Lumberton, MS

Lumberton is a city spread across Lamar and Pearl River counties in south Mississippi, with 1,617 residents in the 2020 census. It sits in the Hattiesburg metropolitan area, but the city’s name points back to an older economy: lumber and timber. Railroad lines and sawmill towns helped shape Lamar County in the early 1900s, and Lumberton became one of the county’s incorporated communities. Most of the city lies in Lamar County, with a smaller portion across the Pearl River County line.

The school map changed in 2018, when the Lumberton Public School District consolidated with Lamar County. Lumberton Elementary, Lumberton Middle, and Lumberton High remain in the city, serving students from both sides of the county line through the Lamar County School District. The old rail-and-timber pattern still shows up in the regional roads and city boundaries, while Hattiesburg supplies a larger employment and services center nearby. Lumberton is a South Mississippi city whose story runs from sawmills and rail lines to a consolidated school system, with two counties sharing one set of streets.