races. 4.3% were
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 44,779 people, 17,295 households, and 9,391 families residing within the city limits. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 909.0 people per square mile (351.0/km2). There were 19,258 housing units at an average density of 391.0 per square mile (150.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 49.95%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 47.34%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.02%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.52% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
people of any race were 1.41% of the population.
There were 17,295 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.1% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 19.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.7% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 24.4% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 16.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were approximately 81.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,409, and the median income for a family was $32,380. Males had a median income of $26,680 versus $19,333 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $15,102. About 21.5% of families and 28.3% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 36.3% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.
Religion
In 2010 the Hattiesburg Metropolitan area has an Evangelical Protestant majority with 66,000 members. The
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...
has 85 congregations and 53,000 members. The
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
has 35 congregations and 9,000 members. The third largest is the Presbyterian Church in America with 5 congregations and 1,518 members.
Economy
Hattiesburg is home to several national business branches that hold thousands of jobs across the Pine Belt. It was headquarters to the now defunct
International Filing Company
The International Filing Company was a manufacturer of filing supplies for the printing industry and several other businesses. They manufactured products such as filing folders, radiology jackets and preservers, labels, expansion pockets, and inde ...
BAE Systems Inc.
BAE Systems Inc. (formerly BAE Systems North America) is an American subsidiary of British defense, security, and aerospace company BAE Systems plc. The American subsidiary operates under a Special Security Agreement which allows it to work o ...
, as well as Berry Plastics and the
Coca-Cola Bottling Company United
Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc. is a private Coca-Cola bottling company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, US. Coca-Cola United is the largest privately held Coca-Cola bottler in the United States and the second largest in which the C ...
Sunbeam
A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of particle-scattered sunl ...
(shared with
Mr. Coffee
Mr. Coffee is a registered trademark of Newell Brands. The Mr. Coffee brand manufactures automatic-drip kitchen coffee machines, as well as other products. The brand was founded in the early 1970s. Mr. Coffee has often been referenced in popular ...
Regions Financial Corporation
Regions Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in the Regions Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The company provides retail banking and commercial banking, trust, stockbrokerage, and mortgage services. Its banking subsidia ...
operates a large operations center in the city, which employs nearly 500 people.
The main shopping mall is Turtle Creek Mall.
Arts and culture
Theaters
* The Saenger Theatre was one of the seven built and operated by the Saenger brothers. It hosts an annual Mississippi Miss Hospitality Competition, along with other productions. It is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
* William Carey Center and Dinner Theater
* University of Southern Mississippi Theatre Department features original productions and broadcasts of ''National Theatre Live!'' from
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, UK.
Galleries
* A GALLERY, 134 E. Front Street
* Hattiesburg Arts Council Gallery at the Hattiesburg Cultural Center, 723 Main Street
* Lucile Parker Art Gallery is located in the Thomas Fine Arts Building on William Carey University's Hattiesburg campus. The collection consists of 141 artworks by Lucile Parker, and 17 by Marie Hull. From August to May, the gallery features exhibitions of local, state, and nationally known artists.
* Sarah Gillespie Collection at William Carey University, 498 Tuscan Avenue, is an extensive collection of twentieth century Mississippi art.
* University of Southern Mississippi Art Gallery
Museums
*
African American Military History Museum
The African American Military History Museum, also known as ''East Sixth Street USO Building'', located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, opened to the public on May 23, 2009. The museum building was originally constructed in 1942 as a USO Club for Af ...
, 305 E. 6th Street
*
Mississippi Armed Forces Museum
The Mississippi Armed Forces Museum is located at Camp Shelby
Camp Shelby is a military post whose North Gate is located at the southern boundary of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on United States Highway 49. It is the largest state-owned training ...
at Camp Shelby
* Freedom Summer Trails
* Hattiesburg Area Historical Society Museum, 723 Main Street
* De Grummond Children's Literature Museum
Train depot
The Hattiesburg Train Depot was constructed in 1910 by the Southern Railway Company, and was the city's largest and most architecturally significant depot. The City of Hattiesburg purchased the depot and of land from
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
in 2000, and began a seven-year, $10 million restoration. The completed depot now functions as an intermodal transportation center for bus, taxi and rail, as well as a space for exhibitions, meetings and special events.
Government
Hattiesburg is governed via a mayor-council system. The mayor, currently
Toby Barker
Toby Barker (born December 31, 1981) is an American people, American politician and the current List of mayors of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Mayor of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In 2007, he was elected a member of the Mississippi House of Represent ...
