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Laurel was founded in 1882 as a lumber town, as the industry harvested yellow pine forests in the region. [ citation needed ] The city was named for laurel thickets near the original town site. By the turn of the century, the city became a site of cotton mills, to process and manufacture textiles from the state's commodity crop of cotton. The city population grew markedly during the early 20th century, as rural people were attracted to manufacturing jobs. Mechanization of agriculture reduced the number of farming jobs.