Gulf & Ship Island Railroad

The Gulf and Ship Island opened the pine forests, and the numbers show how fast. By 1902 the 74 miles between Gulfport and Hattiesburg averaged a sawmill and a turpentine still every three miles, and in 1907 the line carried about 800 million board feet of lumber. From 1910 to 1913 Gulfport shipped more timber than any other port in the world. The Illinois Central took over the railroad in 1925 and ended Jackson-to-Gulfport passenger service in November 1950, despite a state commission order to keep it running.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Black Creek Wild and Scenic River — 13 mi
  A 21-mile black-water creek through De Soto National Forest, a national wild and scenic river since 1986, with white sandbars, bluffs and primitive camping.
• Mississippi Armed Forces Museum — 24 mi
  The state military museum inside Camp Shelby, where 750,000 soldiers trained for the Second World War, among them the Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
• Salmon Site (Tatum Salt Dome) — 33 mi
  The only place east of the Mississippi River where the United States detonated nuclear devices, two underground tests in 1964 and 1966 in Lamar County.

More markers nearby

• Professor W.P. Locker — 0.6 mi
• Stone County — 1.7 mi
• The Stapp Sisters — 2.0 mi
• The Harvey Battle — 4.5 mi