As the turn-of-the-century brought the next generation of restless, progressive entrepreneurs leaving their homes in the Midwest to carve out a new home, the population centered on Laurel where the sawmills saw blacks and whites working side-by-side, a growing middle class of merchants arise, Mississippi’s first museum built and the first public school for African-American children established.
About Us
Our History
As the turn-of-the-century brought the next generation of restless, progressive entrepreneurs leaving their homes in the Midwest to carve out a new home, the population centered on Laurel where the sawmills saw blacks and whites working side-by-side, a growing middle class of merchants arise, Mississippi’s first museum built and the first public school for African-American children established.
Eastman, Gardiner & Co. Building
Eastman, Gardiner & Company sawmill plant occupied 26,000 acres of timberland on the south side of downtown Laurel, Mississippi from 1891 until 1937. The Eastman, Gardiner & Company plant contained a sawmill, shingle mill, planing mill, dry kilns, and a pole road which was transformed into a standard gauge steel-rail logging railroad running east out […]
Hotel Pinehurst
Constructed in 1914, the Hotel Pinehurst was owned and operated by T.B. Horton until 1939. The hotel included over 100 rooms, a grand lobby and entranceway, and a number of dining rooms, offices, and stores. The Arabian Theater was added in 1924. This hotel was among the first in Mississippi to offer air-conditioned rooms. The […]
Laurel Machine and Foundry
Today, Laurel Machine & Foundry Co. operates as a general contract shop, offering a full range of services including: Full Line Metal Service Center Structural, sheet, and plate fabrication in carbon, stainless steels, and aluminum, including tubing, pipe, mitered fittings, and forged steel flanges. Our fabricated products also include pressure vessels and storage tanks, as […]
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art opened in 1923 to commemorate Lauren Eastman Rogers, son and grandson to prominent founding fathers of Laurel, MS. Following Lauren Roger’s untimely death in 1921, father Wallace Brown Rogers and grandfather Lauren Chase Eastman created the Eastman Memorial Foundation to promote public welfare in the state of Mississippi by […]
Leontyne Price
Mary Violet Leontyne Price was born on February 10, 1927, in Laurel, Mississippi, to James Anthony Price, a carpenter, and Kate Baker Price, a midwife with a beautiful singing voice. Price showed an interest in music from a young age and was encouraged by her parents. After beginning formal music training at age 5, she […]
Lindsey Eight Wheel Log Wagon Company
After John Lindsey patented the Lindsey Eight Wheel Log Wagon in 1899, he and his brother, S.W. Lindsey, moved to Laurel, Mississippi where they organized the Lindsey Wagon Company. While John Lindsey continued with the company as Secretary and Treasurer; S.W. Lindsey was the President and Manager. John had the brilliance to invent the product, […]
Masonite International Corporation
Masonite International Corporation is a leading manufacturer of doors and door components, based in Mississauga, Canada. Approximately two-thirds of sales come from interior doors. All told, the company each day produces some 120,000 doors, which it sells to more than 50 countries. The North American market accounts for close to 85 percent of sales. Masonite […]
New Orleans & Northeastern Rail Road
The idea of a railroad running the 196 miles between Meridian and New Orleans was conceived by William H. Hardy. In his autobiography, Hardy explains his dream: “In 1868, while residing in Paulding, I began a study of future lines of transportation in our reunited county. This study was initiated by the thought of the […]
Oak Park School
The lumber barons of Laurel differed from other mill owners in the region in another quite important manner. Whereas many of the other mill owners were content to rely on currently accepted managerial techniques in their relations with their employees, the owners of the Eastman Gardiner Company insisted on a more progressive management policy. They […]