Facts About Hattiesburg

Cool book, it was written all the way back in 1898. It has drawings of buildings built back then and ads from businesse. Here are some interesting facts taken from it.

1883

• first train runs

1884

• Incorporated into Perry County as a city of 250 people
• Town dimensions "1 mile in each direction from the train station"
• "Hattiesburg Herald"- first newspaper

1888

• first of many "shot-gun" quarantines established to control "dreaded yellow fever." Six guards posted with instructions to shoot if need be.

1889

• Big enough to declare Hattiesburg a separate school district

1891

• October 31, First murder in town. One Dolly Williamson found murdered in bed. (Unsolved in 1898) Our first murder took place on Halloween. Thats kinda neat in a really bad way.

1893

• October 11, 26 businesses burnt to the ground in a large fire. Causes city ordinances forbidding wood-framed buildings in town, causing all buildings to be rebuilt in brick.

1898

• City had two roads
• A 21,268 sq. ft. 16 room school house for whites. Interestingly, "playrooms" for use when it was raining at recess where separated by gender and no smokers where allowed in the building. The "colored" school was in a Baptist church.
• Personal property in town valued at $800,000
• 8 Churches
• 31 stores and 800 houses
• 9 Factories
• Two Companies of soldiers in the Spanish-American War
• An Opera house with 500 seat capacity
• 7 Doctors
• 4 Drug Stores
• 2 newspapers "The Prog" and "The Citizen"