Born And Raised In The South...,: Gulfport, MS

Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger (population wise) of two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city of Gulfport had a total population of 71,127. Gulfport is co-county seat with Biloxi of Harrison County, Mississippi. Gulfport is the east coast home to the US Navy Seabees, and also the birthplace of American football player Brett Favre.

Angelo's

Angelo's

On August 29, 2005, Gulfport was hit by the strong east side of Hurricane Katrina, and much of Gulfport was flooded or destroyed (see details below). Much of Gulfport was also severely damaged by Hurricane Camille on August 17, 1969.

Media,

Gulfport's local newspaper is The Sun Herald. It is also served by two television stations, the ABC affiliate WLOX, and the FOX affiliate WXXV. There are also seven radio stations in the Gulfport area.

Mayor Brent Warr

History,

Joseph Thomas Jones

1842 - 1916

William Harris Hardy

1837 - 1917

On July 28, 1898, Gulfport was incorporated. In 1902, the harbor was completed, and the Port of Gulfport became a working seaport.

The Port of Gulfport has flourished over the years and today accounts for millions of dollars in annual sales and tax revenue for the state of Mississippi.

Alley Scene, Gulfport

From its simple, humble beginnings as a lumber and port city, Gulfport has evolved into a diversified community. With about 6.7 miles of man-made white sandy beaches along the Gulf of Mexico, Gulfport is one of the fastest growing areas in the state, due in part to recent gaming activities. Home of the annual "Worlds Largest Fishing Rodeo," Gulfport is a residential community that is blessed with a strong business center.

The downtown area provides a strong mercantile center. Along the beach are historic home sites with several motels scattered throughout to accommodate the golfing and water tourist that make up a large part of the economy.

In December 1993 the City annexed 33 square miles north of Gulfport making it the second largest city in Mississippi with a land area of 62.37 square miles and a population in excess of 70,000.

Air,

Gulfport along with the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg and Mobile is served by the Gulfport/Biloxi International Airport. Seven airlines, (AirTran Airways, Allegiant Air, American Eagle, Continental Express, Delta Airlines, Northwest Airlines and U. S. Airways Express) serve the Gulfport area to eight cities, (Atlanta Ga, Charlotte NC, Dallas/Ft. Worth TX, Ft. Lauderdale FL, Houston TX, Memphis TN, Sanford FL and Tampa FL. Day Jet, which is based at the FBO/General Aviation Ramp offers direct flights to many destinaions throughout the southeast.

Hurricane Katrina

Damage from Hurricane Katrina

On August 29, 2005, Gulfport was hit by the strong eastern side of Hurricane Katrina. Much of Gulfport was flooded or destroyed in one day by the strong hurricane-force winds which lasted over 16 hours and a storm surge exceeding 28 feet (9 m) in some sections.

Hurricane Katrina damaged over 40 Mississippi libraries, gutting the Gulfport Public Library, first floor, and breaking windows on the second floor, beyond repair, requiring a total rebuild.

The Sun Herald newspaper in Biloxi-Gulfport, under the executive editor Stanley R. Tiner, won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in journalism for its Katrina coverage.

First carload of extruded aluminum irrigation pipe made by Mississippi Aluminum Corporation's Gulfport factory, May 1954. On hand for the occasion were (left to right): John Lee Gainey, county industrial agent; John Dalier, Mississippi Power Company; Sam Williams, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce; W. M. Ladnier, president of the county board of supervisors; James Ballard, president of the Chamber of Commerce; W. M. Ladnier, president of the county board of supervisors; James Ballard, president of the chamber; John Moore, general agent of Illinois Central Railroad; Victor Mrowca, secretary-treasurer of Mississippi Aluminum Company; Mr. James O. Wade, vice president of the Company; W. L. Stringer, L & N Railroad; Ben Harrell of Gulf National Bank; Donald Sutter, president of the Coast Council; Colonel D. B. Shourds, architect; W. C. Mabry and Lee Wood, industrial representative of Mississippi Power Co., and Lyle Crews, Dixie Highway Express.

American Heritage Great Books discussion group at Gulfport Carnegie-Harrison County Library:Left-right: Julia Butler, Willie Knight, Malcolm Ellington, group leader Joseph Austin, James Lockett, Helen Williams, and Branch Librarian Annie Fitzpatrick Tart.

Harrison Count's 26-mile-long sand beach; Miss Pat Koenenn, Gulfport Chamber of Commerce, 1952..

Beauty of the Mississippi coast, 1961.

As a part of Exercise Sagebrush, the largest maneuver for military and air forces since World War II and possibly the largest peacetime training exercise ever staged in history, Gulfport Field (Gulfport, Mississippi)was the target of a simulated A-bomb, actually a blast of steam, which can be seen from downtown Gulfport, 1955.