, is elected at large. The city council consists of five members who are each elected from one of five wards, known as
single-member districts
A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vot ...
. The current city council consists of the members (Council President) Ward 1 - Jeffrey George, Ward 2 - Deborah Delgado, Ward 3 - Carter Carroll, (Council Vice President) Ward 4 - Dave Ware, and Ward 5 - Nicholas Brown.
Education
Public education in most of Hattiesburg is served by the
Hattiesburg Municipal Separate School District
The Hattiesburg School District was a public school district based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States. Most of the district is located in Forrest County, but a small portion extends into Lamar County.
Schools
High schools
*Hattiesbur ...
, serving grades K–12. Portions of Hattiesburg are served by Forrest County Schools. Portions of Hattiesburg in Lamar County are zoned to
Lamar County School District
The Lamar County School District (LCSD) is a public school district based in Purvis, Mississippi (USA).
In addition to Purvis, the district also serves the town of Sumrall; the communities of Arnold Line, Baxterville, Lumberton, Oak Grove, a ...
.
Hattiesburg High School is a part of the Hattiesburg district. North Forrest High School (grades 7–12) is a part of the Forrest school district. Oak Grove High School (grades 9–12) is under the Lamar County School District.
Forrest County Agricultural High School
Forrest County Agricultural High School (FCAHS) is a public, secondary school in Brooklyn, in unincorporated Forrest County, Mississippi (United States). The school provides education to grades 9 12.
Forrest County AHS is the only independently f ...
is an independent public high school near Hattiesburg.
Colleges
Hattiesburg is home to the main campuses of two institutions of higher learning: the public
University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...
(USM) and the private Baptist-supported
William Carey University
William Carey University (also known as Carey, William Carey, or WCU) is a private Christian university in Mississippi, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus is in Hattiesbur ...
. Both have campuses in other locations; USM has a campus in
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
, Mississippi, and William Carey has campuses in Gulfport, and
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
, Louisiana. The Forrest County Center of Pearl River Community College, a public institution, is located in Hattiesburg, with the main campus located in Poplarville, Mississippi.
Presbyterian Christian School
Presbyterian Christian School (PCS), is a private Christian school in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It was originally founded as Bay Street Christian Day School in 1976. It serves preschool through grade 12. Grades K5-6 attend one campus, while 7-12 at ...
(grades PreK–12)
* School of Excellence (grades K–6) (now Early Learning Center, 6 weeks to Pre-K)
* Lamar Christian School (grades Pre-K-12)
* Bass Christian Elementary (grades K–8)
* Bass Memorial Academy (grades 9–12)
* Central Baptist School (grades K–12)
* Benedict Day School (grades K–8)
*Innova Prep (grades K-12)
* The Adept School
Libraries
Forrest County Public Library serves the city. The library has a location in downtown Hattiesburg as well as in neighboring Petal.
Media
FM radio
*
WUSM-FM
WUSM-FM (88.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a AAA format. Licensed to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States, the station serves the Hattiesburg-Laurel area. The station is currently owned by the University of Southern Mississippi.
WU ...
88.5 (
Public Radio
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
American Family Radio
American Family Radio (AFR) is a network of more than 180 radio stations broadcasting Christian Conservative Christianity, Christian-oriented programming to over 30 states.Christian Contemporary)
*
WJMG
WJMG (92.1 FM, "G 92.1") is a radio station licensed to serve the community of Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the co ...
92.1 (
Urban Contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
)
*
WGDQ
WGDQ (93.1 FM, "WGDQ") is a radio station licensed to serve the community of Sumrall, Mississippi, United States, and serving the Laurel-Hattiesburg area. The station broadcasts an urban gospel format. Its transmitter is located in Rawls Springs, ...
93.1 (
Urban Gospel
Urban/contemporary gospel is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genre was well established by the end of the 1980s. The radio format is pitched prima ...
)
*
WKZW
WKZW (94.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "KZ-94.3") is a radio station city of license, licensed to serve the community of Sandersville, Mississippi, and serving the Laurel-Hattiesburg area. The station is owned by Blakeney Communications, Inc. It airs ...
94.3 (
Hot Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
)
*
WBBN
WBBN (95.9 FM, "B-95") is a radio station licensed to the community of Taylorsville, Mississippi, and serving the Laurel-Hattiesburg area. The station is owned by Blakeney Communications, Inc. It airs a country music format.
The station was as ...
95.9 (
Country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
Southern Gospel
Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...
