Homochitto Forest History

The Homochitto National Forest was established in 1936 as the first National Forest in Mississippi. The Forest was named for the Homochitto River, an Indian name for "Big Red River". France, England, Spain, and the United States strongly influenced the area of land around what is now the Homochitto National Forest. It operated as a single district until 1952, then was divided into two Ranger Districts, the Bude and the Homochitto.

The Homochitto National Forest is located in southwest Mississippi east of Natchez and west of McComb. It is also 60 miles south of Jackson and about 60 miles north of Baton Rouge, La. The major travel routes accessing the Forest are US Highway 84 and 98, and State Highways 28, 33, 550, 551, and 563.

The Forest, consisting of approximately 189,000 acres, hosts a number of resources. The Homochitto is one of the leading timber-producing National Forests in the south. For nearly 50 years, exploration for oil and gas has taken place on this Forest. About 86 percent of the producing wells on National Forest land in Mississippi come from the Homochitto.

The Community Center Pavilion at Clear Springs Lake near Roxie is on the list of National Historic Places.

It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and is built entirely of hand-hewn logs and hand-split wooden shingles. It is a simply stunning building and is in use almost every weekend for community activities such as wedding receptions, birthday parties, family reunions and group picnics.

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