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Kiln, Mississippi

Kiln (pronounced "Kill") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States. The town is located about 50 mi northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,238 at the 2010 census.

From earliest inhabitants to United States annexation
The earliest inhabitants of the area were Choctaw and Muscogee Indians, who lived along the banks of a river (later named the Jourdan River) emptying into the Bay of Saint Louis. These tribes hunted, fished, and trapped on the land prior to settlement by the French. In 1682, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, a French explorer, claimed the region for France and named it "Louisiana", in honor of King Louis XIV, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast became part of the Lower Louisiana District.

Following the French claiming of the land, French settlers, many from Canada, began to move into the area surrounding modern-day Kiln. These settlers were exclusively male and were mostly hunters and trappers. The only commercial activity was in hides and pelts, which were sent to New Orleans for shipping. The first known white settlers in the area were Jean Baptiste Nicaize (Necaise) and his family. It is likely they moved from the Wolf River area near current-day DeLisle to Kiln and acquired the J. B. Necaise claim under a Spanish land grant around 1800 or before. There is a record of marriage on May 11, 1745, of Jean Baptiste Nicaize to Marie Cathering Miot (Meaut) in the Wolf River area. This record also noted that the father of J. B. Necaise was a native of Paris, France. The Jourdan River received its name from Noel Jourdan, an early settler on the river, who had received a Spanish land grant at the present site of Diamondhead. Jourdan later served as a delegate to the Mississippi Constitutional Convention of 1817, and he was the first representative of Hancock County in the Mississippi Legislature. The area came to be known as the Jourdan Community by its inhabitants. With the arrival of white settlers from the East, the Indian tribes eventually left the area. By the turn of the 19th century, the last full-blooded Choctaw Indians left the area for land grants in Oklahoma.

In 1763, France ceded Louisiana east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain in the Treaty of Paris. The area became part of the colony of British West Florida. In 1783, British West Florida was ceded to Spain as part of the Peace of Paris, and the area became part of the province of Spanish West Florida. The United States claimed West Florida in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. However, Spain disputed this claim. Tensions between the United States and Spain grew as many Americans began to move into the area. A large number of these immigrants were Tories who resented Spanish rule. On May 14, 1812, immediately prior to the start of the War of 1812 with Great Britain, with whom Spain was allied, the United States assigned the claimed area to the Mississippi Territory, even though the area was still governed by Spain. On February 12, 1813, the United States Congress passed a statute giving President James Madison authority to occupy the area. In April 1813, an American force occupied Mobile and received the surrender of the Spanish commander.

Timber industry boom and bust

Kiln takes its name from the many kilns once found in the area. These kilns served the timber industry; they produced naval stores such as tar, which were shipped by schooner to New Orleans and used for caulking ships. Tar kilns had operated in the Hancock County area to produce naval stores since the days when it was part of British West Florida. During the 1840s, the Jourdan Community had a prosperous business in the production of charcoal, which it also sold on the New Orleans market. By the 1880s, some inhabitants began referring to the community as "Kiln", and by 1913 the town's name was firmly established. Today, the area is referred to by locals as "the Kiln", with the "n" silent.

The sawmill era began around the time of the American Civil War, when a sawmill was built on the Jourdan River by Samuel L. Favre from Mobile. He also built a home on the Jourdan River in 1859. Later, this house was moved to its present location near Annunciation Catholic Church and is currently owned by one of his descendants. It is considered the oldest house in the Kiln. Francois Haas from New Orleans built a sawmill on Bayou Talla in the Kiln area. After the Civil War, Favre moved to the Logtown and Napoleon areas, and the Francois Haas sawmill was operated by Elisha Haas and Timothy Herlihy. Later, the mill became known as the Herlihy and Haas Mill. In the late 19th century, the Jourdan River had shipyards, and the river provided water transportation access to the nearby Mississippi Gulf Coast ports that served the then-booming yellow pine timber industry. One shipyard on the Jourdan was operated by a man named Willie Curet, another shipyard on Bayou Talla was operated by a man named Jeremiah Haas, and Savadore Necaise operated a shingle mill. These family names are familiar in the area, and descendants of these men live in Hancock County today.

During the boom years, the Kiln was home to many timber mills. On December 7, 1908, the W. W. Carre Company, Ltd., from New Orleans purchased the Herlihy and Haas Mill and built a railroad track to the northern end of Hancock County to facilitate the flow of raw lumber. The sawmill burned in 1912, and in December of that year the logging railroad and equipment were sold to the Stern Foundry & Machinery Company of New Orleans. In January 1913, the remaining property at Kiln was sold to the Edward Hines Lumber Company of Chicago, and the operation was reorganized as the Jourdan River Lumber Company. The original mill was replaced in 1914 with a new mill with a cutting capacity of 150000 ft per day. To accommodate all of the workers at the mill, around 200 mill houses were built. A school building was also built in the area. To support the number of workers coming into the area, other businesses began to establish themselves. These local businesses included a company store, a 50-room hotel with a restaurant, a small hospital with round-the-clock physician and nurse, a movie theater, and a drug store. In addition, there was a secondary school, several churches, and a semi-pro baseball team. According to historian Samuel Grady Thigpen, for a time the Kiln was the busiest town between Hattiesburg and New Orleans.

The Great Depression hit the Kiln hard, combined with the depletion of the lumber supply in the area, eventually causing the loss of many of the local businesses. In February 1930, the mill cut out and was dismantled. The Kiln also lost its hotel, hospital, and railroad. The source of electricity for the town was cut off. By the mid-1930s, the Kiln had become a ghost town with no major industry. Much of the land that had been cleared for logging was grown over and once again became a forest wilderness. Many of the residents who stayed in the Kiln managed a living by distilling illegal whiskey. The production of whiskey became a big business in the Kiln after Mississippi passed a state-wide prohibition act in 1908. Being a source of sought-after moonshine during the Prohibition Era and also because of its high quality and ready availability, Kiln became known as the "Moonshine Capital of the World". At the height of moonshine popularity in the late 1920s, there were at least 50 moonshine stills operating in the Kiln. Mississippi's state-wide prohibition act was not repealed until 1966. Despite the depression and mass emigration from the town, a few older structures remain to this day, including Annunciation Catholic Church and the original post office (later Curet's Grocery), which has since been turned into a lawnmower repair shop.

Population growth and Hurricane Katrina
Toward the end of the 20th century, Kiln's population began to grow. Kiln's population grew from 1,262 people in 1990 to 2,040 by the end of the century, nearly a 62% increase in population over the decade. One of the main reasons for the population increase in not only Kiln but the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast was the growth of the casino industry in the area. The Mississippi Gaming Control Act of 1990 specified that gaming sites were restricted to the southernmost three counties in Mississippi (Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties). On December 5, 1990, Hancock County was the first county in Mississippi to approve dockside gambling. Three casinos opened in neighboring Harrison County in August 1992, and on September 30, 1992, Casino Magic opened in Bay Saint Louis at the location of the current Hollywood Casino. Bayou Caddy's Jubilee Casino opened on January 7, 1994, in Lakeshore at the location of the current Silver Slipper Casino. The Gulf Coast casinos brought in new tourism and economic development to the area, which led to an increase in population in many cities and towns along the Gulf Coast, including Kiln. Kiln became the fastest growing area in Hancock County. This growth led to the establishment of several new businesses, a new post office, two new schools, and a new library in the town.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made its third landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Before and during landfall, water poured into the Bay of Saint Louis, and the initial flooding occurred in low-lying areas along the Jourdan River and its tributary bayous. Therefore, Kiln and Diamondhead began to flood before the bulk of the surge came. The Kiln saw at least 30 ft of floodwater. Several homes were severely damaged and destroyed. Kiln was spared the worst of the damage and served as a major point for reconstruction of Bay Saint Louis and Waveland afterwards.

Geography
Kiln is referred to locally as "the Kiln", with the "n" silent. This pronunciation is in accordance with the pronunciation of the word "kiln" during the Middle English Period. The Jourdan River borders the town to the south. Bayou Coco is in the southeastern part of the town, and Bayou Talla flows through the southern part of the community into the Jourdan. Bayou La Terre borders Kiln to the east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Kiln CDP has a total area of 34.7 km2, of which 34.1 km2 are land and 0.7 km2, or 1.88%, are water.

Major highways
Mississippi Highways Mississippi Highway 43 and 603 form the main road through Kiln, leading south together 4 mi to Interstate 10 at Exit 13. Highway 43 leads northwest 20 mi to Picayune, and Highway 603 leads north 14 mi to Necaise. Via Interstate 10, New Orleans is 57 mi southwest of the center of Kiln, and Biloxi is 39 mi to the east.

Nearby cities and towns

 * Bay Saint Louis (13 mi south)
 * Diamondhead (7 mi southeast)
 * Shoreline Park (8 mi south)
 * Waveland (11 mi south)
 * Picayune, Mississippi (17 miles [27 km] southeast)

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,224 people, 1,023 households, and 611 families residing in the CDP.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,238 people, 847 households, and 597 families residing in the CDP. There were 987 housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.7% White, 3.40% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.2% Asian, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.7% of the population.

