2020

January 6

• The statue of Vernon Dahmer in front of the Forrest county courthouse was formally dedicated during a ceremony

January 13

• Steak 'n Shake opened in a new building at the former site of T.G.I. Friday's on Highway 98

January 16

• Lincoln Road Family Medicine, an extension of Hattiesburg Clinic, had a ribbon-cutting ceremony

January 28

• Mugshots reopened after being closed for three weeks while remodeling its interior

February 29

• Heritage Lawn & Garden Center on West 4th Street closed

March 11

• Mississippi had its first positive test for COVID-19 after a man tested positive in Forrest county after returning from Florida

April 2

• The Magnuson Hotel on Highway 49 burned in an early morning fire

May 10

• Leatha's Bar-B-Que moved from its Highway 98 location to 1225 Highway 42 in Petal

May 20

• Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for Fire Station No. 9 at 7450 Highway 49

June 1

• Alley Cats Southern Axe Throwing Company opened at 220 West Pine Street in downtown Hattiesburg
• D1 Training opened in the former GattiTown location

June 3

• A ribbon cutting ceremony is held for Let's Go, a 54 feet wide by 15 feet tall mural on the side of the Sunflower Grocery building on Hardy Street

June 17

• One building at Twin Oaks Apartments was destroyed by fire

June 30

• Forrest County removed all Mississippi flags from its property after Gov. Reeves signed House Bill 1796, requiring that the existing flag be replaced with a new design

July 28

• Purple Parrot began a "farewell tour" before permanently closing on August 1

September 7

• USM's head football coach, Jay Hopson, resigned

September 8

• Officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new public basketball and tennis courts at 900 East 8th Street

September 10

• Officials unveiled a new mural called Hub City, Smile on Mobile Street

September 23

• Winn-Dixie held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the remodel of its store on Hardy Street

October 3

• A privately-funded historical marker on Mobile Street near East 6th Street was unveiled, commemorating the 1950 lawsuit filed by Rev. I.C. Peay against Forrest county circuit clerk Luther Cox after being denied the right to register to vote

October 5

• Work began on upgrading and renovating the USM message board at the corner of Hardy Street and Highway 49

October 8

• A statue honoring Oseola McCarty was unveiled on the campus of USM after being installed on October 6

October 28

• Hurricane Zeta struck the coast of Louisiana as a category 2 storm, then progressed towards the north-east until the western wall passed over Hattiesburg, causing minor damage

November 3

• Voters chose to keep the Forrest County Confederate memorial next to the Forrest County courthouse

December 7

• Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Holiday Inn hotel on Thornhill Drive
• A new mural called "Your Life Matters" was unveiled behind Ebenezer Baptist Church on East 8th Street

December 8

• The Maynard Apartments and the Smith Drug Company are designated as historic landmarks by the Hattiesburg city council

December 11

• Hattiesburg was under a boil water notice for two days after E. coli was found in one of fifty samples taken during monthly tests

December 23

• Cotton Blues closed due to financial difficulties caused by the pandemic

December 28

• La Fiesta Brava announced it was closing

Other

These are events that don't have a specific known date

• Nannie Mac's opened sometime in early 2020
• Applebee's closed sometime in March or April
• Winn-Dixie on Lincoln Road closed in September
• Workers began removing the metal siding on the former Regions building on Front Street in downtown Hattiesburg in late November
• Fourth Street CrossFit moved from its original location at 3805 West 4th Street to its new location at 120 98th Place Boulevard, and rebranded itself to FSFIT
• Police Chief Anthony Parker retired at the end of the year