Lumberton: Where the County Line Runs Through Town

Lumberton tells you everything in its name. The town grew up in the pine forests of south Mississippi, where the timber industry dominated the economy for decades after the Civil War. It was part of Pearl River County when that county was organized in eighteen ninety, and the lumber economy was the reason for its existence.

Then in nineteen oh four Lamar County was formed, and most of Lumberton ended up inside it. The county was named for Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, a Mississippian who served as senator, secretary of the interior, and Supreme Court justice. Lumberton ended up split by the county line, with most of the city in Lamar County and a small portion remaining in Pearl River County. It is the rare American town that sits in two counties at once, a quirk of county boundaries.