They Cut Down All the Trees: An Extractive Environmental History of the Mississippi Pine Belt

• In Event: Extractive Economies from the Industrial Revolution to the Anthropocene

Abstract

In his book on Mississippi History, the historian Dennis J. Mitchell wrote that in the early twentieth century that some life insurance companies from the North refused to issue life insurance policies to Mississippians because they had so destroyed their environment and so left themselves unhealthy that issuing them these policies would be basically throwing away money. While these companies were wrong about not issuing policies to Mississippians, they were right that the people of Mississippi had destroyed their environment and made themselves incredibly unhealthy.

Across the state’s history, Mississippi has been described as a land of strained human relationships. These strained human relationships allowed some people, usually rich white men, to make lots and lots of money for themselves and their families while leaving everyone else to fight over the scraps. This quest for money wrecked Mississippi’s environment and has impacted generations of Mississippians.

An example of this can be seen in the Mississippi Pine Belt around cities like Hattiesburg and Laurel. In this region, millions of dollars were generated from the harvesting and finishing of pine boards and other related materials. From the clear cutting of forests to the building of railroads across the region, this extractive form of capitalism radically altered the region’s environment and left generations of future Mississippians with the need to overcome and learn from these actions. By examining this history and it’s impact, lessons can be pulled from it which could be applied to the actions of the present and future.

Author

• Jeff Hirschy, University of Southern Mississippi