Forrest County, Mississippi

Forrest County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Hattiesburg
Year Organized: 1906
Square Miles: 467

Court House:

P.O. Box 1310
County Courthouse
Hattiesburg, MS 39403-1310

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Forrest is named for Nathan B. Forrest, Confederate general. Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 – October 29, 1877) was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self made and innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a figure in the postwar establishment of the first Ku Klux Klan organization opposing the reconstruction era in the South.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

An act of the state legislature approved on April 19, 1906 called for the creation of a new county to be called Forrest County, named for the distinguished Confederate Cavalry leader, General Nathan Bedford Forrest. It was further provided that a special election should be held within the limits of the proposed county on the first Tuesday of May, 1907 to submit the question to the qualified electors. In response to the favorable vote cast that day the Governor issued a proclamation calling for the organization of Forrest County on the first Monday of January, 1908. Its organization and establishment therefore dates from January 6, 1908. Its area was made to embrace the Second Judicial District of what was then the County of Perry.

When Perry County was divided into two judicial districts HATTIESBURG was made the seat of justice of the Second District, and renamed thus after Forrest was created out of the Second District. The County seat is Hattiesburg, in honor of Captain W. H. Hardy's wife, Hattie Hardy.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 470 square miles (1,218 km²), of which, 467 square miles (1,208 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (9 km²) of it (0.76%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Jones County (northeast)
Perry County (east)
Stone County (south)
Pearl River County (southwest)
Lamar County (west)
Covington County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Hattiesburg (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Petal	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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