)
*
WFMM
Telesouth Communications Inc, also known as SuperTalk Mississippi Media, is an American, commercial radio network based in Jackson, Mississippi. Its stations across Mississippi broadcast either a music format, or conservative news / talk and sp ...
97.3
Supertalk Mississippi
Telesouth Communications Inc, also known as SuperTalk Mississippi Media, is an American, commercial radio network based in Jackson, Mississippi. Its stations across Mississippi broadcast either a music format, or conservative news / talk and sp ...
(Talk)
*
WMXI
WMXI (98.1 FM, "News Radio 98.1") is a news/talk formatted radio station licensed to Ellisville, Mississippi, serving the Laurel-Hattiesburg Arbitron market.
History
WMXI started as an alternative rock formatted radio station as "98X". Sometim ...
98.1 (
News
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...
/
Talk
Talk may refer to:
Communication
* Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people
* Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people
* Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct
...
)
*
WLAU
WLAU (99.3 FM, "SuperTalk Mississippi 99.3") is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Heidelberg, Mississippi. The station is licensed to and owned by TeleSouth Communications, Inc.
Licensed as "WEEZ" since 1979, the stat ...
99.3 Supertalk Mississippi (
News
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...
/
Talk
Talk may refer to:
Communication
* Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people
* Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people
* Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct
...
)
*
WNSL
WNSL (100.3 FM, "SL100") is a Top 40 music formatted radio station licensed to Laurel, Mississippi, serving the Laurel-Hattiesburg Arbitron market.
Programming
SL100 is an affiliate of the syndicated Johnjay and Rich. It is also an affiliate ...
100.3 (
Pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...
), (
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
) (Simulcast of WHJA AM 890)
*
WJKX
WJKX (102.5 FM, "102JKX") is a radio station licensed to the community Ellisville, Mississippi, and serving the Laurel-Hattiesburg area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and the license is held by iHM Licenses, LLC. It airs an urban adult c ...
102.5 (
Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
)
*
WFFX
WFFX (103.7 FM, "103.7 The Fox") is a mainstream rock music formatted radio station licensed to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, serving the Laurel-Hattiesburg Arbitron
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United ...
103.7 (
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...
)
*
WXRR
WXRR (104.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States, the station serves the Laurel-Hattiesburg area. The station is currently owned by Blakeney Communications.
The station' ...
104.5 (
Classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
)
*
WQID-LP
WQID-LP (105.3 FM, "Hot 105.3") is a low-power FM radio station licensed to serve the community of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and serving the Laurel-Hattiesburg area. The station airs an urban contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known ...
105.3 (
Urban Contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
)
*
WZLD
WZLD (106.3 FM, "Wild 106.3") is a mainstream urban music formatted radio station licensed to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, serving the Laurel-Hattiesburg Arbitron
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United Sta ...
106.3 (
Urban Contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
)
*
WLVZ
WLVZ is a radio station on 107.1 FM in Collins, Mississippi, US serving the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, area. The station serves as the Hattiesburg-area transmitter for the K-Love Christian radio network.
History
On January 10, 1977, Covington ...
107.1 (Contemporary Christian)
AM radio
*
WHJA
WHJA (890 AM, "Power 101") is a radio station licensed to the community of Laurel, Mississippi, and serving the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, area. The station is owned by Donald Pugh, Sr., through licensee Eternity Media Group LLC. It airs a class ...
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
)
*
WHSY
WHSY (950 AM, "The Legend") is a radio station broadcasting a classic country format. Licensed to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States, the station serves the Hattiesburg-Laurel area. The station is currently owned by Timothy D. Lee's Lee Airw ...
950 (
Classic Country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades.
Repertoire
The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent company ...
)
*
WORV
WORV (1580 AM, "Heartbeat of the Hub City") is a radio station broadcasting a religious format. Licensed to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States, the station serves the Laurel
Laurel may refer to:
Plants
* Lauraceae, the laurel family
* La ...
1580 (
Gospel Music
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...
)
Television
*
WDAM
WDAM-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Laurel, Mississippi, United States, serving the Hattiesburg area as an affiliate of NBC and ABC. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on US 1 ...
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
WHPM-LD
WHPM-LD (channel 23) is a low-power television station in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with the Fox network and owned by Waypoint Media. The station's studios are located on Mayfair Road in Hattiesburg, and its transmitter ...
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
)
Newspapers
* ''
Hattiesburg American
The ''Hattiesburg American'' is a U.S. newspaper based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, that serves readers in Forrest, Lamar, and surrounding counties in south-central Mississippi. The newspaper is owned by Gannett.