There were 847 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 20, 28.7% from 20 to 44, 30.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females age 20 and over, there were 99.6 males.

Of the 1,105 individuals over 24 years old, 29.59% completed less than high school, 26.70% completed high school, 36.56% completed some college or an associate degrees, 4.71% completed a bachelor's degree, and 2.44% completed a graduate degree.

Education

Kiln is served by the Hancock County School District. The town is home to a vocational school, two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.

All of Hancock County is in the service area of Pearl River Community College.

Vocational school

 * Hancock County Vocational Center

Elementary schools

 * East Hancock Elementary School
 * Hancock North Central Elementary School (located at the site of the former Hancock North Central High School)
 * West Hancock Elementary School

Middle school

 * Hancock Middle School

High school

 * Hancock High School

Notable people

 * Dick Arrington, former National Football League offensive lineman
 * Brett Favre, professional football player and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
 * Deanna Favre, founder of the Deanna Favre Hope Foundation
 * Leland Mitchell, professional basketball player
 * Philip Moran, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
 * Serabee, singer-songwriter

title: Kiln, Mississippi


text:
Pearlington, Mississippi

Pearlington is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on U.S. Route 90, along the Pearl River, at the Louisiana state line. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,684 at the 2000 census. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall just south of Pearlington.

Geography
Pearlington is located at 30.25°N, -89.605°W (30.249994, -89.604939).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 9.6 sqmi, of which 9.1 sqmi is land and 0.5 sqmi (4.91%) is water.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,153 people, 371 households, and 215 families residing in the CDP.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,684 people, 648 households, and 460 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 184.9 PD/sqmi. There were 830 housing units at an average density of 91.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 77.55% White, 20.43% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population.

There were 648 households, out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $31,224, and the median income for a family was $36,711. Males had a median income of $32,450 versus $25,948 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $14,040. About 18.2% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 22.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Pearlington is served by the Hancock County School District.

All of Hancock County is in the service area of Pearl River Community College.

John C. Stennis Space Center
In 1961, Pearlington was one of six communities in Hancock County acquired by the federal government either wholly (Gainesville, Logtown, Napoleon, Santa Rosa, and Westonia) or in part (a section of northern Pearlington), to provide a 125000 acre acoustical buffer zone for what was envisioned to be NASA's main rocket testing facility, the John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC). These communities had a total population of 700 families, who were fully relocated from their former properties.

, SSC is NASA's largest rocket engine test facility. It also provides testing facilities for more than 30 different state, national, international, public, and private rocket developers and manufacturers.

Remnants of the portion of Pearlington and the other five communities still exist inside the testing buffer zone at SSC. These include such features as city streets. now overgrown with grasses and shrubs, and a one-room school house.

Hurricane Katrina
On August 29, 2005 at 10am CDT (1500 UTC), Hurricane Katrina made a third landfall on Pearlington. The eye of the hurricane made direct contact with Pearlington, halfway between Biloxi and New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina came ashore during the high tide of 8:01am, raising flood waters +2.2 feet more.

Hurricane Katrina damaged more than 40 Mississippi libraries. The Pearlington Public Library was a total loss, and it required a complete rebuild.

Almost a year later, a member of C.O.D.R.A. (Coalition of Disaster Relief Agencies) in Pearlington noted that all (but 2) homes, every building, and every vehicle in the town of 1600 was destroyed. The storm surge travelled 4.5 mi inland to drown what little was left under 12–20 feet of toxic stew from the saltwater storm tide off the Gulf of Mexico.

The town was reduced to a site for survivors to get water, ice and military-issued meals from aid stations. There was no Red Cross or shelter. The houses were heaps of debris, and broken trees and nail-studded boards littered the roads. The people - perhaps 600 of the 1,700 residents - had to live in tents and under tarps. The elementary school buildings that were still standing were opened as shelters after the water went down.

Residents say that Pearlington was old and generally overlooked. It has been a segregated and isolated town. It has no mayor. The only form of government was the town's all volunteer fire department, West Hancock Fire Rescue, and its head, Chief Kim Jones.

After further damage from Hurricane Gustav in 2008, Pearlington began to rebuild.

Notable people

 * Ripley A. Arnold, founder of Camp Worth, which was eventually renamed Fort Worth, Texas
 * Emma Sadler Moss (1898–1970), pathologist

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Pearlington, Mississippi


text:
Shoreline Park, Mississippi

Shoreline Park is a former census-designated place (CDP) in Hancock County, Mississippi. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,058 at the 2000 census. It was not included in the 2010 census. The area is now largely within the city limits of Bay St. Louis, although some of the western side of the former CDP is still unincorporated after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Geography
Shoreline Park is located at 30°19'17" North, 89°24'20" West (30.321322, -89.405565).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 8.0 sqmi, of which 7.8 sqmi is land and 0.2 sqmi (2.49%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,058 people, 1,649 households, and 1,119 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 517.7 PD/sqmi. There were 2,459 housing units at an average density of 313.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.55% White, 2.00% Black or African American, 1.03% Native American, 0.32% Asian, none Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 1.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.95% of the population.

There were 1,649 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 30.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $28,258, and the median income for a family was $29,680. Males had a median income of $27,234 versus $21,516 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $13,984. About 12.4% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.7% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education
The former Shoreline Park CDP is divided between the Bay St. Louis-Waveland and Hancock County school districts.

title: Shoreline Park, Mississippi


text:
Waveland, Mississippi

Waveland is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city of Waveland was incorporated in 1972. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,435. Waveland was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Camille on August 17, 1969, and by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.

The current mayor of Waveland is Jay Trapani.

History
Andrew Jackson once lived and owned land in Waveland on what is now known as Jackson Ridge. Much of Jackson Ridge later became Buccaneer State Park.

The Silver Slipper Casino opened on November 9, 2006.

Hurricane Camille
On August 17, 1969, Hurricane Camille made landfall at the tip of Louisiana before continuing on shore at Waveland. The storm heavily damaged the areas south of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Recovery efforts went on for nearly a decade. The town later erected a plaque commemorating the efforts of the volunteers who committed time and resources towards rebuilding.

Hurricane Katrina

The city of Waveland was "ground zero" of Hurricane Katrina's landfall on August 29, 2005. The city received massive damage and is still in the process of recovering and rebuilding. South of the CSXT mainline, the area was almost completely destroyed. The rest of the city took heavy flooding. In a news report, state officials said Waveland took a harder hit from the wind and water than any other town along the Gulf Coast, and that the town was obliterated. Official reports stated that approximately 50 people died when Waveland was hit directly by the eyewall of Katrina and the 26 ft storm surge. Hurricane Katrina came ashore during the high tide of 8:01am, +2.2 feet more.

Hurricane Katrina damaged over 40 Mississippi libraries, gutting the Waveland Public Library, as a total loss, requiring a complete rebuild.

Recovery
A group of social activists seeking to better the lives of local residents, called the "Rainbow Family", arrived in Waveland soon after Hurricane Katrina. From early September to early December 2005, they ran the "New Waveland Cafe & Clinic" in the parking lot of Fred's Dept Store on Highway 90. The café provided free hot meals three times a day. The clinic was staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses from throughout the United States who saw over 5,000 patients during the duration, free of charge and dispensing free medications. Donations of medications and supplies came from a multitude of sources, with International Aid arranging the most donations.

Waveland Elementary School, which has served public school students in Grades K-3 (Grades 4-5 attend Second Street Elementary in nearby Bay St. Louis), was heavily damaged by Katrina. The students attending the school were educated in portable classrooms for the beginning of the 2006–2007 school year, pending a permanent solution.

The recovery of Waveland was due in part to the faith-based disaster recovery effort in and around the Waveland area. Shoreline Park Baptist Church in Waveland and Pastor Ed Murphy were vital to this effort, housing and feeding hundreds of missionaries from around the country for many years following Hurricane Katrina in what were referred to as "Pods for God". Shoreline Park Baptist Church directed the repair and, in some instances, the rebuilding of homes in the area for many years after the devastation.

After the storm, the similarly named town of Wayland, Massachusetts saw the town was neglected compared to the New Orleans area which received more media coverage, and decided to adopt the town of Waveland. They started an organization called Wayland to Waveland which sent a tractor trailer full of essential supplies, rebuilt homes, and restored local parks. Even though Hurricane Katrina was many years ago, the two towns still share a bond.

Geography
Waveland is in southeastern Hancock County along the shore of Mississippi Sound, an embayment of the Gulf of Mexico. It is bordered to the north and northeast by the city of Bay St. Louis. U.S. Route 90 passes through the northern side of the city, leading east across the Bay of Saint Louis 18 mi to Gulfport and west 55 mi to New Orleans. Beach Boulevard (Mississippi Highway 606) passes along the shoreline, connecting Waveland with Buccaneer State Park and the communities of Lakeshore and Clermont Harbor.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Waveland has a total area of 22.4 sqkm, of which 22.0 sqkm are land and 0.4 sqkm, or 1.66%, are water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,210 people, 2,642 households, and 1,683 families residing in the city.

Education
Most of Waveland is served by the Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District. Some portions are within the Hancock County School District.

All of Hancock County is in the service area of Pearl River Community College.

