McComb City was
founded in 1872. The South was still in the throes of reconstruction
after the Civil War. The Jackson and Northern Railroad extended its
line 105 miles north of New Orleans. The new railroad terminal
became the center of the new municipality which was to bear the name
McComb in honor of Henry Simpson McComb, one of the railroad
officials. The city prospered but experienced its share of growing
pains. In 1936, Hugh White, a native of McComb and son of the hard
hitting, circa 1900 promoter, Captain White, became governor of the
state. Governor White set in motion statewide "Balance Agriculture
with Industry" program. This program helped to diversify the
industry of McComb. Manufacturing, aluminum processing, feed
production, wirebound boxes, excavating buckets, wood products and
processed poultry. The new job opportunities enabled farmers to free
themselves from the clutches of king cotton's one-crop farm economy.
Now they could produce beef cattle, dairy products, poultry and
trees.
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In the early days of
McComb, an elderly female resident affectionately known as "Aunt
Caroline" planted japonicas and gave both the lovely blooms and
productive cuttings to her friends. Japonicas were grown in the
front yards in McComb. When Bellingrath's Gardens were being
established near Mobile, many of McComb's large japonica bushes, now
called camellias, were purchased at fancy prices by Bellingrath
agents and moved near Mobile. This served to stimulate even greater
interest in the growing of camellias in McComb. Today, McComb is
known as "The Camellia City of America." No place in America can
boast a larger variety of camellias.
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