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Biloxi, Mississippi

USA / Mississippi / Biloxi /
 city, county seat

www.biloxi.ms.us/
City with a population of 50,644 in 2000. Biloxi is co–county seat with the larger city Gulfport. The French settled here in 1699 and named the area "Bilocci." The capital of French Louisiana was moved here in 1720, but transferred to New Orleans in 1723 due to a fear of hurricanes. The British were ceded the city in 1763, and the Spanish captured it in 1779 during the Revolutionary War. It was purchased by the United States in 1811 and made part of the Mississippi Territory, eventually part of the state of Mississippi. Union forces captured the city at the beginning of the Civil War. It became a tourist site after the war. The city grew during World War Two when an Air Force training base was built here. Casino gambling established here in the 1960s expanded the tourist draw of the city.

The beachfront of Biloxi lies directly on the Gulf of Mexico, with no levees, seawalls, or movable barriers to deflect storm surges, as in other cities. On August 29, 2005, Biloxi was massively damaged by Hurricane Katrina, which struck full-force with a 30-ft (9-m) storm surge that gutted 3rd-floor levels and pushed casino barges inland. However, with federal/military clean-up, Biloxi began re-building soon after, with 3 casinos re-opened in December 2005, and Beau Rivage plus other hotels/casinos opened in 2006 (see below). Although the 17-hour hurricane-force winds tore the branches off many oak trees, the tree trunks survived the 30-foot flood, and have since regrown smaller branches, as shade trees when rebuilding on the empty house lots. Some reconstructed homes still have the antebellum appearance, and miles inland, with less flooding, shopping centers have re-opened.

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 biosystem.

Keesler Air Force Base lies within the city and is home to the 81st Training Wing of the U.S. Air Force.

With the introduction of gambling in Mississippi in the 1990s, Biloxi became an important center for casinos; the hotels and complexes brought millions of dollars in tourism revenue to the city. The more famous casino complexes were the Beau Rivage casino resort, Casino Magic, Grand Casino, Isle of Capri Casino, Boomtown Casino, President Broadwater Casino Resort, and Imperial Palace. Like Tunica County in the northern part of the state, Biloxi and the surrounding Gulf Coast region was considered a leading gambling center in the Southern United States until many casinos were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, but several casino-hotels were rebuilt and opened within a year.

The city is home to the Mississippi Sea Wolves, an ECHL minor league hockey team. Biloxi was the birth place and home of the world renowned early American art potter George E. Ohr, who broke new ground in the late 1890s with his experimental modern clay forms.

Biloxi is the birthplace of country singer Chris LeDoux and of actor Eric Roberts. Jimmy Buffett's song about the city is on his breakthrough 1977 album.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   30°26'9"N   88°56'23"W

Comments

  • alexx (guest)
    A lot of us have fond memories of Biloxi. Friday night bonfires on the beach, hanging out at the Lighthouse Pier, and having shrimp and oyster platters at Sea & Sirloin.
  • Heather (guest)
    Grew up right by Biloxi! =D Love it.
  • William (guest)
    This place got clobbered by Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans may have got most of the press but this place was hit very badly as well. I was down there volunteering and shocked at the damage. Hopefully no one down there has to go through that again.
  • Kathy (guest)
    I grew up in Biloxi, loved it then and love it today.
This article was last modified 12 years ago