Notable people

 * Johnny Dodds, jazz clarinetist
 * Michael Grimm, singer; winner of season 5 of America's Got Talent
 * Arthur Putnam, sculptor
 * Bob Thorpe, former Major League Baseball right fielder

title: Waveland, Mississippi


text:
Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities are both designated as seats of Harrison County. The population of Biloxi was 49,449 at the 2020 census, making it the state's 4th most populous city. It is a principal city of the Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area, home to 416,259 residents in 2020. The area's first European settlers were French colonists.

The beachfront of Biloxi lies directly on the Mississippi Sound, with barrier islands scattered off the coast and into the Gulf of Mexico. Keesler Air Force Base lies within the city and is home to the 81st Training Wing and the 403rd Wing of the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Colonial era

In 1699, French colonists formed the first permanent, European settlement in French Louisiana, at Fort Maurepas, now in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and referred to as "Old Biloxi". The settlement was under the direction of Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville. La Louisiane was separated from Spanish Florida at the Perdido River near Pensacola (this was founded by the Spanish 1559 and again in 1698).

The name of Biloxi in French was Bilocci, a transliteration of the term for the local Native American tribe in their language. Labeled along with "Fort Maurepas" on maps dated circa year 1710/1725, the name was sometimes used in English as "Fort Bilocci".

In 1720, the area of today's city of Biloxi was settled for the first time around Fort Louis, and the administrative capital of French Louisiana was moved to Biloxi from Mobile. French Louisiana, part of New France, was known in French as La Louisiane in colonial times. In modern times it is called La Louisiane française to distinguish it from the modern state of Louisiana.

Due to fears of tides and hurricanes, colonial governor Bienville moved the capital of French Louisiana in 1722 from Biloxi to a new inland harbor town named La Nouvelle-Orléans (New Orleans), built for this purpose in 1718–1720.

In 1763, following Britain's victory in the Seven Years' War/French and Indian War, France had to cede their colonies east of the Mississippi River, except for New Orleans, to Great Britain, as part of the Treaty of Paris. At the same time, the French colony west of the Mississippi, plus New Orleans, was ceded to Spain as part of the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

Subsequent history

British rule lasted from 1763 to 1779, followed by Spanish rule from 1779 to 1810. Despite this, the character of Biloxi remained mostly French, as their descendants made up the majority of the population. In 1811, the U.S. traded with Spain to take over Biloxi and the related area, making it part of their Mississippi Territory. Mississippi, and Biloxi with it, was admitted as a state to the union in 1817.

Biloxi began to grow. In the antebellum period of the 19th century, it became known as a summer resort due to its proximity to the breezes and beaches of the coast. It also had the advantages of proximity to New Orleans and ease of access via water. Summer homes were built by wealthy slave-owners and commercial figures, and hotels and rental cottages were developed to serve those who could not afford their own homes.

The Biloxi Lighthouse was built in Baltimore, Maryland, and shipped south, where it was completed at the site in May 1848. (It is one of two surviving lighthouses on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which at one time had twelve. )

In the early stages of the Civil War, Ship Island was captured by Union forces, enabling them to take control of Biloxi. No major battles were fought in the area, and Biloxi did not suffer direct damage from the war. Some local Union sentiment could be discerned following the war's conclusion.

In the postbellum period, Biloxi again emerged as a vacation spot. Its popularity as a destination increased with railroad access. In 1881, the first cannery was built in the town to process seafood, leading others to join the location. This stimulated development in the city and attracted new immigrants from Europe and various ethnic groups who worked in the seafood factories. They processed shrimp and other local seafood. These changes gave Biloxi a more heterogeneous population.

During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces built Keesler Field, now Keesler Air Force Base, which became a major basic training site and site for aircraft maintenance. The Biloxi economy boomed as a result, attracting new residents and businesses. By 1958, the first Jewish synagogue had been built in the town.

Biloxi's casino history dates to a period in the 1940s. At the time, open, if technically illegal, gambling took place in a casino within the Broadwater Beach Resort. Open gambling ended during the 1950s. The Mississippi Gulf Coast became known as the "Poor Man's Riviera", and was frequented by Southern families interested in fishing expeditions during the summer. Commercially, Biloxi was dominated by shrimp boats and oyster luggers. The tradition of blessing fishing boats in the US seems to have first taken place in Biloxi in 1929 and has been practised ever since.

In 1959, Biloxi was the site of "Mississippi's first public assault on racial barriers in its 15-year civil rights struggle." Gilbert R. Mason, a black physician in Biloxi, went swimming at a local beach with seven black friends. They were ordered to leave by a city policeman, who told them that "Negroes don't come to the sand beach." Mason reacted by leading a series of protests, known as the Biloxi Wade-Ins. The protests were followed in 1960 by the worst racial riot in Mississippi history, during which ten people died. Ultimately, the protests led to the desegregation of the beaches of Biloxi.

In the early 1960s, the Gulf Coast again emerged as a prime alternative to Florida as a southern vacation destination among Northerners, with Biloxi a favored destination. Biloxi hotels upgraded their amenities and hired chefs from France and Switzerland in an effort to provide some of the best seafood cuisine in the country. Edgewater Mall was built in 1963.

With the introduction of legal gambling in Mississippi in the 1990s, Biloxi was again transformed. It became an important center in the resort casino industry. The new hotels and gambling complexes brought millions of dollars in tourism revenue to the city. The more famous casino complexes were the Beau Rivage casino resort, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Casino Magic, Grand Casino, Isle of Capri Casino Resort Biloxi, Boomtown Casino, President Casino Broadwater Resort, and Imperial Palace. Like Tunica County in the northern part of the state, Biloxi and the surrounding Gulf Coast region were considered a leading gambling center in the Southern United States.

To celebrate the area's tricentennial in 1998/99, the city's tourism promotion agency invited the nationally syndicated Travel World Radio Show to broadcast live from Biloxi, with co-host Willem Bagchus in attendance.

By the early 21st century, Biloxi's economy was based on the seafood industry, tourism, and gaming.

Hurricanes
Scores of hurricanes have hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but the most destructive, as measured by storm surge levels in the Biloxi Lighthouse, occurred in 1855, 1906, 1909, 1947, 1969 (Hurricane Camille), and 2005 (Hurricane Katrina)

Hurricane Katrina
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast with high winds, heavy rains and a 30 ft storm surge, causing massive damage to the area. Katrina came ashore during the high tide of 6:56am, +2.3 feet more. Commenting on the power of the storm and the damage, Mayor A. J. Holloway said, "This is our tsunami." Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour was quoted as saying the destruction of the Mississippi coastline by Hurricane Katrina looked like an American Hiroshima.

On the morning of August 31, 2005, in an interview on MSNBC, Governor Barbour stated that 90% of the buildings along the coast in Biloxi and neighboring Gulfport had been destroyed by the hurricane. Several of the "floating" casinos were torn off their supports and thrown inland, contributing to the damage.

Many churches were destroyed or severely damaged, including St. Michael's Catholic Church, which was gutted by the storm surge, breaking the entry doors and stained-glass windows along the first floor; however, the interior was later removed, and the structure was still solid enough to allow repairing the church.

Hurricane Katrina damaged over 40 Mississippi libraries beyond repair, breaking windows and flooding several feet in the Biloxi Public Library, requiring a total rebuild.

Hurricane-force winds persisted for 17 hours and tore the branches off many coastal oak trees, but the tree trunks survived the 30 ft flood and many have since regrown smaller branches. Some reconstructed homes still have their antebellum appearance, and miles inland, with less flooding, shopping centers have reopened.

Harrison County Coroner Gary T. Hargrove told the mayor and City Council that Hurricane Katrina had claimed 53 victims in Biloxi, as of January 30, 2006. Of the 53 confirmed fatalities in Biloxi, a figure that includes one unidentified male, Hargrove said the average age was 58, with the youngest being 22 and the oldest 90; 14 were female and 39 were male.

Biloxi is the site of a well-known memorial to Katrina victims. The memorial was created by a team of local artists (Elizabeth Veglia and Aaron Kramer), an architect (Dennis Cowart), a contractor (Roy Anderson Corporation), and city liaison (Nathan Sullivan), with assistance from the crew and volunteers of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Many casinos were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Of the casinos that were located in Biloxi, eight have reopened since Katrina. They are the Grand Biloxi Casino Hotel Spa (formerly known as Grand Casino Biloxi), the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the Golden Nugget, the Palace Casino Resort, the IP Casino Resort Spa (formerly known as Imperial Palace), Treasure Bay Casino, Boomtown Casino, and the Beau Rivage, which reopened on the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Multiple plans have been laid out to rebuild the waterfront areas of Biloxi, and the federal government has recently announced that it is considering giving up to 17,000 Mississippi coast homeowners the option to sell their properties so that a vast hurricane-protection zone can be implemented. Meanwhile, the city of Biloxi is rapidly implementing plans to allow the redevelopment of commercial properties south of Highway 90.