History
The ''Hattiesburg ...
'', Hattiesburg's thrice weekly newspaper, a
Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's Crescent train connects Hattiesburg with the cities of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
,
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
and
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
. The
Amtrak station
This is a list of train stations and Thruway Motorcoach stops used by Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation in the United States). This list is in alphabetical order by station or stop name, which mostly corresponds to the city ...
is located at 308 Newman Street.
Rail freight service is offered by three
Class I railroads
In the United States, railroad carriers are designated as Class I, II, or III, according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With annual adjustments for inflation, the 2019 thresholds were US$5 ...
Meridian
Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to
Science
* Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon
* ...
and
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
.
Mass transit
Hattiesburg owns and operates the city's mass transit service, HCT, Hub City Transit. HCT offers daily routes to many major thoroughfares. The Intermodal Depot downtown services Amtrak as well as the city transit services. Due to recent growth in passenger transport in the city, HCT is currently planning additional routes and services, including bus service to the suburbs of Oak Grove and Petal.
unincorporated area
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
. It offers daily flights from Hattiesburg to
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. The airport also has a business park located on the premises.
The city of Hattiesburg maintains the
Hattiesburg Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport
Hattiesburg Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport in Forrest County, Mississippi is owned by the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, City of Hattiesburg and is five miles southeast of downtown.
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 F ...
(HBG) in the Hattiesburg/Forrest County Industrial Park. Located four miles south of the city center, the municipal airport provides business and general aviation services for much of South Mississippi.
Highways
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Major local routes
Major east-west roads include:
4th Street,
Hardy Street/
US Route 98
U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola and Apalachicola, Florida, and has sinc ...
,
Oak Grove Road,
Lincoln Road,
Classic Drive,
7th Street,
and Old MS Highway 42.
Major north-south roads include:
Interstate 59,
US Route 11
{{Infobox road
, country=USA
, type=US
, route=11
, map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map
, map_custom=yes
, map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...
/Broadway Drive/Veterans Memorial,
West Pine Street,
Main Street,
US Highway 98,
28th Avenue,
Golden Eagle Avenue,
38th Avenue,
40th Avenue,
Westover,
Weathersby Road,
and King Road/Old Highway 11.
Notable people
*
Victoria Jackson Gray Adams
Victoria Jackson Gray Adams (November 5, 1926 – August 12, 2006) was an American civil rights activist from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She was one of the founding members of the influential Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Early life and ed ...
, educator and civil rights leader
*
Fred Armisen
Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...
, actor, comedian and musician, star of ''
Portlandia
''Portlandia'' is an American sketch comedy television series starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, set in and around Portland, Oregon, and spoofing the city's reputation as a haven for eccentric hipsters. The show was produced by Broa ...
Wally Berg Wally Berg (born 1955) is a mountaineer from the United States. He was the first American to summit Lhotse in 1990, and he soloed Cho Oyu in 1987. He has summited Mount Everest four times.
Berg now operates Berg Adventures International, an advent ...
, first American mountaineer to summit
Lhotse
Lhotse ( ne, ल्होत्से ; , ''lho tse'', ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at , after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu ...
, in 1990
*
Raylawni Branch
Raylawni Branch (born 1941, Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Mississippi, United States) is a black Mississippi pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement, a professional nursing educator and US Air Force Reserve officer. She is best known for her leading ...
, civil rights activist and nurse educator
*
Roger Brent
Roger Brent (born December 28, 1955) is an American biologist known for his work on gene regulation and systems biology. He studies the quantitative behaviors of cell signaling systems and the origins and consequences of variation in them. He is ...
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
naval
aviator
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
in
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
*
Shelby Cannon
Shelby Cannon (born August 19, 1966) is an American retired professional tennis player.
Cannon enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career, he won three doubles titles and finished runner-up an additional six ti ...
, tennis player
*
Paul Ott Carruth
Paul Ott Carruth, Jr. (born July 12, 1961) is a former running back in the National Football League and the United States Football League.
Biography
Carruth, Jr. was born on July 12, 1961, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. His father, Paul Ott Carru ...
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
Klansmen
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
in 1966
*
Tyler Dickerson
Tyler Dickerson (born 1993 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American country music artist signed to Lyric Street Records. He released his debut single, "Tell Your Sister I'm Single," to radio in early 2010.
Biography
Tyler Dickerson was born ...
