Laurel, Mississippi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laurel, Mississippi
City
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
Flag City logo
Nickname(s):  "The City Beautiful"
Laurel, Mississippi Location in the United States Show map of the United States Laurel, Mississippi Location in Mississippi Show map of Mississippi
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Jones
Incorporated	1882; 144 years ago (1882)
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
Area
• Total	16.54 sq mi (42.83 km2)
• Land	16.24 sq mi (42.05 km2)
• Water	0.30 sq mi (0.78 km2)
Elevation	269 ft (82 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	17,161
• Density	1,056.97/sq mi (408.10/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	39440–39443
Area codes	601, 769
FIPS code	28-39640
GNIS feature ID	0672321

Laurel is a city in Jones County, Mississippi, United States. It is one of two places where the county government operates. As of the 2020 census, about 17,161 people lived there. Laurel is known for being home to the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. This is Mississippi's oldest art museum. Many people work for companies like Howard Industries and Sanderson Farms in Laurel.

The Story of Laurel

Oak Street, circa 1900, showing early buildings.

Laurel grew quickly after a railroad was built in 1881. The city officially started in 1882. The main reason for its growth was the timber industry. The area had many Yellow pine forests. The city got its name from the beautiful mountain laurel bushes. These bushes grew naturally where the town was founded.

The land that became Laurel was full of tall longleaf pine trees. This made it a great spot for lumberjacks. In 1881, two business partners, John Kamper and A.M. Lewin, built a small lumber mill. This mill was near what is now Laurel's First Avenue. They needed a name for their mill and camp for the Post Office. They suggested "Lawrell" because of the mountain laurel bushes. Postal officials changed the spelling to "Laurel."

At first, Laurel was mostly a lumber camp. By 1891, Kamper's company was struggling. He sold his mill and over 15,000 acres of land. The buyers were Lauren Chase Eastman and George and Silas Gardiner. They were lumber leaders from Clinton, Iowa. They founded the Eastman-Gardiner Company.

After buying the land, Eastman and the Gardiner brothers improved the lumber operations. They built a new, much larger mill. In 1893, the new Eastman-Gardiner Company mill opened. It used the best technology of its time.

By the early 1900s, other lumber companies noticed Laurel's success. The area had a huge amount of timber. In 1906, the Gilchrist-Fordney Company started building a mill in Laurel. By 1907, trains stopped in Laurel four times a day. They carried passengers and lumber from nine sawmills. These mills produced a lot of wood every day.

More mills came, like Wausau-Southern in 1911 and Marathon in 1914. After World War I, Laurel's mills shipped more yellow pine lumber than any other place. In the 1920s, Laurel's four mills produced a million board feet of lumber daily. This was the peak of Laurel's lumber production.

The money from the timber industry helped create the famous Laurel Central Historic District. This area has many beautiful buildings from the early 1900s. It is known for its history and different architectural styles. Many homes in this district are shown on the HGTV show Home Town. The timber families also helped build wide streets, public parks, and good schools.

Laurel's population grew a lot in the early 1900s. People moved there for factory jobs. The company Masonite International also helped the economy grow. However, farming jobs became fewer due to new machines. The city's population was largest in 1960. It has decreased by about one-third since then.

Where is Laurel?

Laurel is in the northern part of Jones County. It is about 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Ellisville. Ellisville is the other county seat. Interstate 59 and U.S. Route 11 go through Laurel. These highways connect Laurel to Hattiesburg and Meridian. U.S. Route 84 passes south of the city. It leads to Waynesboro and Collins. Mississippi Highway 15 also goes through Laurel. It connects to Bay Springs and Richton.

The United States Census Bureau says Laurel covers about 16.5 square miles (42.8 km²) of land. A small part, about 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²), is water. The city sits on a low ridge. Tallahala Creek is to the east, and Tallahoma Creek is to the west. These creeks eventually flow into the Leaf River. The Leaf River is part of the Pascagoula River system.

Laurel's Weather

The weather in Laurel has hot, humid summers. Winters are usually mild to cool. According to the Köppen climate classification, Laurel has a humid subtropical climate. This means it has warm temperatures and plenty of rain. The area can also have tornadoes. A strong F3 tornado hit the city on December 28, 1954. It caused injuries to 25 people.

Who Lives in Laurel?

A Look at the 2020 Population

The 2020 census counted 17,161 people in Laurel. The average age of residents was 36.3 years old. About 26.9% of the people were under 18. Also, 16.9% were 65 years old or older. For every 100 females, there were about 88 males.

Most residents (95.6%) lived in city areas. Only 4.4% lived in rural areas.

There were 6,447 households in Laurel. About 34.4% of these households had children under 18. About 30.5% were married couples. Many households (42.5%) had a female head without a spouse. About 31.3% of households were single individuals. And 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The city had 4,278 families.

There were 7,320 housing units in total. About 11.9% of these were empty.

How Laurel is Governed

Laurel, Mississippi welcome sign

Laurel has a mayor-council government. The mayor is chosen by all the city's voters. Council members are elected from specific areas called districts.

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health has a Crisis Intervention Center in Laurel. This center helps people in need.

Schools in Laurel

Most of Laurel is part of the Laurel School District. A small part is in the Jones County School District.

• Students in the Laurel School District attend Laurel High School.

Private schools in Laurel include:

• Laurel Christian School
• Laurel Christian High School
• St. John's Day School (connected to the Episcopal Church)

Jones College is a community college that serves students from Jones County.

News and Entertainment

Laurel has several local media outlets:

• WDAM-TV and WHLT-TV (television stations)
• WLAU (99.3 FM, a radio station called SuperTalk Mississippi)
• The Laurel Leader-Call newspaper
• The Chronicle newspaper
• WXRR (104.5 FM, "Rock104" radio)
• WBBN (95.9 FM, "B-95" radio)
• Impact Laurel (another local publication)

Getting Around Laurel

Laurel Train station

The Amtrak Crescent train stops in Laurel. This train connects Laurel to many big cities. These include New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlanta, Birmingham, Alabama, and New Orleans. Laurel's Amtrak station is at 230 North Maple Street.

The Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport is near Moselle. It is about 21 miles (34 km) southwest of Laurel.

Main Roads in Laurel

• Interstate 59
• U.S. Route 84
• U.S. Route 11
• Mississippi Highway 15

Famous People from Laurel

See also

In Spanish: Laurel (Misisipi) para niños

• Laurel Black Cats, a former semi-professional baseball team