Geography and climate
Biloxi is located in southeastern Harrison County, bordered to the south by Mississippi Sound (part of the Gulf of Mexico) and to the northeast partially by Biloxi Bay, which forms part of the Jackson County line. To the northeast, across Biloxi Bay, are the Jackson County city of Ocean Springs and the unincorporated community of St. Martin. The Back Bay of Biloxi continues west from the Jackson County line, crossing the city of Biloxi to Big Lake on the city's western boundary, where the Biloxi and Tchoutacabouffa rivers join. The Tchoutacbouffa flows from east to west across the city and forms part of the city's eastern boundary. Biloxi is bordered to the north and east by the city of D'Iberville and to the west by the city of Gulfport.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Biloxi has a total area of 120.9 km2, of which 99.0 km2 are land and 21.9 km2, or 18.14%, are water.

Biloxi has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) that is heavily influenced by the Gulf of Mexico. Winter days are mild and wet. Snow is extremely rare in Biloxi. Summers are hot and humid, bearing the brunt of tropical storms during the late summer to fall. Biloxi's record low of 1 °F was recorded on February 12, 1899, and the record high of 104 °F was recorded on August 29, 2000, and tied again on August 26, 2023.

Demographics
Biloxi is the smaller of two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 49,449 people, 17,923 households, and 10,922 families residing in the city.

Casinos
Biloxi is home to eight casino resort hotels, with 24-hour gambling, concert entertainment shows, and several restaurants. Some of the current casino resorts include (dates reflect business status after Hurricane Katrina):

 * Beau Rivage Resort & Casino (Reopened August 29, 2006, on the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina).
 * Golden Nugget Biloxi
 * Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (Opened June 2007)
 * Harrah's Gulf Coast
 * IP Casino Resort & Spa (Reopened December 22, 2005)
 * Palace Casino Resort
 * Boomtown Casino (Reopened 2006)
 * Treasure Bay Casino

Arts and culture

 * 2010 saw the grand opening of the new Frank Gehry designed Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art. OhrOkeefe 3.jpg campus in Biloxi]]
 * Biloxi is the setting of Neil Simon's play and film Biloxi Blues, which starred Mathew Broderick. Biloxi Blues is the story of army recruits during World War II training at Keesler Field, the present-day Keesler Air Force Base.
 * Biloxi is the setting of several John Grisham novels, including The Runaway Jury (1996), The Partner (1997), and The Boys from Biloxi (2022).
 * A substantial portion of Larry Brown's novel Fay is set in Biloxi.
 * American singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester wrote and recorded a song called "Biloxi", for which he was inspired by a few images he saw of the city. The song was recorded by country rock singer Iain Matthews for his 1974 album Some Days You Eat the Bear.
 * On his largest-selling regular album, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (1977), Jimmy Buffett included a cover of "Biloxi" (see above); also, a compilation album of his digitally remastered greatest hits was released in 1995 called Biloxi.
 * The song "Louisiana", by The Loved Ones, is about the rebuilding of the hurricane ravaged areas on the Gulf Coast. Louisiana, Biloxi, and Alabama are specifically used by name.
 * From 1990 to 1994, Biloxi served as home to the Miss Teen USA Pageant.
 * American journalist and essayist Joan Didion mentioned Biloxi and the Edgewater Plaza mall in her 1979 collection of essays The White Album. Didion also wrote about her visit to the city in 1970 in her book South and West, published in 2017.
 * Order of Mithras Carnival Association, since 1924.
 * The tradition of the Blessing of the Fleet, going back to 1929, takes place every year in late May/early June before the shrimp seasons to usher in a safe and prosperous season for each boat. The event is connected with the Shrimp festival as well as the ceremonial dropping of a wreath in remembrance of fishermen who have died.

Sports
In the center of what fisheries biologists term "The Fertile Fisheries Crescent", Biloxi offers some of the finest sportsfishing along the entire northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Spotted seatrout, red drum, Spanish and king mackerel, flounder, snapper, grouper, sharks, and more are all available to anglers during the fishing season. It is not known how Hurricane Katrina affected this ecosystem.

The Biloxi Shuckers, the Double-A Southern League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers play at Keesler Federal Park.

The Mississippi Sea Wolves of the Federal Prospects Hockey League have played at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum since 2022. Biloxi was previously home to the original Sea Wolves team of the ECHL, and the Mississippi Surge of the Southern Professional Hockey League.

Biloxi was the host city of the 2009 Women's World Military Cup.

Biloxi City Futbol Club is set to join the Louisiana Premier League for the fall of 2016.

Government
The Bolton State Office Building in Biloxi includes the headquarters of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the South Regional Office of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

The United States Postal Service operates the Biloxi Post Office and other area post offices.

Education and faith
The city is served by the Biloxi Public School District and the Harrison County School District.

Places of worship in Biloxi include Biloxi Catholic Cathedral and the First Baptist Church of Biloxi. The Gulf Coast has a large Catholic school system, 15 of which are in Biloxi.

Newspaper
Biloxi has one daily newspaper, the Sun Herald, which is headquartered in nearby Gulfport.

Radio
20 FM and 7 AM radio stations operate in and/or serve the Biloxi area.

Television
According to Nielsen Media Research, the Biloxi market, as of the 2015–2016 season, is the third largest of five television markets in Mississippi, and the 158th largest in the country. Three major television stations serve the Biloxi area. ABC and CBS affiliate WLOX 13 and PBS/MPB member station WMAH-TV 19 are located in Biloxi, while Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WXXV-TV 25 is located in Gulfport. In addition to the stations' main programming, WLOX and WXXV-TV broadcast programming from other networks on digital subchannels. WLOX-DT2 serves as the market's CBS affiliate, while WXXV-TV operates the market's respective NBC and CW affiliates on DT2 and DT3.

Transportation
Biloxi is served by the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in Gulfport.

The Coast Transit Authority provides bus service to the region with fixed-route and paratransit services.

Biloxi's main highway is U.S. Highway 90 (Beach Boulevard), which runs along the beach and by the casinos. It connects the city to Gulfport and points westward and to Ocean Springs and Pascagoula to the east. The Biloxi Bay Bridge, connecting Biloxi and Ocean Springs, was rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina, and was fully reopened in April 2008.

Interstate 10 passes through the northern sections of the city, leading west 85 mi to New Orleans and east 60 mi to Mobile, Alabama. Interstate 110 splits off from I-10 at D'Iberville and heads south across the Back Bay of Biloxi to U.S. 90 near Beau Rivage, providing the city with an important hurricane evacuation route.

North–south highways serving the area include:
 * Mississippi Highway 15 (runs concurrently with I-110 for the first few miles)
 * Mississippi Highway 67

Notable people

 * Jessica Alba, model and actress, lived in Biloxi while her father was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base
 * Lionel Antoine, Chicago Bears third overall pick in 1972 NFL Draft
 * Laura Bailey, voice actress and the wife of Travis Willingham
 * Matt Barlow, heavy metal singer
 * Alan Belcher, MMA fighter with UFC
 * Belladonna, retired pornographic actress, director, producer, and model
 * Jimmy Bertrand, jazz drummer
 * Malcolm Brown, NFL running back for Los Angeles Rams
 * Hector Camacho, world champion boxer
 * Isaiah Canaan, NBA point guard, Olympiacos B.C.
 * Chris Carson, NFL running back for Seattle Seahawks
 * Gary Collins, actor and television personality
 * Jefferson Davis, U.S. Army general and West Point graduate; U.S. Secretary of War (Defense); only president of Confederate States of America
 * Gwen Dickey, singer best known as the front-woman of the R&B band Rose Royce
 * Ronald Dupree, professional basketball player
 * Leonard Fairley, football player
 * Damion Fletcher, University of Southern Mississippi running back
 * Jeff Gann, professional wrestler known as "The Gambler"
 * Fred Haise, Apollo 13 and Space Shuttle Enterprise astronaut
 * Ted Hawkins, singer-songwriter
 * Michael Janus, Mississippi state legislator
 * Tim Jones (American football), wide receiver NFL player for Jacksonville Jaguars
 * Chris LeDoux, country singer
 * Barry Lyons, catcher for New York Mets
 * James Millhollin, character actor, died in Biloxi in 1993
 * Mark Miloscia, former Washington State Senator
 * Mary Ann Mobley, actress and Miss America
 * Russell D. Moore, President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC)
 * Francis D. Moran, third director of NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
 * Jack Nelson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who began career at Biloxi Daily Herald
 * George E. Ohr, groundbreaking potter and father of American Abstract-Expressionism movement
 * Mathieu Olivier, ice hockey player
 * Chuck Pfarrer, former Navy SEAL, Hollywood screenwriter, New York Times best selling author, novelist
 * Eric Roberts, Oscar-nominated actor
 * Wes Shivers, NFL player for Tennessee Titans and mixed martial artist
 * John Kennedy Toole, author of A Confederacy of Dunces, committed suicide in Biloxi in 1969
 * Brenda Venus, model and actress

Filming location
Several films have been produced in Biloxi, including:

 * Stone Cold, 1991 film starring Brian Bosworth.
 * Mississippi Masala, 1992 film starring Denzel Washington.
 * Arsenal, 2017 film starring Adrian Grenier, John Cusack, and Nicolas Cage.
 * Vanquish, 2021 film starring Morgan Freeman and Ruby Rose.

title: Biloxi, Mississippi


text:
D'Iberville, Mississippi

D'Iberville is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, immediately north of Biloxi, across the Back Bay. The population was 12,721 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Gulfport—Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology
It is named after Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, who arrived at the area in 1699. Almost 300 years later, D'Iberville officially became a city in 1988.

