Then & Now
At 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day in 1912, a large crowd assembled at the Commercial Club meeting room (in what is now Downtown Hattiesburg) for the unveiling and illumination of the “Slogan Sign.” During this time, the Commercial Club routinely met in the original Citizens Bank building which is now home to PACE Headstart and PRVO offices at the intersection of Front Street and Main Street.
The sign, manufactured and donated to the Commercial Club for the benefit of the city by the Henry L. Doherty Company, was unveiled that night with in front of a large crowd and with great anticipation of what the sign would mean for Hattiesburg.
This company, a leader of Hattiesburg industry at the time, promised that if the Commercial Club would select a slogan and design a sign for its display that it would manufacture, erect and maintain – without any cost to the city – a sign 42-feet in diameter, with 1,142 lights, rising 50-feet above the Ross Building (now the American Building on Front Street) and 140-feet from the sidewalk.
The Commercial Club fulfilled their promise – selecting R. R. Swittenburg’s entry of “The Hub City” as the winner. Quickly following, the Henry L. Doherty Company also fulfilled their own promise.
In a 1912 article describing the illuminating event by The Hattiesburg News, it was stated that the sign was a visual depiction of the vision for Hattiesburg – a tribute to the spirit of Hattiesburg’s people and the growth it would continue to maintain. The Honorable S.E. Travis, a formal representative of the Henry L. Doherty Company added, “Hattiesburg today is what she is because of man’s skill and energy and enterprise.”
After the presentation of the sign and remarks by Travis, the Hattiesburg High School Glee Club performed “America” and Reverend E. D. Solomon took the stage to provide remarks in accepting the sign on behalf of the Commercial Club.
Solomon opened his speech by describing the occasion as “the most auspicious ever celebrated in Hattiesburg” and stated, “It is the Hattiesburg spirit to go after things and to get them, especially large things. If this sign is to be an example of what the Henry L. Doherty Company is to do, Hattiesburg will indeed become The Hub.”
After all the speeches and a band performance, the button was then pushed “and one of the prettiest electric signs ever looked upon burst upon the scene, and the throng sent up a shot that lasted for several minutes, while thousands of people gazed in astonishment at the sign which one man said was just 100 times as pretty as he pictured it in his mind to be.”
The sign of the times.
For several years after the sign was illuminated in 1912, the sign sat atop the Ross Building where it promoted Hattiesburg as the central city in Southern Mississippi. It stayed lit from 6 p.m. until 1 a.m. each night.
Unfortunately, local lore states that at some point between the Great Depression and World War II, hard times brought the sign down. It was deconstructed and sold off during the scrap metal drives of World War II.
These drives were a popular way for all to contribute to the war effort. The unused or unwanted metal was then used to build ships, airplanes and other equipment needed to fight the war.
A story revived.
In 2018, with the notion that the legacy of the Hub Sign should not be forgotten, Mayor Toby Barker gathered a team to discuss bringing back the iconic sign with enthusiasm and celebration that mirrored 1912 – through Hattiesburg’s own New Year’s Eve “drop.”
And as the first Mississippi city to join its partners in the Gulf South, approximately 4,000 Hattiesburgers gathered to count down the New Year on December 31, 2018, while watching a three-sided replica of the 1912 Hub Sign drop at the intersection of Front Street and Main Street. Weighing 375 pounds, the three sides of stamped steel were lit by hundreds of LED lights and suspended approximately 100 feet in the air.
While a little different in size and scope, it was symbolic that the new sign was back in the exact same spot where the iconic 1912 sign was presented to the Commercial Club 106 years prior.
A tradition continues and evolves.
In 2019, Hattiesburgers from near and far gathered at Midnight on Front Street to usher in the New Year – with crowd sizes doubling the year prior. Music provided by DJ Kujho filled the streets; and when the clock struck Midnight, the iconic Hub Sign served as a hearty reminder that the “Hattiesburg spirit” that Reverend Solomon spoke so passionately about was alive and well.
In 2020, however, the sign has served more than a reminder of the community’s rightful place as a premier city in the Gulf South. This year, it has served as a beacon of hope – that regardless of the devastation that even a pandemic can bring, Hattiesburg’s bold vision to go after and achieve big things remains. In a year that continued to provide challenges, it has meant putting others first while protecting the vulnerable, preventing the overrun of the health care system and prioritizing public health through the private sector.
Although the Fall provided a glimmer of hope that gathering might be possible for ushering in 2021, growing numbers for new positive cases of COVID-19 and an average of 100+ hospitalizations proved otherwise. In late December, under the guidance of local health care leadership and the Mississippi State Department of Health, the City of Hattiesburg chose to host the event virtually.
The decision to host a virtual event instead of a public one was wrought with tough conversations. Events like Midnight on Front Street are a part of what makes Hattiesburg a premier city for entertainment and culture; but, making hard decisions for the good of public health continued to be the standard. In this, the city hoped that the Hub Sign served as a bigger symbol for not only going after and achieving big things – but also coming together (separately) for the good of its families, its neighbors and ultimately – the community at large.
In 2021 – with a COVID-19 vaccine widely available and proven therapeutics for treatment – gathering again was possible for an even more exciting Midnight on Front Street. With an iconic backdrop, residents and visitors were able to fellowship with one another, take in culinary talent, the best of Hattiesburg’s music scene, fireworks and of course, see the Hub Sign drop at Midnight.
In 2022 and 2o23, the City saw its largest crowds yet along with the addition of a new event as a precursor to the Hub Sign Drop – the Confetti Countdown in the Alley. This was established to create a more family-friendly environment with an earlier New Year’s Eve celebration for anyone who wanted to make it an early night! Approximately 10,000 people crowded into Downtown Hattiesburg to catch one of the two celebrations and a good night was had by all.
Plans for 2024 are now underway, and we cannot wait to meet you at Midnight on Front Street.
