Hattiesburg Mississippi History & Facts

Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat 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 (founded as Mississippi Normal College, for the training of teachers) and William Carey University (formerly William Carey College). South of Hattiesburg is Camp Shelby, the largest US National Guard training base east of the Mississippi River, which hosts up to 100,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists annually.

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 in 1805. After the treaty was ratified, European-American settlers began to move into the area.

Famous Peoples From Hattiesburg Mississippi

Victoria 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.

Born as Victoria Almeter Jackson (later known as Victoria Adams Grey) on November 5, 1926 in a black community called Palmer's Crossing, which is now a part of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She was the daughter of Mack and Annie Mae Jackson. Her mother died when she was three years old, and she was then raised by her grandparents. Her grandparents were not reliant upon local white people, and ran their own farm. Thus, Adams grew up with a strong sense of independence.In 1945, she graduated from Depriest Consolidated School. She then attended Wilberforce University in Ohio,(Ladner) but had to quit after one year due to lack of funds for tuition. Her first marriage was with Tony West Gray. They had three children: Georgie Rosewitha Gray, Tony West Gray, Jr., and Cecil Conteen Gray. Gray was stationed in Germany at the time, during the Korean war. They returned to the United States and lived in Maryland, during which time Adams worked as a cosmetics sales representative. The marriage began to decline, and they divorced.She later married Rueben Ernest Adams, Jr. They had one son, Reuben Ernest Adams, III.

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