History
D'Iberville was one of the Gulf Coast cities hit and extensively damaged by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The following month, Mexican marines, the U.S. Navy, and Dutch navy sailors were sent to the city to clean up hurricane debris and distribute aid supplies.

As a result of an initiative by the Congress for the New Urbanism under the sponsorship of Governor Haley Barbour and the State of Mississippi, the City of D'Iberville received town design consulting services from some of the most prestigious urban designers in the country. Since then, the City of D'Iberville has been working with Jaime Correa and Associates on the implementation of its master plan, on a full-fledged New Urbanism SmartCode for its downtown area, and on the implementation of mixed-use neighborhoods and main street.

Geography
D'Iberville is located at 30.43705°N, -88.89762°W.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.0 km2, of which 18.3 sqkm is land and 0.7 sqkm, or 3.84%, is water.

Education
The city of D'Iberville is served by the Harrison County School District.
 * D'Iberville High School
 * D'Iberville Middle School
 * D'Iberville Elementary School

2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 12,721 people, 4,979 households, and 3,137 families residing in the city.

Notable people

 * Brandon Davis, mixed martial arts fighter
 * Jason Knight, mixed martial arts fighter
 * Christine Kozlowski, actress and Miss Mississippi 2008
 * Kevin Norwood, former NFL wide receiver
 * Chase Sherman, mixed martial arts fighter

title: D'Iberville, Mississippi


text:
Gulfport, Mississippi

Gulfport is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and part of the Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Gulfport has a population of 72,926; the metro area has a population of 416,259. Gulfport lies along the gulf coast of the United States in southern Mississippi, taking its name from its port on the Gulf Coast on the Mississippi Sound. It is home to the U.S. Navy Atlantic Fleet Seabees.

History
This area was occupied by indigenous cultures for thousands of years, culminating in the historic encounter between the Choctaw and the first European explorers of the area. Along the Gulf Coast, French colonists founded nearby Biloxi, and Mobile in the 18th century, well before the area was acquired from France by the United States in 1803 in the Louisiana Purchase. By the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the United States completed treaties to extinguish Choctaw and other tribal land claims and removed them to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. In that period, the other four of the Five Civilized Tribes in the Southeast were also removed, to make way for white settlers to take over the lands and develop them for agriculture, especially cotton.

An early settlement near this location, known as Mississippi City, appeared on a map of Mississippi from 1855. Mississippi City was the county seat of Harrison County from 1841 to 1902, but is now a suburb in east Gulfport.

Gulfport was incorporated on July 28, 1898. The city was founded by William H. Hardy, who was president of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SIRR) that connected inland lumber mills to the coast. He was joined by Joseph T. Jones, who later took over the G&SIRR, dredged the harbor in Gulfport, and opened the shipping channel to the sea. In 1902, the harbor was completed and the Port of Gulfport became a working seaport. On April 28, 1904, the Treasury Department changed the port of entry for the district of the Pearl River from Shieldsboro to Gulfport. It now accounts for millions of dollars in annual sales and tax revenue for the state of Mississippi.

In 1910, the U.S. Post Office and Customhouse was built here. This Gulfport Post office was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

In March 1916, Mayor George M. Foote announced that the Andrew Carnegie foundation was going to aid in construction of a Carnegie Library in Gulfport. The city had agreed to providing matching funds for the construction as well as committing to provide operating funds. In the 20th century, the city developed as an important port; as it was served by railroads from the interior, it stimulated town growth by providing a way to get products to markets.

The city's location on the coast made it vulnerable to hurricanes and it weathered several. But on August 17, 1969, Gulfport and the Mississippi Gulf Coast were hit by Hurricane Camille. Measured by central pressure, Camille was the second-strongest hurricane to make U.S. landfall in recorded history. The area of total destruction in Harrison County was 68 mi2.[11] The total estimated cost of damage was $1.42 billion (1969 USD, $9 billion 2012 USD).[12] Camille was the second-most expensive hurricane in the United States, up to that point (behind Hurricane Betsy).[13] The storm directly killed 143 people in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

In December 1993, the City annexed 33 sqmi north of Gulfport, making it the second-largest city in Mississippi.

Hurricane Katrina
On August 29, 2005, Gulfport was hit by the strong eastern side of Hurricane Katrina. Much of the city was flooded or destroyed that day by the strong, hurricane-force winds, which lasted more than 16 hours, and a storm surge exceeding 28 ft in some sections.

Hurricane Katrina damaged more than 40 Mississippi libraries, gutting the Gulfport Public Library, first floor, and breaking windows on the second floor, beyond repair. It required total reconstruction.

Although Katrina's damage was far more widespread, it was not the fiercest hurricane to hit Gulfport. Katrina, a Category 3 storm at landfall, was dwarfed by Hurricane Camille, a Category 5 storm, which had hit Gulfport and neighboring communities on August 17, 1969, with 175 mph sustained winds compared to Katrina's 120 mph sustained winds.

The Sun Herald newspaper in Biloxi-Gulfport won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in journalism for its Katrina coverage. The local ABC television affiliate, WLOX, won the Peabody Award for its Hurricane Katrina coverage.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 166.4 km2, of which 147.4 km2 is land and 19.0 km2 (11.40%) is water.

Gulfport Formation, here named in Harrison Co., southeastern MS, described as barrier ridge composed of white, medium- to fine-grained sand, yellow-orange near surface. Thickness ranges form 5.0 to 9.5 m. Overlies Biloxi Formation. Age is late Pleistocene.

Gulfport Formation is limited to a 1- to 3-km-wide discontinuous barrier ridge belt that borders the Gulf mainland shore. Commonly overlies Prairie Formation (alluvium) landward and Biloxi Formation (shelf deposits) near shore. Grades upward from poorly to moderately sorted shoreface sands to foreshore sand and dunes. Fig. 1 shows unit extending from Gulfport, MS, eastward to the mouth of the Ochlockonee River, Franklin County, Florida. Deposited during the Sangamonian.

Neighborhoods
The city listed 39 official neighborhoods in 2000. These neighborhoods are sometimes subdivisions or accumulations of gradual home development. These include:

 * Lyman
 * Orange Grove
 * Biloxi River
 * Lorraine
 * The Reserve
 * Pine Hills
 * Bayou Bernard Industrial District
 * Bayou View North
 * The Island
 * Fernwood
 * Handsboro
 * College Park
 * Silver Ridge
 * Great Southern
 * Mississippi City
 * Gooden
 * East Park
 * Bayou View South
 * Magnolia Grove
 * East Beach
 * Broadmoor
 * Soria City
 * CBD
 * State Port & Jones Park
 * West Beach
 * Gaston Point
 * Fairgrounds
 * Central Gulfport
 * 25th Avenue Commercial
 * Original Gulfport
 * Mid-City
 * Brickyard Bayou
 * North Gulfport Industrial Center
 * Turkey Creek
 * North Gulfport
 * CB Base
 * Gulfport Heights
 * Forest Heights
 * Sports Super Complex

Climate
Gulfport has a humid subtropical climate, which is strongly moderated by the Gulf of Mexico. Winters are short and generally mild; cold spells do occur, but seldom last long. Snow flurries are rare in the city, with no notable accumulation occurring most years. Summers are generally long, hot and humid, though the city's proximity to the Gulf prevents extreme summer highs, as seen farther inland. Gulfport is subject to extreme weather, most notably tropical storm activity through the Gulf of Mexico. The all-time record high for the city is 107 F, set on August 26, 2023, and the record coldest is 1 F on February 12, 1899. Climate records for the city date back to 1893; however, until 1998 records were stitched with neighboring Biloxi.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 72,926 people, 25,559 households, and 15,584 families residing in the city.

Economy
According to Gulfport's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:

Tourism
From its beginnings as a lumber port, Gulfport evolved into a diversified city. With about 6.7 mi of white sand beaches along the Gulf of Mexico, Gulfport has become a tourism destination, due in large part to Mississippi's coast casinos. Gulfport has served as host to popular cultural events such as the "World's Largest Fishing Rodeo," "Cruisin' the Coast" (a week of classic cars), “Black Spring Break” and "Smokin' the Sound" (speedboat races). Gulfport is a thriving residential community with a strong mercantile center. There are historic neighborhoods and home sites, as well as diverse shopping opportunities and several motels scattered throughout to accommodate golfing, gambling, and water-sport tourism. Gulfport is also home to the Island View Casino, one of twelve casinos on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Transportation
Gulfport/Biloxi and the Gulf Coast area is served by the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.

The Coast Transit Authority provides bus service to the region with fixed-route and paratransit services.

Major roads and highways serve Gulfport. Interstate 10 runs east–west through the middle section of Gulfport. U.S. 90, following the coast in this region, runs east–west through the downtown area. U.S. 49 from the north terminates in Gulfport.

