Almost a half century ago, in 1974, the small community of Petal broke off from the City of Hattiesburg, with Forrest County supervisors and other officials taking the steps to officially incorporate that newly-formed municipality as the City of Petal.
Fifty years later, city officials are gearing up to celebrate The Friendly City’s golden anniversary, as the Petal Board of Aldermen recently approved a budget line item of $15,000 for an upcoming celebration that will take place in the spring of next year. Tony Ducker, who is currently serving as the city’s seventh mayor, said the event is tentatively scheduled for April 6, 2024, at Petal River Park off U.S. 11 adjacent to the Leaf River, with the possibility of more activities ahead of that.
“I can’t help but think of all the decisions back in 1974 that brought us to this point,” Ducker said. “You hope that it’s also a solemn occasion for folks that are in office right now, who remember how some of the things that were going on back then contributed to where we’re at now.
“You would hope that those folks, if they’re still around, would be able to say that we’re making good decisions, in keeping with what their vision of what our city would be like (now). It’s pretty exciting to know that we’ve made it this far, and hopefully in 50 more years, they’ll look back on this time and say we’ve made some decisions that have benefited the city when it’s all said and done.”
Although nothing has been set in stone, Ducker expects to have live music, fireworks and food for the April 6 showing. If things go according to plan, officials also hope to have activities on the Thursday and Friday leading up to that.
“There are some ongoing talks about that, and a couple of different scenarios,” Ducker said. “It’s almost like an anniversary week, so we’re still working through some of that, but we do want to acknowledge the fact that we’re 50 years old, and (recognize) some of the decisions in the past that were made that have brought up to this point.
“That’s something worth stopping and taking note of. Initial thoughts would be that fireworks would go into the early night (of April 6), and we’re looking at maybe a four (o’clock) to nine (o’clock) event. And there are some discussions where we might have something throughout the day. So we’re just trying to get some of the logistics done.”
The budgeted $15,000 is expected to take care of the musical act and related logistics – including the act itself and its stage and production – along with other associated costs.
“I think we’ll ultimately come in under budget, because you’re going to have sponsors and things of that nature, but obviously getting a musical act and fireworks (can get expensive),” Ducker said. “Fireworks itself – the fireworks for our Fourth of July this past year were $28,000, but that was borne between three different entities – Hattiesburg, Forrest County and the City of Petal.
“So you can imagine if you’re just going to do one (cost), but we’re doing it by ourselves, so that’s going to be a pretty big number.”
According to information provided by the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce and the book A History of Petal, members of the Choctaw Native American tribe were the earliest inhabitants of what would become the city. The first record of American settlers coming to Petal comes from the early 1800s, when those individuals were attracted by the abundant pine forests that were ripe for logging.
By 1850, the community – as of yet unnamed – opened its first church, and in 1819 the Chappell family built what is now known as Chappell’s Log Landing on the Leaf River. The oldest existing structure in the city is the Carter Cabin, which settler Isaac Carter built for his family in 1846 and is currently located off of Old Richton Road.
Photo by Cayla Camp Burns
The cabin was originally located in a wooded area, off of what is now the Evelyn Gandy Parkway.
“It is unclear exactly when Petal acquired its name, but it happened just after the turn of the century,” the chamber’s website states. “A post office had been established for East Forrest County in 1903, and its first postmaster was Irving Polk, who lived on a farm at the site of the present First Baptist Church.
“Irving and his wife Lydia had a daughter named Gladys Petal Polk, born to them August 29, 1902. The little girl’s life was short; at the age of 2, she died of diphtheria. The post office needed a name … and Lydia asked that the post office, and thus the town, be named after her daughter. Though her life was short, the infant daughter of one of the small town’s most prominent citizens, its postmaster, gave to her town one of its most unique features; there is no other town named Petal in the United States.”
The growth of the Petal community remained steady over the next few days, with a small list of notable items including:
- The construction of a turpentine still “around the turn of the 20th Century” between New Richton Road and Old Richton Road, along with the following of the Bowers Lumber Company on McInnis Street. The mill underwent a change of hands in 1956, becoming the Richton Tie and Timber Company.
- The opening of Petal Meat Market and Grocery in 1926 at the corner of Central Avenue and McInnis Street, followed by the opening of Petal Drug Store in 1928.
- The construction of the first broom factory in Petal in 1933, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and South Main Street.
- The opening of several churches, including Petal First Baptist in 1946, Temple Baptist in 1951, Harvey First Baptist in 1952, Crestview Baptist in 1956, Woodlawn Baptist in 1957, Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1959, Calvary Bible Baptist in 1966, Petal Assembly of God in 1969, First Southern Methodist in 1975, Carterville Baptist Church (date unlisted) and Petal Church of God (date unlisted).
- The construction of a frame school building sometime before 1920 on the corner of Main Street and Central Avenue.
- The opening of the Petal Branch Library in 1962.
On April 4, 1974, Petal separated from the City of Hattiesburg, and the next day, Petal was incorporated as the City of Petal. Two years later, members of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors and other officials officially formed the Petal School District after deciding to separate Petal’s schools from Forrest County’s school system.
One of the driving forces behind incorporation was Lynn Cartlidge, who, during his time as Forrest County District 3 Supervisor, spearheaded that effort. Cartlidge, who also led efforts to establish the school district, served for several years on the board of directors for Forrest General Hospital after retiring from the board of supervisors.
“I’m proud that I (was involved in that), and I’m proud that I had people helping me on the incorporation of Petal, two years before (establishing) the school district,” Cartlidge said. “I’m glad that we did it; we have one of the top schools in the country, and that’s what it was all about to start with. I’m so proud that we did it when we did.”
Fifty years after its incorporation, the City of Petal is home to more than 11,000 residents, while the Petal School District hosts more than 4,000 students across its five campuses. Those include Petal Primary School, Petal Elementary School, Petal Upper Elementary School (formerly W.L. Smith, Petal Middle School and Petal High School.
Including Ducker, the city has featured seven mayors over its existence, as follows:
- Ulmer Byrd, who served from 1974 to 1977;
- Sidney Smith, who served from 1977 to 1989;
- Jack Gay, who served from 1989 to 2001;
- Tony Phillips, who served from 2001 to 2005;
- Carl Scott, who served from 2005 to 2009;
- Hal Marx, who served from 2009 to 2021; and
- Ducker, who was elected in 2021.
As far as Petal’s near and foreseeable future, Ducker lists improved infrastructure as one of the top items on the list, as that measure is necessary to keep up with the city’s steady growth.
“I think we need to be more business-minded and more proactive when it comes to those things, and I would hope that over the next 10 years that you would see that we have bent the curve and become proactive, as opposed to reactive,” he said. “I would hope that we would still be able to hold the line on the cost of living here – some of the bills and expenses that it takes to live here are a little higher than I would prefer them.”
