Vernon Ferdinand Dahmer Sr. was an American civil rights movement leader and president of the Forrest County chapter of the NAACP in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He was murdered by the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan for his work on recruiting Black Americans to vote.
Vernon Dahmer
1966 funeral of Vernon Dahmer, Shady Grove Baptist Church, Kelly Settlement
Hattiesburg is the 5th most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census, with the population now being 48,730 in 2020. Hattiesburg is the principal city of the Hattiesburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses Covington, Forrest, Lamar, and Perry counties. The city is located in the Pine Belt region.
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Front Street, c. 1900
The now-demolished Hotel Hattiesburg opened in 1906 at the corner of Pine and Mobile streets. The elegant hotel was constructed and owned by Joseph T. Jones, owner of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad.
Union Station, c. 1910