Interior of Bridges Building, Gulfport, Mississippi, architectural rendering, 1965.

Cadets of the Junior Department of the Gulf Coast Military Academy enjoying a cruise on the yacht Nemo III, as guests fo W.L. "Buddy" Phillips, President of Billups Petroleum Corporation, 1957.

Among the groups that enjoyed the Mississippi Gulf Coast's new sand beach this summer were the girls who attended Camp Gulf Park, which closed July 19 [1952].Seated left to right: Dona Harry, Diana Hatten, Susan Lake, and Linda Sharp. Standing: Betty Wilkes, Margaret Brown, Alice Austin, Peggy Harry and Lydia Mary Salloum.

Cancer drive, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1955.

Big catch of lemon fish, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1954. Standing: Sam Williams, Gulfport Chamber of Commerce Secretary and boat captain. Sitting: Joseph Caro, Walter F. Fountain, and Anthony V. Raugsin, Biloxi Chamber of Commerce Secretary.

Display of photographs, statistics and miniature cargoes of the Port of Gulfport by the Gulfport Junior Chamber of Commerce, displayed at the Mississippi Bankers Association convention, 1957. Clarence Morgan, president; Leo Seal, Sr., Hancock Bank president; and J.T. Brown, retiring president of the Association.

Mr. and Mrs. Clayton Rand and prominent 20th century magazine publisher and editor Henry Luce.

Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation, Gulfport, Mississippi.

Aerial view of Gulfport Harbor, 1963.

Coast Coca-Cola's official new plant opening, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1965 attracted a host of The Coca-Cola Company's top management. Left to right: J. Lucian Smith, vice president of Coca Cola; gulfport Mayor R.B. Meadows; Conway Dabney, president, Chamber of Commerce; Clayton Rand; Edgar J. Forio, senoir vice president, Coca-Cola Company; J.K. Milner, president, Coca Cola Co.; Ovid R. Davis, vice president; J.W. Wimberly, manager of Southeastern Bottle Sales, a division of Coca-Cola.

Bronze bust of Colonel William H. Hardy, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1953.

Colonial Cottages and Confederate Inn, Highway 90, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1952.

Colonial Cottages-Confederate Inn Restaurant, Highway 90, mid-way between Gulfport and Biloxi, 1955.

Colored entrance to the Drive Inn

Architectural rendering of the Edgewater Gulf Shopping Center, Gulfport, Mississipi, 1960.

Sewer system under construction in Gulfport, Mississippi, 1953.

Cub Scouts tour Colonial Bakery Company, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1963

Television Picture Tubes Unloaded in Car Load Lot, Gulfport, Misssissippi, 1959.

Newly renovated and enlarged J. C. Penney Department Store, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1957.

J. C. Penney Department Store, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1957.

Derise & Lassere Homes, New subdivision, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1956.

Downtown Gulfport, 1965.

25th Avenue, downtown Gulfport, Mississippi, 1960s.

Aerial view of downtown Gulfport, Mississippi, 1956.

Dredging spoil for the future Broadwater Marina and Presidential Casino Broadwater Beach Resort Hotel, 1965.

Dredging used to create shipping channels and land for the Port of Gulfport, later to become the Gulfport State Port Authority, and today the Mississippi State Port Authority.

Three men visiting the Gulf Coast from Chicago. During the boom days of the 1920's, the Mississippi Coast attracted huge numbers of vacationers from Chicago.

Architectural rendering, Educational Building Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, Mississippi, Robert Derwood Ladner, Architect, 1966.

Elephants from the Mississippi Coast Shrine Circus loll in the sun on the Gulfport sand beach on the day following the circus, 1956.

Redwood lumber imported by Finkbine Lumber Company because of the depletion of the long leaf pine. Some lumber was used in the construion of the Fernwood-by-the-sea Tourist Cottages and other buildings. Photograph made at the Port of Gulfport, 1927.

Bird Fire & Safety Service trucks at fire safety demonstration in Gulfport, Mississippi, 1954. Fire safety/prevention is taught due to increase in Mississippi growth.

Testimony to the fact that fishing by air is an increasingly popular sport is the fine string of October redfish hooked at the eastern tip of Ship Island, 1956. L-R: Claud Roberson; Charles Jessup,owner of Fish by Air Company; Price Paschal, Paschal Lumber Company, Brandon, Mississippi; Mrs. Paschal; Billy Hosch, Gulfport; M. W. Cabessus-, Baton Rouge; R. B. Swenson, port Director of Gulfport.

