Hattiesburg, a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, is located primarily in Forrest County and extends west into Lamar County. Founded in 1882 by civil engineer William H. Hardy, Hattiesburg was named
in honor of Hardy's wife, Hattie. The city was incorporated in 1884 with a population of approximately 400. Today, Hattiesburg is the principal city of the Hattiesburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses Covington, Forrest, Lamar, and Perry counties. The city is known as the anchor of the Pine Belt region and is home to the University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University.
First Peoples & First Mentions
During European colonization, the area that is now Hattiesburg was first claimed by the French. Between 1763 and 1783, it 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 after 1783. The United States gained a cession of lands from the Choctaw and Chickasaw under the terms of the Treaty of Mount Dexter in 1805. European-American settlers began to move into the area following the treaty's ratification.
Explorers, Missions & Colonial Outposts
Hattiesburg developed at the confluence of the Leaf and Bouie rivers. The city was founded in 1882 by Captain William H. Hardy, a civil engineer. Originally called Twin Forks and later Gordonville, the city received its final name of Hattiesburg from Capt. Hardy, in honor of his wife Hattie. The completion of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SIRR) from Gulfport to Jackson, Mississippi, ran through Hattiesburg, stimulating a lumber boom in 1897.
From Empire to Nation: Transfers of Rule
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. The region around Hattiesburg was involved in testing during the development of weapons in the nuclear arms race of the Cold War. In the 1960s, two nuclear devices were detonated in the salt domes near Baxterville, Mississippi, about 30 miles southwest of Hattiesburg.
Rails, Roads & River Landings: Corridors That Sited Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg is centrally located less than 100 miles from the state capital of Jackson, as well as from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. The city is served by major highways including U.S. Highway 49, U.S. Highway 98, and U.S. Highway 11, and later, Interstate 59. The Hattiesburg Train Depot, constructed in 1910 by the Southern Railway Company, was the city's largest and most architecturally significant depot.