Until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Amtrak's Sunset Limited from Los Angeles to Orlando made stops in Gulfport station. Well into the 1960s, the Louisville and Nashville ran several trains daily, making stops in Gulfport--Crescent, Gulf Wind, Humming Bird, Pan-American and Piedmont Limited—varied destinations including New Orleans, Cincinnati, Atlanta, New York City and Jacksonville.

Public safety
The Gulfport Police Department has 160 sworn personnel and 80 civilian staff. It is assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard, which operates 9 boats out of the port of Gulfport, 4 of which are Patrol Boats. The Gulfport station has 110 members which include Active, Reserve and Coast Guard Auxiliary who respond to an average of 300 search and rescue cases annually.

The Gulfport Fire Department was founded in 1908 and currently provides fire suppression, HAZMAT response, and technical rescue services within the city limits of Gulfport, Mississippi. The GFD operates out of 11 active stations and is staffed by professional firefighters. The GFD works in conjunction with American Medical Response for EMS related emergencies.

Government
Gulfport uses a strong mayor-council form of government. The city is subdivided into seven wards, where members are elected as part of the Gulfport City Council. The current mayor is Billy Hewes who is serving his third term in office.

Education
The City of Gulfport is served by the Gulfport School District and the Harrison County School District. The Harrison County Campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is also located in Gulfport.

Before Hurricane Katrina, William Carey University had a satellite campus in Gulfport. In 2009, the university moved to its new Tradition Campus, constructed off Mississippi Highway 67 in north Harrison County.

The Gulf Park Campus of the University of Southern Mississippi is located in Long Beach, just west of Gulfport. In 2012, repairs and renovations to campus buildings were still in progress following extensive damage in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.

Newspaper
Headquartered in Gulfport, The Sun Herald is the local newspaper for Gulfport, Biloxi, and other Gulf Coast cities.

Radio
There are six FM radio stations licensed in Gulfport: W209CF 89.7, WA0Y 91.7 (American Family Radio), WGBL 96.7, WGCM-FM 102.3, WAIP-LP 103.9, and WLGF 107.1 (K-Love). There are also three AM radio stations licensed in Gulfport, all with FM translators: WQFX 1130 (W254DJ 98.7), WGCM 1240 (W265DH 100.9), and WROA 1390 (W261CU 100.1).

Television
It is also served by two television stations, the ABC affiliate WLOX and CBS affiliate WLOX-DT2, as well as the Fox affiliate WXXV on 25.1, NBC affiliate on 25.2, CW+ affiliate on 25.3, and Defy TV affiliate on 25.4.

Film
Movies and TV series filmed in Gulfport include the 2016 film Precious Cargo,  the 2017 TV movie Christmas in Mississippi,  the 2015 TV series The Astronaut Wives Club,  and other productions.

Notable people

 * Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, former NBA point guard for the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Vancouver Grizzlies
 * Stacey Abrams, American politician, lawyer, and author
 * Thomas H. Anderson, Jr., Ambassador of the United States to Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Vincent, and St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla from 1984 to 1986, was born in Gulfport
 * Tommy Armstrong, Jr., quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers
 * Jerome Barkum, former wide receiver and tight end for the New York Jets from 1972 to 1983 in the National Football League
 * Milton Barney, 1990 AFL Ironman of the Year
 * William Joel Blass, attorney and educator
 * Timmy Bowers, professional basketball player
 * Rod Davis, professional football player, played for the Minnesota Vikings
 * Brett Favre, quarterback in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings, born in Gulfport
 * William H. Hardy, co-founder of the city of Gulfport
 * Josh Hayes, professional motorcycle roadracer, AMA Superbike Championship title winner
 * William Gardner Hewes, politician and Mayor of Gulfport
 * Jonathan Holder, Major League Baseball pitcher
 * Boyce Holleman, attorney, politician and actor
 * Jaimoe, original member and drummer of the Allman Brothers Band, grew up in Gulfport
 * Joseph T. Jones, co-founder of the city of Gulfport
 * Matt Lawton, former Major League Baseball player best known for his stint with the Minnesota Twins
 * Matt Luke, former head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels football team of the University of Mississippi.
 * Stanford Morse (1926-2002), member of the Mississippi State Senate, 1956–1964; Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 1963.
 * Brittney Reese, long jumper, Olympic gold medalist
 * John C. Robinson (1903-1954), “The Brown Condor”, aviator and civil rights activist
 * Stuart Roosa, Colonel, US Air Force, Apollo 14 astronaut, Command Module Pilot. Brought seeds to moon that germinated in space
 * Tiffany Travis, former WNBA Basketball player, played for Charlotte Sting
 * Natasha Trethewey, Pulitzer Prize winning poet, former Poet Laureate of the United States, and Professor at Emory University, born in Gulfport
 * Tim Young, professional baseball player, played for the Montreal Expos and the Boston Red Sox

title: Gulfport, Mississippi


text:
Long Beach, Mississippi

Long Beach is a city located in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 15,829.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.9 km2, of which 1.0 km2, or 3.74% is covered by water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, 16,780 people, 6,545 households, and 4,243 families were residing in the city.

Education
The city of Long Beach is served by the Long Beach School District, which operates five campuses and has an enrollment around 2,700 students. These campuses are Long Beach High School, Long Beach Middle School, Reeves Elementary School, Quarles Elementary School, and Harper McCaughan Elementary School, rebuilt in a new location after the previous school was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

The University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast campus is located in Long Beach on East Beach Boulevard. Through the 52-acre beachfront campus in Long Beach, Mississippi, USM serves as the only four-year public institution located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 50 distinct academic fields. The Gulf Park campus is also home to the state’s only bachelor’s degree in ocean engineering and the only film studies pathway offered at a public institution in the state.

The early 1900s
Long Beach began as an agricultural town, based around its radish industry, but on August 10, 1905, Long Beach incorporated and became another city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As the years went on, the city moved from its agricultural heritage and moved toward tourism with the beach becoming increasingly popular.

"The Radish Capital of the World"
Long Beach's early economy was based largely upon radishes. Logging initially drove the local economy, but when the area's virgin yellow pine forests became depleted, row crops were planted on the newly cleared land.

A productive truck farming town in the early 20th century, citizens of Long Beach proclaimed the city to be the "Radish Capital of the World". The city was especially known for its cultivation of the Long Red radish variety, a favorite beer hall staple in the northern US at the time. In 1921, a bumper crop resulted in the shipment of over 300 trainloads of Long Beach's Long Red radishes to northern states.

Eventually, the Long Red radishes for which Long Beach was known fell into disfavor, and the rise of the common button radish caused a dramatic decline in the cultivation of this crop in the area.

Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina struck the city on August 29, 2005, destroying almost all buildings within 500 m of the Gulf of Mexico shoreline. Many Long Beach residents were left homeless or living in water- and or wind-damaged houses. At least one person was confirmed dead.

The city of Long Beach, California, held a fund raiser to help its eponymous relative. The city of Peoria, Arizona, adopted Long Beach and provided both public and private resources. This resulted in a close relationship between the two communities.

Today
Today, the city is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Residents are returning as beaches and condominiums in the area are being repaired, but the city has not seen a return of business to pre-Katrina levels due in part to building codes on the beach established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and to the economic downturn.

Notable people

 * Richard Bennett, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
 * Hale Boggs, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and House majority leader and a member of the Warren Commission
 * Ted N. Branch, retired vice admiral in the United States Navy and former Director of Naval Intelligence
 * Myles Brennan, quarterback for the LSU Tigers
 * Richie Brown, NFL player
 * Nick James, former professional defensive tackle
 * Shea Kerry, writer/producer
 * Gerald McRaney, film and television actor

title: Long Beach, Mississippi


text:
Lyman, Mississippi

Lyman is a census-designated place (CDP) in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,277 at the 2010 census.

History
Lyman was once home to an express mail office, saw mill, and general store.

Lyman is located on the Kansas City Southern Railway. The Gulf Coast Lumber Company and Ingram-Day Lumber Company were both located in Lyman.

A post office operated under the name Lyman from 1901 to 1974.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service operated a fish hatchery in Lyman until 1973, when the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took over operations of the fisheries station.

Geography
Lyman is located at 30.50333°N, -89.125°W (30.503222, -89.124894).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 20.9 km2, of which 20.1 km2 is land and 0.8 km2, or 3.69%, is water.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,372 people, 835 households, and 595 families residing in the CDP.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,081 people, 367 households, and 289 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 135.8 PD/sqmi. There were 413 housing units at an average density of 51.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.22% White, 12.49% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.28% Asian, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.48% of the population.

There were 367 households, out of which 42.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.5% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.0% were non-families. 16.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 29.5% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $41,786, and the median income for a family was $60,714. Males had a median income of $35,114 versus $26,985 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $19,847. About 3.0% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 27.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Lyman is served by the Harrison County School District.

title: Lyman, Mississippi


text:
Pass Christian, Mississippi

Pass Christian, nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,307 at the 2019 census.

Pre-European history
The exact date when Native Americans first arrived in the Gulf Coast area is not known, but artifacts have been found suggesting that humans have inhabited the area for many thousands of years.