"Coast-Wide effort may save fort": Archways at Fort Massachusetts, Ship Island, Mississippi, have been shored up temporarily by wooden timbers, 1965. Photograph Rand (Clayton) Papers

Gulfport High School Class of 1954 Reunion: First row: Imogene Hill Tollison, Marilyn Cuevas Atstom, Sally Bradford Lyons, Lydia Besse Hall, Dessie Clayton Allen, Elizabeth O'dom Clark, Martha Pecoul Sinopoli, Christine Holcomb Mitchell, Nina Coward Mellvaine, Nancy Jane Reed Stone, Martha Dee Bahm Barlow, Mayme V. Stone Strange and Ann Taylor Austin. Second row: Arnold Alston, George Bennett, Stanley Hatten, Lela Ann Dexter, Marilyn Stegall Peterman, Carolyn Stone Donald, Helen Fairley Alcock, Ann Latimer Woodcock, Barbara Ann Garner, Michael Ray, Tommy Simmons, Rev. Kenneth Rainey, and Benny Easterling. Third row: John Carver, John Rosetti, S.J. Marengo, Herbert Martin, Phillip Shaw, Curtis Parker, Norman Yandell, Gene Ingram, Capt. Ernest R. Kirby, Ercelin Phillips, Charles Long, Emery Davis, Jr., Donnie Pierson, Jack Thompson, and Keith Martin.

Fireworks display, downtown Gulfport, Mississippi, July 4, 1952.

Glass Cash and Carry Laundry and Cleaner, Gulfport, Mississippi, truck and gentleman at sewing machine, 1955.

Groundbreaking ceremony for Edgewater Beach Hotel, 1926. George C. Poole, president of the Gulf Coast Club turns the first spadeful of dirt.

Darwood on the Jourdan River is one of the beautiful gardens that are open to the public. Darwood, just west of Bay St. Louis, the the home of Dr. Emmett Lee Irwin, 1954.

Ship docked at Gulfport Mississippi cargo port terminal, 1964.

Group of shoppers at Sears Clothing Store during Gulfport (Mississippi) Dollar Day, 1955.

Aerial photo of Mississippi State Port Authority property between Jones Park Drive and 23rd Avenue. Downtown Gulfport is visible in the background.

Gulfport Piping Company.

Miss Carolyn Guice, Biloxi, Mississippi's Miss Camellia Queen, 1966, and Rick Butler, assistant manager, pose with a Mercury Cougar in front of the Buena Vista Motel, in cooperation with the national Master Hosts organization.

Gulf Typewriter and Equipment Company, Gulfport, Mississippi, winners of the Golden Custom Award, a merit award of the Victor Adding Machine Company of Chicago. Left to right: Mrs. Jack Bowden, Jack Bowden, Alex H. Steele, Jr., Jack Bowden, Jr., A.H. Steele, and Mrs. Steele.

Architectural rendering of Banana Terminal and General Cargo Wharf, Port of Gulfport, Mississippi, 1962.

Aerial view of Gulfport Veterans Administration Hospital, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1961

Hospitality Month, 1966. Sign, Gulfport, Mississippi and tourism guides, 1966: Welcome to Gulfport's Hospitality Center; Stop for Refreshments and Tourist Information.

Hancock Bank (Gulfport, Mississippi) under construction.

The interior of Hancock Bank's northeast branch, Gulfport, Mississipi.

Gulf Coast tourists aboard the Harbor Queen, tour boat operated by J & L Enterprises, Biloxi, Mississippi, 1964.

Gulfport High School graduation party hosted by Mrs. L.P. Ritchie and Mrs. Suzanne Hudson.

U.S. Highway 90, Gulfport, Mississippi, ca. 1950.

Hogue Lumber & Supply Co. Inc., probably Gulfport, Mississippi, 1956.

Holly Bluff on the Jordan River is one of the beauty spots of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Holly Bluff, the rustic home of Mr. and Mrs. James Lyman Crump of New Orleans, typifies the early architecture of the area.Holly Bluff is just outside of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on the Kiln Road.

Hurricane Camille photographs, 1969: Front view of Clayton Rand home located along Oak Avenue and East Beach Boulevard (U.S. 90). Though heavily damaged by Hurricane Camilee, the house was repaired and stood until Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Camille photographs, 1969; Garage outbuilding at the home of Clayton Rand.

Hospitality Month, 1966. Tourism guides are pictured inside the Gulfport, Mississippi Hospitality Center.

House

House of the Month December 1964 Home of the Month: Home of Mr. and Mrs. William A. Stowe, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1964.

Atomic Energy Commission is customer of Irby Brothers Machine and Iron Works, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1955. The AEC uses tanks similar to the one pictured.

J.C.Penney Company enlarges and remodels Gulfport, Mississippi Store, 1957.

J. C. Penney Department Store fromally opens enlarged, renovated store. Employees, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1957.

J. C. Clower Furniture Store, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1957. Back row: Kenneth Lacy, Virgil Lacy, J.C. Bass, Carl Bass, K.L. Alexander, R.M. Allen, DaytonCollins, Lloyd Bass, R.L. Leggett, Jr., Second row: J.R. Clower, Mrs. J.L. Yates, J.L. Yates, Thomas H. Barrett, S.A. Mills, T.S. Clower, J.R. Clower, Jr. Seated: Eva C. Ellzey, Carlie Blakeslee, and Barbara Perry.

