The name of Biloxi in French wasBilocci, a transliteration of the term for thelocal Native American tribe in theirlanguage. Labeled along with"Fort Maurepas"[4] on maps dated circa year 1710/1725, the name was sometimes used in English as "Fort Bilocci".[5][6]
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 fromMobile. French Louisiana, part ofNew France, was known in French asLa Louisiane in colonial times. In modern times it is calledLa Louisiane française to distinguish it from the modern state ofLouisiana.[4]
Due to fears of tides and hurricanes, colonial governorBienville moved the capital of French Louisiana in 1722 from Biloxi to a new inland harbor town namedLa Nouvelle-Orléans (New Orleans), built for this purpose in 1718–1720.[citation needed]
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.[7] In 1811, the U.S. traded with Spain to take over Biloxi and the related area, making it part of theirMississippi Territory. Mississippi, and Biloxi with it, was admitted as a state to the union in 1817.
Biloxi began to grow. In theantebellum 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.[7]
TheBiloxi Lighthouse was built inBaltimore, Maryland, and shipped south, where it was completed at the site in May 1848.[8] (It is one of two surviving lighthouses on theMississippi Gulf Coast, which at one time had twelve.[8])
In the early stages of theCivil War,Ship Island was captured byUnion 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.[7] Some local Union sentiment could be discerned following the war's conclusion.[8]
In the postbellum period, Biloxi again emerged as a vacation spot. Its popularity as a destination increased with railroad access. In 1881, the firstcannery 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 variousethnic groups who worked in the seafood factories. They processed shrimp and other local seafood. These changes gave Biloxi a more heterogeneous population.[7]
Biloxi'scasino history dates to a period in the 1940s. At the time, open, if technically illegal, gambling took place in a casino within theBroadwater Beach Resort.[10] Open gambling ended during the 1950s.[11] TheMississippi Gulf Coast became known as the "Poor Man's Riviera", and was frequented bySouthern families interested in fishing expeditions during the summer.[12] Commercially, Biloxi was dominated by shrimp boats and oyster luggers.[12] The tradition ofblessing fishing boats in the US seems to have first taken place in Biloxi in 1929 and has been practised ever since.[13][14]
In 1959, Biloxi was the site of "Mississippi's first public assault on racial barriers in its 15-year civil rights struggle."[15]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".[16] Mason reacted by leading a series of protests, known as theBiloxi Wade-Ins. The protests were followed in 1960 by the worstracial riot in Mississippi history, during which ten people died.[17] Ultimately, the protests led to thedesegregation of the beaches of Biloxi.[16]
In the early 1960s, the Gulf Coast again emerged as a prime alternative toFlorida as a southern vacation destination amongNortherners, with Biloxi a favored destination.[12] Biloxi hotels upgraded their amenities and hired chefs from France andSwitzerland in an effort to provide some of the best seafood cuisine in the country.[12]Edgewater Mall was built in 1963. TheBiloxi Dragway hosteddrag races between 1957 and 1967.
To celebrate the area's tricentennial in 1998/99, the city's tourism promotion agency invited the nationally syndicatedTravel World Radio Show to broadcast live from Biloxi, with co-host Willem Bagchus in attendance
Scores of hurricanes have hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but the most destructive, as measured by storm surge levels in theBiloxi Lighthouse, occurred in 1855, 1906, 1909, 1947, 1969 (Hurricane Camille), and 2005 (Hurricane Katrina)[18]
On August 29, 2005,Hurricane Katrina hit theMississippi Gulf Coast with high winds, heavy rains and a 30-foot (9.1 m) storm surge, causing massive damage to the area. Katrina came ashore during the high tide of 6:56am, +2.3 feet more.[19] Commenting on the power of the storm and the damage, MayorA. J. Holloway said, "This is ourtsunami."[20] Mississippi GovernorHaley Barbour was quoted as saying the destruction of the Mississippi coastline by Hurricane Katrina looked like an AmericanHiroshima.
Hurricane Katrina damaged over 40 Mississippi libraries beyond repair, breaking windows and flooding several feet in the Biloxi Public Library, requiring a total rebuild.[21]
Biloxi is the site of a memorial to Katrina victims, created by a team of local artists with assistance from the crew and volunteers ofExtreme Makeover: Home Edition.[22][23][24]
Multiple plans were been laid out to rebuild the waterfront areas of Biloxi, and in 2007 the federal government announced it was considering buying out up to 17,000 Mississippi coast homeowners to form a hurricane protection zone.[25] Meanwhile, the city of Biloxi is rapidly implementing plans to allow the redevelopment of commercial properties south ofHighway 90.[26]
Hurricane Katrina pushed houses inland along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, including at Biloxi.
Casino barges floated ashore in Biloxi during Hurricane Katrina's storm surge.
U.S. Navy personnel perform a search and rescue mission in Biloxi after Hurricane Katrina.
