The Pearl River once paralleled the Mississippi as an important transportation link to the Port of New Orleans. Along with the old St. Stephens Road that joined the state with the Eastern Seaboard, the Pearl symbolized Lawrence County's immense economic potential.
While the Pearl and the St. Stephens Road have given way to more modern modes of transportation, Lawrence County's economic potential is as strong as ever. It's vibrant timber industry, for example, is well represented by solid companies like Miles Lumber, Monticello Hardwood and Georgia-Pacific's Monticello Mill. A world class containerboard facility, the GP mill employs 550 workers with an annual payroll in excess of $32 million.
Lawrence County is also home to many companies not related to timber, like Atlas Manufacturing, a manufacturer of water screens and crane buckets, and Lee's Pigskins snack food-processing plant. These companies have benefited from an emerging partnership critical to Lawrence County's economic development.
The Lawrence County Board of Supervisors, the Lawrence County Community Development Association, the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, and the three municipalities of Monticello, New Hebron and Silver Creek represent this partnership committed to an even brighter economic future. New and relocating businesses have found a team eager to assist them with critical needs like grant procurement or site planning. As part of that commitment, Lawrence County has recently developed a 40-acre industrial site just outside of Monticello.
Lawrence County also realizes that business and industry need more than an adequate infrastructure to thrive - they also need a well-trained work force. That's the mission of Lawrence County's public education system, especially the Technology and Career Center. Their Diversified Technology program trains future workers for the ever-changing technological environment of modern industry.
Lawrence County's economy may have changed over the years, but its spirit hasn't. The strong work ethic of its original settlers, as well as their appreciation for the region's natural resources, lives on in this generation of Mississippians.
A Great Place to Work