Furniture Store Handsome five story building in Gulfport, built in 1903 by the N & F. Hewes Mercantile Company,is the home of J.C. Clower Furniture Store.

John Moore, Illinois Central Railroad General Agent, Gulfport (Miss.), with John G. Guthrie, Forestry agent, Illinois Central Railroad with the Illinois Central Railroad mechanical tree planter.

Kiddy Kollege (Gulfport, Mississippi) kindergarten class. Left to right, bottom row: Carol Hamilton, Nita Kaye Muller, Gloria Lewis, Peter Cleveland, Gloria Steinwinder, Aaron Mills, Amy Daniels, Hayden Walker.; Second row: John Hopkins, H.P. Shipp, Woody Pringle, Betsey Hurley, Lan Leavell, Leslie Bennett, Robert Peranich, Gail Bailey. Top row: Hal Miller, Walter Thatcher, Ted Dobbs, Gary Rutland, Jan Wollam, Becky Walker, Gay Stanley, Ardith Ann Bertucci, Rusty Beasley, and Mrs. Taylor.

Linda Faye Laird of Gulfport, age 15, is a disc jockey on ""Our Girl Friday"", a regular record program broadcast by Radio Station WDEB, Gulfport, Mississippi every Saturday at 4:00 PM, 1956.

M. Salloum's men's store, The Toggery, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1959.

Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, Mississippi, 1960.

Lynda Lee Mead, Miss America 1960 presented a plaque from the 2496th Air Reserve Trining Wing, Tampa, Florida, to the 991st Air Reserve Squadron, Gulfport, Mississippi. Major George Everett receiveds the award.

Miss America Vonda Kay Van Dyke will visit Gulfport, December 17, 1964. Her trip is under the sponsorship of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company.

Gulfport's Miss Hospitality 1958-1959 Regina Meadows being crowned by Cleve Allen.

Gulfport's Miss Hospitality, 1962, Miss Anne Koenenn, with Gulfport Mayor R. B. Meadows, Jr.

Gulfport Miss Hospitality contestants; Nancy Wilson, Allison Kerr, Peaches Turnbough, Barbara Webb, Sandra Riemann, Shirley Haynie, Glenda Odom, Margie Fasold, Donna Long, Judy McDanniel, Kathleen Kizzire, Carolyn Cartrett, Marsha Reed.

Mississippi's Miss Hospitality Pageant, Buena Vista Hotel, Gulfport, 1952: Governor White crowned Suzanne Paul of Meridian, Mississippi.

Contestants for the title of Gulfport's Miss Hospitality, pictured during a trip to Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi, 1957: Betty Head, Ann Williamson, Barbara Batchelor, Mary Jane McAllister, Linda Scott, Christina Price, Joan Beningo, and Carol Ann Read.

Aerial photograph of Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1956.

Mississippi Press Women meeting at a Gulfport hotel, 1952. First chair on left: Mary Cain.

Mother and child at the beach, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1954.

Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Barham, owners of Barney's Service Station, Gulfport, Mississippi, winners of national competition for service station owners, 1959.

Christmas photograph, Mrs. Alphonso's Play School, Gulfport, Mississippi. Nono McDonald (1); Doris Davis.

Mrs. H. A. McElroy concludes 40 years of swimming classes for the Red Cross, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1959.

Parade of U.S. Navy personnel, with reviewing stand and spectators, downtown Gulfport, Mississippi, probably 1940s.

African-American high school (Gulfport Negro High School, later Thirty-Third Avenue School Complex), is dedicated, May, 1954.

Showroom with new models of Ford automobiles on display, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1956.

New Subdivision Jonestown, Gulfport, Mississippi, (Jonestown-McCaughan) realty, 1956.

The new swimming pool at the Great Southern Country Club, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1953

Opening new roads, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1956.

Simmons Drive-in, "Park & Eat", Restaurant, possibly Gulfport, Mississippi, 1950's.

Paving the streets, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1956.

United States Navy Seabees and pile driver on pier, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1966.

Swimming pool at Gulf Coast Military Academy, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1961.

Port of Gulfport, Mississippi, 1964.

Architectural rendering of the Edgewater Gulf shopping center, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1960.

Proposed Gulf National Bank Building, Gulfport, Mississippi, Milton B. E. Hill, Architect, 1954.

Municipal beach for African Americans proposed, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1961.

Gulfport-Made Coatings Find Wide National Market: Gpoch Mill flour bins, Gooch Milling Company, Lincoln, Nebraska, protective sanitary linings by Protective Coatings Corporation of Gulfport, Mississippi, 1963.