Biloxi, Mississippi
USA /
Mississippi /
Biloxi /
World
/ USA
/ Mississippi
/ Biloxi
World / United States / Mississippi
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.
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.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biloxi,_Mississippi
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 30°26'9"N 88°56'23"W
- Gulfport, Mississippi 20 km
- Gautier, Mississippi 22 km
- Mobile, Alabama 78 km
- Slidell, Louisiana 87 km
- Gulf Shores, Alabama 110 km
- Hattiesburg, Mississippi 116 km
- New Orleans, Louisiana 119 km
- Panama City Beach, Florida 286 km
- Panama City, Florida 308 km
- Dothan, Alabama 342 km
- Keesler Air Force Base (BIX/KBIX) 3.4 km
- St. Martin, Mississippi 7.2 km
- East Biloxi 8.1 km
- Gulf Hills, Mississippi 12 km
- Gulf Park Estates, Mississippi 19 km
- East Ship Island (Submerged) 24 km
- Hickory Hills 29 km
- Horn Island 34 km
- Breton Sound 78 km
- Gulf Islands National Seashore 104 km
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