, singer
*
Adam Doleac
Adam Doleac is an American country music singer/songwriter signed to Arista Nashville. He has written songs with Darius Rucker and Kane Brown.
Background
Doleac grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. His father and grandfather ran an electric ...
, singer
*
Bob Dudley
Robert Warren Dudley (born September 14, 1955) is an American-born businessman who is a former group chief executive of BP. He had been president and chief executive of TNK-BP and on June 18, 2010, was assigned to be BP executive in charge of th ...
Ernest Duff
Ernest Duff (June 2, 1931 - May 27, 2016) was an American businessman, lawyer and former bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
He was the founder of Southern Tire Mart, a large independent commercial tire dealership in North ...
(1931–2016), businessman, lawyer and Mormon bishop
*
Wesley Eure
Wesley Eure (born Wesley Eure Loper; August 17, 1951) is an American actor, singer, author, producer, director and educator. He is best known for appearing as Michael Horton on the American soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' from 1974 to 1981, dur ...
, actor in ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'' and ''
Land of the Lost Land of the Lost may refer to:
* Land of the Lost (1974 TV series), ''Land of the Lost'' (1974 TV series), the original 1974 children's television series
* Land of the Lost (1991 TV series), ''Land of the Lost'' (1991 TV series), the 1991 remake of ...
''
*
Woody Evans
Woody Evans is an American librarian and author of short stories and nonfiction works, who is known for critical commentary on technology, technoculture, and transhumanism.Articles published in '' The Journal of Evolution and Technology'', Accele ...
, writer and librarian
*
Barbara Ferrell
Barbara Ann Ferrell, Mrs. Edmonson (born July 28, 1947, Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American former track and field athlete who competed mainly in the 100-metre dash. She was the U.S. national champion in that event in 1967 and 1969 and i ...
, Olympic gold and silver medalist in
National Track and Field Hall of Fame
The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, b ...
*
Tim Floyd
Tim Floyd (born February 25, 1954) is a former American college basketball coach, most recently the head coach at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He was formerly the head coach of several teams in the NCAA and the NBA. Floyd is also kn ...
, basketball coach,
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...
,
Iowa State
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
,
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
Joey Gathright
Joey Renard Gathright (born April 27, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. He was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Early life
Gathright attended ...
, MLB outfielder 2004–2011
* Naomi Gray, first female Vice President of
Planned Parenthood
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
Ray Guy
William Ray Guy (December 22, 1949 – November 3, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a punter for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Guy was a first-team All-American selection ...
, Oakland Raiders punter in
College
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
and
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
*
Charlie Hayes
Charles Dewayne Hayes (born May 29, 1965) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and former coach for the FCL Phillies. Hayes played in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yanke ...
, MLB infielder,
1996 World Series
The 1996 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1996 season. The 92nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion (and defending World Series champion ...
Beth Henley
Elizabeth Becker Henley (born May 8, 1952) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress. Her play ''Crimes of the Heart'' won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 1981 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play, and a ...
, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
*
Eddie Hodges
Samuel "Eddie" Hodges (born March 5, 1947) is an American former child actor and recording artist (his 1961 cover of the Isley Brothers’ “I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door” reached #12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100), who left show business as ...
, actor and singer
* Clifton Hyde, musician and member of
Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, bot ...
Hiroshima Toyo Carp
The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...
*
Louis Lipps
Louis Adam Lipps (born August 9, 1962) is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL who played nine seasons in the NFL, eight for the Pittsburgh Steelers and one for the New Orleans Saints.
He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers ...
, NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver, 1984 AFC Rookie of the Year,
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
state representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
; born in Hattiesburg in 1974
* Jack Lucas, youngest Marine to receive
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
*
Mark Mann
Mark Mann (born 1970) is an American artist.
Biography
Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Mann lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. His work has been purchased and collected by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston ...
, artist
* Danny Manning, basketball player, NCAA champion for
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, 1st selection of
1988 NBA Draft
The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their i ...
, Olympic medalist, 2-time NBA All-Star
*
Walter E. Massey
Walter Eugene Massey (born April 5, 1938) is an American educator, physicist, and executive. President emeritus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and of Morehouse College, he is chairman of the board overseeing construction ...
, president of
Morehouse College
, mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made")
, type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college
, academic_affiliations ...
, director of
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
under
George Bush
George Bush most commonly refers to:
* George H. W. Bush (1924–2018), 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd president
* George W. Bush (born 1946), 43rd president of the United States and son of the 41st president
Georg ...