Indian mounds can be found throughout the Gulf coast region of southern Mississippi, but many have been destroyed by artifact hunters, farmers, developers, and flooding. A 1768 English map shows one large mound existed on the shore near to Market Street. Others existed at Bayou Portage and the Shelly Plantation on the shore north of the Bay of St. Louis near DeLisle. The mounds and middens in the area containing arrowheads, pottery, and human skeletons were pilfered by amateur archaeologists over the years and many of the items recovered are in private collections. At the border of Pass Christian and Long Beach near where White Harbor Road meets Hwy. 90 there once existed an Indian village, whose inhabitants were referred to by locals as "The Pitcher Point Indians". The approximate location of the Indian Village is just a few hundred yards east of White Harbor Road. There are no ruins at this location but the beach in this area has produced many arrowheads and pottery shards over the years.

French explorers
Pass Christian was discovered by French-Canadian explorers in 1699, shortly after the first French colony was established in Biloxi. In June 1699, while sounding the channel at the Pass Christian peninsula, the French named that channel Passe aux Huîtres for the many oysters they found there. Pass Christian was named for a nearby deepwater pass, which in turn was named for Nicholas Christian L'Adnier, who lived on nearby Cat Island beginning in 1746.

The Widow Asmard
In 1781 all of Pass Christian peninsula was owned by Julia de la Brosse (Widow Asmard). Upon her death in 1799, Widow Asmard deeded 800 arpents – the entire downtown Pass Christian – to Charles Asmar, a free person of color, who upon his death left the property to his heirs. Pass Christian was officially chartered as a town in 1848.

Antebellum Period
The town was a famous resort prior to the American Civil War. It was a favorite location for the beach and summer homes of the wealthy of New Orleans, who built a row of historic mansions along the shoreline, where Scenic Drive was one of the country's notable historic districts. The Southern Yacht Club, established in 1849, was the first yacht club in the South and the second in the United States, and was originally located in Pass Christian before moving to New Orleans in 1857. The first sailing regatta on the Gulf Coast was sailed in the Mississippi Sound on July 21, 1849, and organized by the Pass Christian Regatta Club with twelve boats participating.

Hurricane Camille
Pass Christian was in the path of two of the most intense hurricanes ever to hit the United States--Hurricane Camille on August 17, 1969, and Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. Each hurricane caused the near total destruction of the city.

Hurricane Camille destroyed the Richelieu Apartments killing eight people who had chosen to ride the storm out. Early Sunday, August 17, the storm was southeast of New Orleans by 200 miles. A Hurricane Warning was then announced for the entire Mississippi Coast. Evacuation was advised but some of the occupants of the Richelieu apartments allegedly ignored the warning. The fictional hurricane party depicted in Hurricane, a 74-minute TV movie featuring some notable stars, includes original footage of Camille.

Hurricane Katrina
On August 29, 2005, Pass Christian was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Of the approximately 8,000 homes in Pass Christian, all but 500 were damaged or destroyed. In spite of the fact that the beachfront Scenic Drive follows the crest of a small bluff, affording it some elevation, most of the historic mansions along the road were severely damaged, and many were completely destroyed, including the superbly restored Greek Revival mansion "Union Quarters" described in the National Register of Historic Places as having been built in 1855. A cast-iron fence fronted the property, enclosing a Magnolia Historical Marker which was dedicated in 1960. It read, "Union officers were temporarily quartered here during the invasion of Pass Christian."

Hurricane Katrina totally destroyed the local public library. It was rebuilt. Thirteen members of the city's police department retreated to the library after the police station became unsafe and water from the Gulf of Mexico began to pour in.

The library was immediately north of City Hall across a small parking lot but was at a lower elevation. When the water crested the elevation of City Hall, the police cars in the parking lot began to float and were carried around the parking lot by the current. One car struck the south side doors, causing them to implode, and the Gulf of Mexico driven by Katrina's powerful winds rushed into the building. With no way to fight against the current they were trapped inside a concrete box that was rapidly filling with water. Knowing that they had to escape they attempted to shoot the glass out of the north side of the building. This was unsuccessful, as the bullets ricocheted off the glass. The laminated glass proved impervious to the .45 caliber rounds of the police-issue handguns. The force of the water entering the building after the southern wall was destroyed by the car was far too strong to swim against. The only way out was with the current. Police Chief John Dubbisson swam to the rear doors that had to be opened where he successfully touched the push bar. He then grabbed a railing before the storm surge could carry him off. All that were inside the library made it outside and rode out the rest of the storm on the roof.

The storm surge from Hurricane Katrina that hit Pass Christian was estimated at 8.5 m (27.8 ft), which is the US record high, leveling Pass Christian up to half a mile inland from the shore; estimation of highest storm surges was complicated because high-water markers were also destroyed. Highway 90 along the beach was damaged, and the bridge over the Bay of St. Louis was thrown completely apart, not being reopened until a new bridge was partially completed in May 2007. (Connection was temporarily replaced by a ferry service.) Sewage contamination rendered the local water supply unusable, as some samples tested positive for more than 250 bacteria and parasites. By late September 2005, access was restricted south of the railroad tracks (about four blocks inland) without proper credentials, as crews continued to search for victims and clear debris. In early 2007, although rebuilding was underway in much of the city, a large portion of empty, deserted homes and other structures remain. Many residents were still living in FEMA trailers, and out-of-state volunteers were still needed for the rebuilding effort.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.3 sqmi, of which 8.4 sqmi is land and 6.9 sqmi (44.97%) is water.

Geographically, the town of Pass Christian located on the Mississippi Sound, and is situated on a peninsula, with water on three sides: the Gulf of Mexico to the south, the Bay of St. Louis to the west and a long stretch of bayou to the north.

The unincorporated area north of the bayou, known as DeLisle, shares a zip code with Pass Christian, but is not within the city limits. DeLisle was formerly known as Wolf Town or Wolftown.

Pass Christian Harbor
The Municipal Harbor was formalized in 1956 with the creation of a Harbor Commission. In 1958, an 11-foot high, 350-foot long, concrete, breakwater wall was constructed in the sound by the T.L. James Company.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,686 people, 2,163 households, and 1,574 families residing in the city.

Manufacturing
The Du Pont White Pigment and Mineral Products Plant – now known as the Chemours DeLisle Plant – is located just south of I-10 in DeLisle. The plant is the 2nd largest producer of titanium dioxide in the world and has been in operation since 1979. The town of Pass Christian is near the plant, directly across the Bay of St. Louis. Some community members also expressed concerns that chemical releases, as reported on EPA's Toxic Release Inventory, from the DuPont plant could have contaminated the community's water and air. DuPont DeLisle's titanium dioxide plant reported the third highest amount of dioxin-like compounds in EPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). In 2005, the Hurricane Katrina storm surge flooded significant portions of the plant. Unlike other aquatic organisms, blue crabs do not have the ability to metabolize quickly certain dioxin-like compounds Polychlorinated dibenzofurans that predominate in the coke and ore solids waste stream of the plant.

Seafood processing

Seafood production in the region has been severely impacted by large scale fish die-offs. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred in the spring and summer of 2010—along with the presence of toxic sediments stirred up by Hurricane Katrina and record amounts of fresh water diverted into the Bonnet Carre Spillway in Louisiana—have brought seafood production to a standstill. Offshore oyster beds were hit especially hard. Field crews have reported a 50 percent to 65 percent mortality rate in some areas. An even greater mortality rate of 90 percent to 95 percent has been seen in other oyster beds. According to research from The Nature Conservancy, “roughly 13 years ago, Mississippi was harvesting nearly 500,000 sacks of oysters annually ....” Today, those numbers have fallen as low as 3,500 sacks annually.

Middlegate Japanese Gardens
Between 1923 and 1929 New Orleans residents Rudolf Hecht and Lynne Watkins Hecht developed Middlegate Japanese Gardens at their summer home in Pass Christian, Mississippi. The Hechts built Middlegate Japanese gardens to perpetuate their pleasant memories of their travels in Japan. The gardens are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since 1923 when the Hechts established them, Middlegate Japanese Gardens have been private, residential gardens. The gardens were extensively damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Smithsonian Institution has included the gardens on their Collection Search Center website.

Sherman Castle
James M. Sherman began construction of Sherman Castle in 1921. The building is constructed of concrete blocks and steel and contained a plaque which read "God is my Sculptor".

Dixie White House
Woodrow Wilson stayed a winter at Beaulieu when it was owned by John M. Ayer of New Jersey and leased by Herndons family. Built 1854 for John Bachelor and demolished after suffering from heavy damage from Hurricane Camille in 1969.

Municipal government
Pass Christian's government is a mayor–council government system. The current mayor is Jimmy Rafferty.

Board of Aldermen (2023)
 * Ward I: Betty Sparkman
 * Ward II: Regina Charlot
 * Ward III: Kirk Kimball
 * Ward IV: Victor Pickich
 * Alderman-at-Large: Kenny Torgeson

Naval Construction Battalion Center
Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Mississippi, launched Seabees on Sept. 9 to neighboring communities throughout Harrison and Stone counties, including Pass Christian, to assist its citizens with disaster recovery in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In a measure to improve health, sanitation and morale, the Seabees cleared approximately three miles of railroad track for a temporary sewer line, they set up a laundry unit and installed a nine-head shower unit for the firefighters and volunteers. They also built temporary housing to house 1,000 people rendered homeless by the impact of Hurricane Katrina. 250 Seabees from detachments across the United States gathered behind the city's War Memorial Park, where they constructed a temporary police department headquarters and other municipal offices. This was not the first time that Seabees have answered the call to duty in Pass Christian. The naval construction teams performed a similar feat after Hurricane Camille struck the town hard in 1969.

