Formed January 1, 1908 (78th county)
Forrest County (78,163), Hattiesburg (48,731)
The red brick Neo-Classical courthouse was built in 1908 and remodeled in 1922. William S. Hull is the designer. It is on a square on Main, Batson, Forrest and Eaton streets. United States Highway 11 is one block east of the location. A Chancery Court building was constructed in 1986. The structure features columns and a veterans’ memorial. There is also a Justice and Youth Courthouse. The county originated on January 1, 1908 from Perry County as the 78th county with Hattiesburg as the only county seat. It is named for Civil War General Nathan B. Forrest. The county seat is named for the wife of the city’s founder. Forrest County was the birthplace for 2 Mississippi Governors, Martin S. Connor and Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
Forrest County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a collector, a coroner, an assessor and a clerk (executive). It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.) Four Chancery Court Judges serve Forrest, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River, and Perry counties, Two District Court Judges serve Forrest and Perry counties, and One County Court Judge and a court clerk serve Forrest County (judicial.) Forrest County is in southern Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi is northwest and Mobile, Alabama is southeast of the county. The county center is 8.9 miles South of Hattiesburg nearer McLaurin. The county is surrounded clockwise by Jones, Perry, Stone, Pearl River, Lamar, and Covington counties.
The area of the county is 467 square miles. It is 55 out of 82 in the state. It ranks 8 out of 82 in population in the state. It has a density of 167.4 persons per square mile making it 7 out of 82 in the state. Forrest County has 68.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 59 cuts the northwest corner of the county from Jones County, north, to Lamar County, west. United States Highway 11 parallels Interstate Highway 59 from Jones to Lamar counties. United States Highway 49 passes northwest to southeast from Covington County to Stone County. United States Highway 98 goes east to west from Perry County to Lamar County. The county looks like a tall number 7. Hattiesburg is in the northwest corner of the county and extends into Lamar County. Hattiesburg is the county seat and the largest city. It is 62.4% of the county population. The county seat is pronounced HAT-TIS-BURG. This county is in the Hattiesburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Petal
Hattiesburg
