History

McComb was founded in 1872 when the cities of Elizabethtown, Burgland, and Harveytown agreed to incorporate as one city in an effort to aid in post-Civil War reconstruction. The new town was named after Colonel Henry Simpson McComb, president of the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad. McComb had a railroad terminal constructed in McComb, helping to create a new center of commerce in the region.

McComb, initially dependent on cotton agriculture, quickly diversified to include manufacturing, aluminum processing, feed production, and wood products. With the addition of the railroad, linking McComb easily to major cities such as New Orleans and Jackson, farmers began to diversify too, producing beef cattle, dairy products, poultry, and other products.

Many families moved into the area to work for the numerous companies that were quickly growing. Around 1900, Captain JJ White, released from federal war prison, established a saw mill, employing 500 workmen. In 1904, he constructed an industrial building and established the McComb Cotton Mills. Around the same time, the McColgan Brothers built a large ice plant. In 1921, a shop to repair and manufacture freight cars was established by Illinois Central. In 1926, Xavier A. Kramer, a civil engineer, and later Mayor, purchased the ice plant from the McColgan Brothers. He then established cotton warehouses and a milk processing plant.

In 1936, Hugh White, son of Captain White, became governor of the state. He set forth the motto “Balance Agriculture with Industry.” Since that time, McComb has continued to grow. In addition to a strong, growing economy based on agriculture and manufacturing, McComb has embraced the era of technology, as witnessed in state-of-the-art health care facilities and excellent schools. McComb has always been an innovative city of pioneers, cherishing and valuing its history, while utilizing technology to improve the health, minds, and lives of its citizens.