Lyman Mississippi Gulf & Ship Island Railroad Depot 1910 Real Photo Postcard
The Gulf & Ship Island Railroad (G&SIRR) was a pivotal transportation network in Mississippi, primarily serving the state's booming timber industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The railroad linked numerous interior logging operations and sawmills, such as the prominent industrial complex visible in the background near the Lyman depot, to the deep-water port of Gulfport. The Lyman depot, depicted around 1910, functioned as a crucial nexus for both passenger services and the freighting of lumber, anchoring the local economy.
This era coincided with the peak of Mississippi's timber boom, when the extraction of vast longleaf pine forests reshaped the state's economic and physical landscape. The extensive sawmill operation, identifiable by its numerous smoking smokestacks and lumber stacks, represents the industrial backbone of communities like Lyman. Depots like this one were essential for transporting processed timber to markets, demonstrating the critical interdependence of railroad infrastructure and the natural resource industries that fueled development in the American South.
This era coincided with the peak of Mississippi's timber boom, when the extraction of vast longleaf pine forests reshaped the state's economic and physical landscape. The extensive sawmill operation, identifiable by its numerous smoking smokestacks and lumber stacks, represents the industrial backbone of communities like Lyman. Depots like this one were essential for transporting processed timber to markets, demonstrating the critical interdependence of railroad infrastructure and the natural resource industries that fueled development in the American South.
