| Designed by Hattiesburg architect Robert Emmett Lee, this three-story, brick neoclassical building with a shallow recessed distyle Doric portico was built in 1920 as the Masonic Temple for Hattiesburg Lodge No. 397, F&AM. The building was acquired by Forrest County in July 2003, to become a courthouse annex. Formerly element #6 in Hattiesburg Hub City Historic District. The building was originally listed on the National Register in 1981 as a contributing element (element #6) in the Hattiesburg Hub City Historic District, and it was later included as element #37 in the enlarged Hub City Historic District (Boundary Increase II), which was placed on the National Register on 9 November 2012. It was designated a Mississippi Landmark on 18 September 2003. It is mentioned in "Buildings of Mississippi" (2020) (p. 315, in the listing for the Forrest County Courthouse, PW25). |