Education
The Pass Christian School District operates the schools in the city, and in the inland, unincorporated areas around and to the north of DeLisle. The district operates one early childhood/pre-K facility (University of Southern Mississippi Child Development Center), two elementary schools (DeLisle Elementary & Pass Christian Elementary), one middle school (Pass Christian Middle School) and one high school (Pass Christian High School).

Pass Christian High School was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in 2005; Pass Christian Middle School in 2012; and DeLisle Elementary in 2013.

The parochial elementary and middle school of St. Paul's Roman Catholic church was destroyed by Katrina, and the school was merged with the neighboring Long Beach parochial school to form St. Vincent de Paul School. Coast Episcopal High School is a parochial high school in Pass Christian.

Notable people

 * Bidwell Adam, Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi (1928-1932)
 * Bryan Austin, country music artist
 * Phelan Beale, original owner of Grey Gardens
 * Clyde F. Bel, Jr., businessman from New Orleans and state representative for Orleans Parish, 1964–1972 and 1975–1980; spent much of his later life in Pass Christian
 * Edward Price Bell, Chicago journalist
 * Carolyn Crawford, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
 * Scottie Cuevas, former member of the Mississippi State Senate
 * Deborah Jeanne Dawkins, former member of the Mississippi State Senate
 * Walter Gordon, veteran of World War II Easy Company, as portrayed in the miniseries Band of Brothers
 * Lawrence Guyot, civil rights activist
 * Captain John Handy, jazz musician
 * John Henderson, member of the U.S. Senate from 1839 to 1845
 * Doyle Overton Hickey, office in the United States Army who retired to Pass Christian
 * Jimmy Johnson, cartoonist and creator of the syndicated newspaper comic strip Arlo and Janis
 * Jeanette Kimball, jazz pianist
 * Gene Lang (American football), former NFL runningback
 * Margaret Loesch, television executive and producer, formerly founding CEO of Fox Kids Networks and the US Hallmark Channel, currently CEO of The Hub, a TV network
 * Cory McGee, professional middle distance runner, 2020 Olympian
 * Tig Notaro, stand-up comic, born in Jackson, Mississippi but raised in Pass Christian until kindergarten
 * Oliver Randolph, African American lawyer and politician
 * Robin Roberts, ABC News' Good Morning America anchor
 * Jesmyn Ward, novelist, winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction; born in DeLisle
 * Larry Yarborough, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives

title: Pass Christian, Mississippi


text:
Saucier, Mississippi

Saucier is a census-designated place (CDP) in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,342 at the 2010 census.

History
Saucier is located on the Kansas City Southern Railway and was once home to a sawmill, drugstore, confectionery store, and five general stores.

A post office first began operation under the name Saucier in 1893.

Geography
Saucier is located at 30.625°N, -89.13833°W (30.625130, -89.138438).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 7.1 sqmi, of which 7.0 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi (0.85%) is water.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,077 people, 429 households, and 292 families residing in the CDP.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,303 people, 478 households, and 367 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 186.2 PD/sqmi. There were 507 housing units at an average density of 72.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.47% White, 0.69% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.38% of the population.

There were 478 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 28.5% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $37,000, and the median income for a family was $44,167. Males had a median income of $30,099 versus $26,875 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $15,164. About 21.5% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.2% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education
Saucier is served by the Harrison County School District.

The public library is the Saucier Children's Library. It is a part of the Harrison County Library System.

Media
Saucier's local newspaper is The Sun Herald. Saucier is part of Mississippi Gulf Coast Radio and Television stations Market Area.

Notable people

 * Joe James, racecar driver
 * Israel Broussard, actor

In popular culture
In 2004, The Ladykillers, a remake of the original British movie, was set in Saucier.

title: Saucier, Mississippi


text:
Bolton, Mississippi

Bolton is a town in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 567 at the 2010 census, down from 629 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
Bolton is in north-central Hinds County, in the valley of Bakers Creek, part of the Big Black River watershed. Interstate 20 runs through the northern part of the town, with access from Exit 27. I-20 leads east 18 mi to Jackson, the state capital, and west 25 mi to Vicksburg.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Bolton has a total area of 3.9 km2, all land.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 441 people, 271 households, and 201 families residing in the town.

2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 567 people living in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 73.2% Black, 26.3% White and 0.4% from two or more races. 0.2% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 629 people, 246 households, and 157 families living in the town. The population density was 410.4 PD/sqmi. There were 261 housing units at an average density of 170.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 66.77% African American, 31.64% White and 1.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.32% of the population.

There were 246 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.6% were married couples living together, 24.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,833, and the median income for a family was $50,208. Males had a median income of $27,159 versus $24,479 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,271. About 15.5% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.3% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Bolton is served by the Hinds County School District, and is zoned to Bolton/Edwards Elementary-Middle School and Raymond High School in Raymond.

Jackson/Hinds Library System operates the Annie Thompson Jeffers Library in Bolton.

Notable people

 * Bo Carter, early blues singer and guitarist
 * Sam Chatmon, Delta blues guitarist
 * Robert Crook, Mississippi politician and lawyer
 * Deborah Butler Dixon, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 2012 to 2020
 * Sasha Goodlett, professional basketball player
 * Cleveland Green, former NFL player for the Miami Dolphins
 * Alan Huffman, writer and journalist (Mississippi in Africa)
 * Charley Patton, early blues musician
 * Calvin Smith, Olympic gold and bronze medal winning athlete
 * Lucille Spann, Chicago Blues singer
 * Bennie Thompson, member of the United States House of Representatives
 * Cap Tyson, Negro league baseball player
 * Walter Vinson, Memphis blues singer, guitarist and songwriter (co-composer of "Sitting on Top of the World")

title: Bolton, Mississippi


text:
Byram, Mississippi

Byram is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,489 as of the 2010 census, up from 7,386 at the 2000 census, at which time it was an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP); in 2020, its population was 12,666. It is part of the Jackson metropolitan statistical area. It was incorporated for a second time in its history on June 16, 2009.

Geography
Byram is bordered to the north by the city of Jackson, the state capital, and to the south by Terry.

Interstate 55 passes through the east side of Byram, with access from Exits 81 and 85. I-55 leads north 10 mi to the center of Jackson and south 177 mi to New Orleans.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Byram has a total area of 48.3 km2, of which 47.6 km2 are land and 0.7 km2, or 1.43%, are water. The Pearl River flows southward just east of the city limits.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 12,666 people, 4,491 households, and 3,107 families residing in the city; according to the 2020 census, its racial composition was 71.05% Black/African American, 25.17% non-Hispanic white, 0.08% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.02% Pacific islander, 2.05% mixed, and 0.93% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Government
Byram is led by Richard White (Mayor) and the Board of Aldermen. In June 2010, Byram selected Gulfport Police Sgt. Luke Thompson, who grew up in Byram, as the city's first police chief. Thompson was given an operating budget of $1.8 million and charged with hiring 25 sworn police officers and 10 to 15 civilian employees, finding and furnishing a police headquarters, and purchasing vehicles and equipment. In June 2011, Byram selected Mississippi State Fire Academy Senior Instructor Marshall C. Robinson Jr. as the city's first fire chief. Robinson was given a direction that included the transition from a 100% volunteer fire department to a combination fire department. The City of Byram Fire Department has four sworn combat/administrators, 15 sworn combat/firefighters, 25 sworn reserve combat/firefighters, and one non-sworn officer. The city of Byram dedicated its first fire station on June 14, 2014.

Re-incorporation
The bordering city of Jackson began attempting to annex Byram in 1991. That led to unhappiness on the part of residents who feared higher property taxes and poor city services such as slow police response and a lack of street repairs. Lawsuits between Jackson and local residents began in 2004. After his election as mayor of Jackson, Frank Melton stated that he did not want to continue attempts at annexation, but the suit continued.

In 2006, a judge ruled that Byram could incorporate itself with about 20 sqmi, and that Jackson could annex 4 sqmi. The ruling was appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court. On April 2, 2009, the Mississippi Supreme Court unanimously upheld the lower court's ruling. Jackson officials said they would ask for a rehearing. On April 17, 2009, the Mississippi Supreme Court granted an extension to attorneys for the city of Jackson to file a motion to reconsider the court's decision. Ultimately, Byram incorporated on June 16, 2009.

Education
Byram is served by the Hinds County School District. Residents of Byram are zoned to Gary Road Elementary School, Gary Road Intermediate School, Byram Middle School, and Terry High School in Terry.

Jackson/Hinds Library System operates the Beverly J. Brown Library behind the Byram city hall.

Notable people

 * Ishmon Bracey, Delta blues guitarist
 * Chad Bradford, former Major League Baseball relief pitcher
 * Marcus Spriggs, former National Football League offensive guard

title: Byram, Mississippi