Positioned at the fork of the Leaf and Bouie, Hattiesburg was founded 1882 by pioneer lumberman and civil engineer William H. Hardy who named the new town after his wife Hattie. Hattiesburg was incorporated two years later with a population of 400. The booming town became a center for the railroad and the timber industry and as a result, Hattiesburg has always been affectionately known as the “Hub City”.
Still conveniently located at the intersections of Interstate 59 and U.S. Highways 49, 98 and 11 Hattiesburg is less than 100 miles away from the state capital of Jackson as well as the Gulf Coast, New Orleans and Mobile. Birmingham, Atlanta, Memphis, and Gatlinburg (if you’re fast) and Orlando (if you’re really fast) are all within a days drive.
The Hattiesburg area includes Forrest and Lamar counties and was designated a Metropolitan Statistical Area in 1994 with a combined population of more than 100,000 residents. Also included are Oak Grove and Dixie Communities, Sumrall, Purvis, Petal, and many other small communities and town that provide everything from high end gated subdivisions to quite country living on wooded or pastoral acreage.
Hattiesburg is home to the University of Southern Mississippi and Williams Carey University. Camp Shelby is located south of Hattiesburg in the Dixie/Brooklyn area and is the largest the largest National Guard training base east of the Mississippi River.
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