Biloxi is located in southeastern Harrison County, bordered to the south byMississippi Sound (part of theGulf of Mexico) and to the northeast partially by Biloxi Bay, which forms part of theJackson County line. To the northeast, across Biloxi Bay, are the Jackson County city ofOcean Springs and the unincorporated community ofSt. 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 andTchoutacabouffa 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 ofD'Iberville and to the west by the city ofGulfport.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, Biloxi has a total area of 46.7 square miles (120.9 km2), of which 38.2 square miles (99.0 km2) are land and 8.5 square miles (21.9 km2), or 18.14%, are water.[27]
Biloxi has ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen:Cfa) that is heavily influenced by theGulf 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 (−17.2 °C) was recorded on February 12, 1899, and the record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded on August 29, 2000, and tied again on August 26, 2023.
Climate data for Biloxi, Mississippi (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present)
Biloxi city, Mississippi – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Biloxi is home to eightcasino resort hotels, with 24-hourgambling, concert entertainment shows, and several restaurants. Many casinos were damaged or destroyed byHurricane Katrina, but eventually reopened.[39]
Biloxi is the setting ofNeil Simon's play and filmBiloxi Blues, which starred Mathew Broderick.Biloxi Blues is the story of army recruits during World War II training at Keesler Field, the present-dayKeesler Air Force Base.
The song "Louisiana", byThe Loved Ones, is about the rebuilding of the hurricane ravaged areas on the Gulf Coast. Louisiana, Biloxi, and Alabama are specifically used by name.
American journalist and essayistJoan Didion mentioned Biloxi and the Edgewater Plaza mall in her 1979 collection of essaysThe White Album.[42] Didion also wrote about her visit to the city in 1970 in her bookSouth and West, published in 2017.[43]
The tradition of theBlessing 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 awreath inremembrance of fishermen who have died.[44]
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 andking mackerel,flounder,snapper,grouper,sharks, and more are all available to anglers during the fishing season. It is not known how Hurricane Katrina affected thisecosystem.[citation needed]
According toNielsen 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.[52] Three major television stations serve the Biloxi area.ABC andCBS affiliateWLOX 13 andPBS/MPB member stationWMAH-TV 19 are located in Biloxi, whileFox/MyNetworkTV affiliateWXXV-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'sCBS affiliate, while WXXV-TV operates the market's respectiveNBC andCW affiliates onDT2 andDT3.[53]
TheCoast Transit Authority provides bus service to the region with fixed-route and paratransit services.
Biloxi's main highway isU.S. Highway 90 (Beach Boulevard), which runs along the beach and by the casinos. It connects the city to Gulfport and points westward and toOcean Springs andPascagoula to the east. TheBiloxi 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 miles (137 km) toNew Orleans and east 60 miles (97 km) toMobile, Alabama.Interstate 110 splits off from I-10 atD'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.
^ab"La Louisiane française" (in French), by Virginie Tanlay, from bookHistoire de la Louisiane,flfa-enquete7Archived March 4, 2009, at theWayback Machine: states thatIberville chose "le site de Bilocci" (or Biloxi)
^Bill Minor (May 20, 2009). "Watch for 'The Good Doctors' to be out soon". DeSoto Times-Tribune.
^abJ. Michael Butler (February 2002). "The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and Beach Integration, 1959-1963: A Cotton-Patch Gestapo?".The Journal of Southern History.68 (1):107–148.doi:10.2307/3069692.JSTOR3069692.
^"NAACP Denies Biloxi Riot Role".New York Times. April 26, 1960. p. 30.ProQuest114995603.(subscription required)
^Debbie Stringer. 2010. "Biloxi's Guiding Light".Today in Mississippi (Ridgeland, MS), Volume 63, Number 5, May 2010.
^"2005 NOAA Tide Predictions: Biloxi (Cadet Point), Biloxi Bay" (2005), tide on 29-Aug-2005,NOAA, web:NOAA-tide-tablesArchived 2007-03-10 at theWayback Machine.
^"Hurricane Katrina Related Damages to Public Libraries in Mississippi" (September 2005), Mississippi Library Commission, web:ALA-KatrinaArchived 2007-10-31 at theWayback Machine.
^"Tentative re-opening plans for Biloxi casino resorts" (2006), City of Biloxi, www.Biloxi.ms.us, webpage:Biloxi-CasinosArchived 2006-10-10 at theWayback Machine.
^"Contact UsArchived September 15, 2010, at theWayback Machine."Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. Retrieved on November 9, 2010. "Included are the phone numbers of each department within the agency. A map and directions to the Bolton Building can be found here: directions. 1141 Bayview Avenue Biloxi MS 39530."
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
%2c_perform_a_search_and_rescue_mission_following_Hurricane_Katrina_in_Biloxi%2c_Miss.jpg)