, president of
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
Presidential Citizens Medal
The Presidential Citizens Medal is an award bestowed by the President of the United States. It is the second-highest civilian award in the United States and is second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Established by executive order on Nov ...
Delta blues
Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
singer and songwriter who, in 1936, recorded four songs for Bluebird Records
*
Picasso Nelson
Picasso Nelson (born May 1, 1973) is a former American football linebacker who played two seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the BC Lions and Edmonton Eskimos. He played college football at Jackson State University and attended ...
, football player
*
Jonathan Papelbon
Jonathan Robert Papelbon (; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Boston Red Sox, with whom he was an All-Star in four cons ...
, Major League Baseball pitcher, 6-time All-Star
* Van Dyke Parks, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor
* Jamal Peters , professional Canadian football defensive back for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
* Patrik-Ian Polk, film director, writer, and producer
*
Todd Pinkston
Todd Pinkston (born April 23, 1977) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He played five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles where he caught 184 passes for 2,816 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Eagles w ...
, NFL player for
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
*
Johnny Rawls
Johnny Rawls (born September 10, 1951) is an American soul blues singer, guitarist, arranger, songwriter and record producer. He was influenced by the deep soul and gospel music of the 1960s, as performed by O. V. Wright, James Carr, and Z. Z. ...
, soul blues singer and guitarist
*
Purvis Short
Purvis Short (born July 2, 1957) is a retired American professional basketball player who played with the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1978 to 1990. A 6'7" small forwa ...
, NBA player
*
Taylor Spreitler
Taylor Danielle Spreitler (born October 23, 1993) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Days of Our Lives characters (2000s)#Mia McCormick, Mia McCormick in the soap opera series ''Days of Our Lives'' (2009–2010), Lennox Sc ...
, actress
*
Robert L. Stewart
Robert Lee Stewart (born August 13, 1942) is a retired brigadier general of the United States Army and a former NASA astronaut.
Personal
Stewart was born August 13, 1942, in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Hattiesburg High School in Hattie ...
, NASA astronaut
* Walter Suggs, professional football player,
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
*
James Wheaton
James Wheaton (January 11, 1924 – June 9, 2002), was an American motion picture, stage, and television actor. Wheaton's credits include ''THX 1138'', ''Trouble Comes to Town'' and ''Sanford and Son''.
In the early 1950s, he moved from hi ...
, actor, director, educator (resident infancy to age 12)
* Webb Wilder, musician and actor
*
Iola Williams
Iola M. Williams (February 2, 1936 – April 4, 2019) was an American politician, public official, civil rights activist and museum executive. In 1979, Williams became the first African-American to join the San Jose City Council, an office she h ...
, politician and activist, first African-American member of the
San Jose City Council
The San Jose City Council, officially San José City Council, is the legislature of the government of the City of San Jose, California.
As the Mayor of San Jose, Sam Liccardo casts the 11th vote on matters before the council and acts as chair ...
, founder and former executive director the
African American Military History Museum
The African American Military History Museum, also known as ''East Sixth Street USO Building'', located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, opened to the public on May 23, 2009. The museum building was originally constructed in 1942 as a USO Club for Af ...
*
Amos Wilson
Amos Nelson Wilson (February 23, 1941 (or 1940) — January 14, 1995) was an African-American theoretical psychologist, social theorist, Pan-African thinker, scholar, author and a professor of psychology at the City University of New York.Our T ...
, author and activist
*
Henry Winston
Henry M. Winston (April 2, 1911December 13, 1986) was an African-American political leader and Marxist civil rights activist.
Winston, committed to equal rights and communism, was an advocate of civil rights for African Americans decades before ...
Walter H. Yates, Jr.
Major General Walter Harvey Yates Jr. (born November 6, 1941) is a retired United States Army officer who served as Deputy Commanding General of the Fifth United States Army. He is a native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi and 1963 graduate of The Uni ...
Forrest County Multipurpose Center
The James Lynn Cartlidge Forrest County Multipurpose Center is an arena and county fairgrounds located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It consists of many buildings including:
--A main arena with 37,800 square feet (140' by 270') of arena floor spa ...
*
Old Hattiesburg High School
Old Hattiesburg High School, located at 846 North Main Street, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was utilized as a public school building from around 1911 to 1959. The building was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1986 and was added to the Nati ...
*
Pat Harrison Waterway District
Pat Harrison Waterway District (PHWD) is a Mississippi State agency, State Agency with headquarters in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Hattiesburg. The agency was created in 1962 with a directive of flood control in southeastern and east central Missi ...