Region in southeast Mississippi
The
Pine Belt
, also known as the
Piney Woods
, is a region in Southeast
Mississippi
. The region gets its name from the
longleaf pine
trees that are abundant in the region.
[1]
The Pine Belt includes 9
counties
: Covington, Forrest, Greene, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Marion, Perry, and Wayne.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
Before the arrival of
Europeans
, the area that would later become the state of Mississippi was populated by several
Native American
tribes, including the
Natchez
and
Pascagoula
in the Pine Belt.
[3]
[4]
The population of these Native Americans declined as a result of armed conflicts with the Europeans, attrition from diseases, or coalescence with other tribes.
[4]
[5]
In 1817, the western portion of the
Mississippi Territory
was admitted to the
Union
as the
State of Mississippi
. Yet, the vast
longleaf pine resource
in Mississippi's Pine Belt remained mostly undisturbed, because there was no efficient system for transporting cut timber to sawmills for processing into lumber. That changed in the late 1800s, when railroads were built throughout the Pine Belt. These railroads provided an inexpensive means for moving passengers as well as logs and lumber, and opened Mississippi's Pine Belt to both industrial growth and community development. Notable railway construction during this era included the
Gulf and Ship Island Railroad
;
New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad
; and the
Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Railroad
.
[6]
The Pine Belt's booming timber industry ended around 1930, when the virgin pine forests were depleted.
[6]
As
World War I
raged in Europe, military training sites were being created throughout the United States.
[7]
As part of that effort, one of those training sites was established in the Pine Belt south of
Hattiesburg
in 1917. Over time, that training site transformed into
Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center
.
[1]
Camp Shelby is the largest state owned military training facility in the United States and covers more than 134,000 acres (54,000 ha).
[8]
[9]
Geography
[
edit
]
As of 2020, Mississippi's Pine Belt had a population of 306,672
[10]
and an area of about 5,200 mi
2
(13,400 km
2
). In the
U.S. House of Representatives
, the area is split between Mississippi's
3rd
and
4th
congressional districts.
Principal cities and towns
[
edit
]
The following are the 10 most populous cities and towns in the region.
City or town
|
County
|
Population
(2020 census)
|
Hattiesburg
|
Forrest
(county seat),
Lamar
|
48,730
|
Laurel
|
Jones
(county seat)
|
17,161
|
Petal
|
Forrest
|
11,010
|
Columbia
|
Marion
(county seat)
|
5,864
|
Ellisville
|
Jones
(county seat)
|
4,652
|
Waynesboro
|
Wayne
(county seat)
|
4,567
|
Leakesville
|
Greene
(county seat)
|
3,775
|
Collins
|
Covington
(county seat)
|
2,342
|
Purvis
|
Lamar
(county seat)
|
1,909
|
Sumrall
|
Lamar
|
1,765
|
Education
[
edit
]
- Universities
- Community colleges
Media
[
edit
]
- Newspapers, magazines, and journals
- Television
Transportation
[
edit
]
- Airports
- Interstates
- Highways
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Toby Barker
, politician
- Shane Barnett
, politician
- Elizabeth Bass
, physician, educator and suffragist
- Dawn H. Beam
, judge
- Larry Byrd
, politician
- Lacey Chabert
, actress
- Martin Sennet Conner
, former Governor of Mississippi
- Kermit Davis
, basketball coach
- Dennis DeBar
, politician
- Bo Diddley
, guitarist
- Johnny DuPree
, politician
- Brett Favre
, football player
- Joey Fillingane
, politician
- Ed Freeman
, Medal of Honor recipient
- Dale Goodin
, politician
- Billy Hudson
, politician
- Ray J
, singer and actor
- Chris Johnson
, politician
- Paul B. Johnson Jr.
, former Governor of Mississippi
- Paul B. Johnson Sr.
, former Governor of Mississippi
- Mack A. Jordan
, Medal of Honor recipient
- Kent McCarty
, politician
- Chris McDaniel
, politician
- Missy McGee
, politician
- Steve McNair
, football player
- Gerald McRaney
, actor
- Mary Mills
, professional golfer
- Marilyn Mims
, operatic soprano
- J. Ed Morgan
, politician
- Felecia M. Nave
, chemical engineer and academic administrator
- Walter Payton
, football player
- John A. Polk
, politician
- Leontyne Price
, soprano
- Johnny Rawls
,
soul blues
singer, songwriter
- Robin Robinson
, politician
- Noah Sanford
, politician
- Donnie Scoggin
, politician
- Omeria Scott
, politician
- Taylor Spreitler
, actress
- James Street
, journalist and novelist
- Joseph Tubb
, politician
- L. C. Ulmer
,
delta blues
musician
- Ray Walston
, actor and comedian
- Percy Watson
, politician
- Hugh L. White
, former Governor of Mississippi
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
31°07′22″N
88°56′12″W
/
31.122799°N 88.936746°W
/
31.122799; -88.936746