Historically, the Piney Woods of southern Mississippi was a
region characterized by its impressive stands of native longleaf
pine forest. However, extensive logging practices in the early
twentieth century contributed to the clear-cutting of nearly all
old-growth longleaf pine trees. In the early lumbering days
before the railroads, logs were cut and rafted down rivers and
waterways from the inland Piney Woods to mills and ports along
the Gulf Coast. With the advent of the railroad in 1885,
commercial logging continued full speed ahead as Piney Woods
timber was aggressively harvested, and railroad spurs and
logging camps canvassed the region. A product of the timber
boom, the town of Barth, Mississippi was incorporated in 1917
and already in decline by the late 1920s. Most sawmills in the
area were forced to close in the 1930s due to the widespread
clear-cutting of the native virgin yellow pines. Today, large
swaths of the Piney Woods are part of DeSoto National Forest.
You can learn more about early logging