The Pine Belt's two rivers, the Bouie and Leaf, meander their way through the fertile pine forests of south Mississippi. The longer of the two, the Leaf River, begins its 180-mile journey from the Bienville National Forest in Scott County before making its way through Covington, Jones and eventually into Forrest County.
The smaller of the two, the Bouie, flows only a fraction of the length of the Leaf River, at just 61 miles. The Bouie is, in fact, a tributary of the Leaf River, beginning its short journey in Simpson County. From there, it flows to the southwest before joining the Leaf River, where the city limits of Hattiesburg and Petal join. The confluence of our two rivers creates one of the few natural wonders in our part of south Mississippi, a sight you could take in from the old U.S. Highway 11 bridge.
On the bridge's south side, you'd get a view of the Leaf River, larger now, flowing with the water volume of both rivers. From there, the Leaf flows to the southeast through Perry County joined by two more tributaries along the way, the Tallahala and Bogue Homo creeks. After clipping the edge of Greene County, the Leaf joins the Chickasawhay River in George County where it forms the mighty but relatively short 80-mile run of the Pascagoula River, which carries the flow from all of those waterways to their final destination, the Mississippi Sound and Gulf of Mexico. I have fond memories of the old bridge, which has been replaced since the days I was a kid with a newer bridge that makes taking in the confluence of the Leaf and Bouie rivers almost impossible.
My childhood home on Fairley Street in east Hattiesburg was an easy walking distance to the Leaf River — and the Bouie Street bridge, as we called it. In fact, back in the day, not only did automobiles make their way across the bridge between the two cities, but pedestrians who didn't have cars would also walk across the bridge getting to Petal. And, once a year, you might spot me and some of my friends making their way on foot across the bridge.
My old neighborhood, affectionately known to us as the Goula, was one of the larger Black neighborhoods in Hattiesburg. And, every year, my friends and I would make our way across the Bouie Street bridge on foot. As you'll see, we were on a mission.
I have to tell you, that walk across the bridge always set off a mild case of vertigo in my head. I wasn't as brave as some of my friends. To them, walking across the bridge was no big deal. I couldn't make that claim. To this day, driving across long bridges makes my palms sweat. But crossing the old Bouie Street bridge on foot is a whole other story. Neither the original bridge nor the one that replaced it were designed for pedestrians. Neither of them had sidewalks. Brave pedestrians (or, in my case, scared pedestrians) had to compete for space with the constant stream of cars and 18-wheelers (we called them transfer trucks) crossing the bridge at 45-plus miles per hour — within feet of us!
But, like I said, we were on a mission with our annual walk across the Bouie Street bridge. That's because every fall, usually in September, the Great South Fair would set up shop on the fairgrounds by the same name. Every year, we looked forward to "going to the fair" as much as we did Christmas. The Great South Fair was the closest thing Hattiesburg had to a state fair, and we Goula kids never missed it. The former fairgrounds are still there, but Petal residents will know it today as River Park, set up right alongside the Leaf River. Just across the river, on the Hattiesburg side, you'll find Chain Park, both cities having taken full advantage of the natural beauty provided by the Leaf River, under the management of the cities' parks and recreation departments. Good idea.
Getting back to my peeve, the new Highway 11 bridge that replaced the old one is unforgivably boring. What were they thinking? The four-lane bridge crosses the Leaf River and is bordered by continuous walls on either side that rob you of the view we loved so much back when I was a kid. On the bridge's north side, you'd get an uninterrupted view of one of the Pine Belt's rare natural wonders, the confluence of our Leaf and Bouie rivers. When I was a kid, riding across the bridge in my family's Pontiac, the sight of the two rivers merging was our favorite part of the ride. Now, unless you're riding in one of those giant, elevated pickup trucks, you don't get much of a view at all.
One more thing. Turns out our underappreciated Leaf River, which many of us take for granted, has a little history that flows with it. Before the Pine Belt grew up to become metropolitan Hattiesburg, with its many roadways and rail lines, the Leaf River was used by traders traveling up the Pascagoula River. From there, they'd branch out upstream to the Chickasawhay, then the Leaf into our area. Before the days of trains and semi-trucks, that's the way many goods made their way to our earliest local settlers. And, get this, there's even a little pirate's tale, of sorts, that flows along with the Leaf River's history. According to legend, one of those early traders buried his profits along the banks of the Leaf River, planning to retrieve it later — but didn't. There were said to be thousands of dollars in Spanish coins in his bounty. Don't go looking for it, though. His treasure was said to have been found in 1854.
Today, we have another new bridge crossing the Leaf River between Hattiesburg and Petal, where River Avenue crosses the river into Petal, turning into that city's Main Street. When it comes to design and planning, we got things right this time. The new bridge was designed thoughtfully enough to include spaces in its border walls, giving us an excellent view of the Leaf River as it flows southward on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. And look again, there's even a sidewalk to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. Now that's class.
Even better, the original bridge, with its engaging geometric design was not torn down this time but will be utilized by Forrest County, in concert with the cities of Hattiesburg and Petal as part of a planned, family-friendly greenspace project. The older bridge, remaining at River Avenue/Main Street, by the way, is basically a twin of the one demolished to make way for the new Highway 11/Bouie Street bridge. We've become more forward-thinking these days, and that's a good thing. We're wise enough now to recognize the architectural and historical significance of that beautiful, vintage bridge.
Before it joins the greenspace project planned for the area, here's hoping that the old River Avenue bridge will be spruced up, painted and decked out for its new life as an inviting walkway from which to admire our beautiful and historic Leaf River — without competing for space with transfer trucks.
