1958 Map of Hattiesburg

About this map

Hattiesburg and Laurel serve as the primary hubs for this mid-century portrait of southeastern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama. The landscape is defined by the heavy timberlands of the De Soto National Forest, including the Chickasawhay Division, where the network of the Leaf River and Chickasawhay River converge to form the Pascagoula River. This era shows a region deeply connected by rail, with the Illinois Central and Gulf Mobile and Ohio crossing paths with smaller lines like the Mississippi Central and the Bonhomie and Hattiesburg Southern. Rural life is centered around local institutions like Zion Ch and Sims Chapel, while industrial footprints are marked by scattered sawmills and an extensive underground pipeline system. To the east, the terrain rises toward High Rock Hill near the Alabama border, where the Tombigbee River forms a natural boundary.