Moss Point is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,147 in 2020, a decline from the figure of 13,704 in 2010. The Moss Point Historic District and several individual buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places' Jackson County listings.
Moss Point, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
 Moss Point City Hall | |
 Flag  Seal  Logo | |
 Location of Moss Point in the state of Mississippi | |
  Moss Point, Mississippi Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 30°24′42″N 88°32′04″W / 30.411744°N 88.534355°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Jackson |
| Incorporated | 1901 (as a city) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Billy Knight, Sr. (D)[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 26.57 sq mi (68.80 km2) |
| • Land | 24.11 sq mi (62.45 km2) |
| • Water | 2.45 sq mi (6.35 km2) |
| Elevation | 16 ft (5 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 12,147 |
| • Density | 503.75/sq mi (194.50/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes | 39562, 39563, 39581 |
| Area code | 228 |
| FIPS code | 28-49240 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0673878 |
| Website | cityofmosspoint |
History
editOn August 29, 2005, Moss Point was hit by the strong east side of Hurricane Katrina, and much of the city was flooded or destroyed (see details below). Moss Point is home to Trent Lott International Airport and the Mississippi Export Railroad.
An EF2 tornado touched down in Moss Point on June 19, 2023 [3] The tornado covered six miles of the city and damaged or destroyed over 300 homes and businesses.[4][5]
Geography
editMoss Point is in southeastern Jackson County, on the east side of the Pascagoula River. It is bordered to the south by the city of Pascagoula, the county seat, and to the north by unincorporated Escatawpa. The Escatawpa River flows east–west through the city into the Pascagoula River.
U.S. Route 90 forms the southeastern boundary of Moss Point, leading southwestward into Pascagoula and northeastward to Interstate 10, which runs through the northern part of the Moss Point city limits. I-10 leads west 22 miles (35 km) to the Biloxi area and northeast 36 miles (58 km) to Mobile, Alabama. Mississippi Highways 63 and 613 (Main Street) are north–south roads through Moss Point. Highway 63 leads south to US-90 and north 38 miles (61 km) to Lucedale, while Highway 613 leads south 4 miles (6 km) to the center of Pascagoula and north 5 miles (8 km) to Escatawpa.
Moss Point has a total area of 26.6 square miles (68.8 km2), of which 24.2 square miles (62.6 km2) are land and 2.4 square miles (6.3 km2), or 9.11%, are water.[6]
Demographics
edit| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 440 | — | |
| 1880 | 1,333 | 203.0% | |
| 1910 | 3,054 | — | |
| 1920 | 3,340 | 9.4% | |
| 1930 | 2,453 | −26.6% | |
| 1940 | 3,042 | 24.0% | |
| 1950 | 3,782 | 24.3% | |
| 1960 | 6,631 | 75.3% | |
| 1970 | 19,321 | 191.4% | |
| 1980 | 18,998 | −1.7% | |
| 1990 | 17,837 | −6.1% | |
| 2000 | 17,653 | −1.0% | |
| 2010 | 13,704 | −22.4% | |
| 2020 | 12,147 | −11.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[7] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 2,617 | 21.54% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 8,655 | 71.25% |
| Native American | 23 | 0.19% |
| Asian | 40 | 0.33% |
| Pacific Islander | 1 | 0.01% |
| Other/Mixed | 361 | 2.97% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 450 | 3.7% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 12,147 people, 5,102 households, and 3,263 families residing in the city.
Education
editThe city is served by the Moss Point School District.
Hurricane Katrina
editOn August 29, 2005, Moss Point was hit by the strong eastern side of Hurricane Katrina, when it passed 30 miles (48 km) east of central New Orleans with minimal gale-force winds. However, on the east side of Hurricane Katrina, much of Moss Point was flooded or destroyed in one day, by the strong hurricane-force winds which lasted several hours and a storm surge exceeding 20 feet (6.1 m) in some sections.[9]
Sister city
editIn the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Burlington, Vermont became the sister city of Moss Point and provided much-needed aid to the city.[10]
Notable people
edit- Jeramey Anderson, State Representative, Mississippi 110th House District
- Verlon Biggs, NFL football player, Hall of Famer, defensive end for the Washington Redskins from 1965 to 1971 and the New York Jets from 1971 to 1980
- Damarius Bilbo, NFL football player and sports agent, graduated Moss Point High School in 2001
- Devin Booker, NBA basketball player
- Melvin Booker, graduated Moss Point High School in 1990, NBA basketball player, father of Devin Booker
- John Brock, CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises (graduated Moss Point High School in 1967)[11]
- Ray Costict, linebacker for the New England Patriots from 1977 to 1979
- Ken Farragut, NFL and Ole Miss Hall of Fame football player
- Silky Nutmeg Ganache, contestant on season 11 of RuPaul's Drag Race
- Eddie Glaude, Professor of Religion and African American Studies at Princeton University
- Don Hultz, NFL football player
- Alcender Jackson, NFL football player
- Tom Johnson, NFL defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings
- Robert C. Khayat, NFL football player, lawyer, Chancellor of the University of Mississippi
- David Thomas Roberts, composer and musician
- Toni Seawright, 1982 graduate of Moss Point High; the first African American to win Miss Mississippi in 1987 (4th Runner-up Miss America 1988)
- Tony Sipp, Major League Baseball Houston Astros - twice World Series Champion
- Cory Wilson, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit judge
- George Wonsley, NFL football player
- Nathan Wonsley, NFL football player
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Lee, Anita, Sanchez, Martha, Perez, Mary, and John Buzbee (November 1, 2024). "Who's in, who's out in MS Coast mayors' races, with city elections just around the corner". Sun Herald. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ Tornado touches down in Moss Point WXXV-TV, June 19, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023
- ^ City of Moss Point provides update on tornado WXXV-TV, June 21, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023
- ^ Moss Point community prepares to rebuild after tornado WXXV-TV, June 21, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023
- ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Moss Point city, Mississippi". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
- ^ United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing". Retrieved October 23, 2013.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ Gary Tuchman, Transcript of "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" (2006-08-29) 19:00 ET, CNN, CNN-ACooper082906 GARY TUCHMAN, CNN Correspondent: Responds to Anderson Cooper that it felt like it would never end, saying winds were at least 100 miles per hour in Gulfport for seven hours, between about 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. For another five or six hours, on each side of that, they had hurricane-force winds over 75 miles per hour; much of the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, in Harrison County of 71,000 was then under water.
- ^ "Moss Point receives aid from Burlington, VT; become sister cities". Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ Ward, Cherie (August 1, 2010). "Moss Point alumni honor classmate who now runs Coca-Cola at reunion". Gulflive.com. Retrieved May 2, 2023.