unincorporated community
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 ...
in
Forrest County, Mississippi
Forrest County is located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 74,934. Its county seat and largest city is Hattiesburg. The county was created from Perry County in 1908 and named in honor of Nathan Bedfor ...
, United States.
History
The town of McLaurin is named for General McLaurin, who was also the first president of the
Gulf and Ship Island Railroad
The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SI) was constructed in the state of Mississippi, USA, at the turn of the 20th century to open a vast expanse of southern yellow pine forests for commercial harvest. In spite of economic uncertainty, entrepren ...
. At one time, McLaurin was the site of the largest
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
in the country, becoming an important shipping site for
masonite
Masonite is a type of hardboard, a kind of engineered wood, which is made of steam-cooked and pressure-molded wood fibers in a process patented by William H. Mason. It is also called Quartrboard, Isorel, hernit, karlit, torex, treetex, and pr ...
and
pulp wood
Pulpwood is timber with the principal use of making wood pulp for paper production.
Applications
* Trees raised specifically for pulp production account for 15% of world pulp production, old growth forests 9% and second- and third- and more gener ...
. The manager of the first sawmill in the area, Jim Barron, is buried in McLaurin Cemetery.
The population in 1900 was 300.
A post office operated under the name McLaurin from 1896 to 1974.
A historic landing field for aircraft is located south of the settlement.
The McLaurin Salt Dome is a
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 ...
named after the community.
Education
*
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 ...
* South Forrest Elementary School
Infrastructure
Transportation
McLaurin is served by U.S. Route 49, a north–south corridor that runs through
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
and
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 ...
.
Places of worship
* McLaurin United Methodist Church
* Morning Star Church
* Old Enon Church
* First Baptist Church of McLaurin