Moss Point, Mississippi

History

On 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.

On August 29, 2005, Moss Point was hit by the strong eastern side of Hurricane Katrina, when it passed 30 mi 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 ft in some sections.

An EF2 tornado touched down in Moss Point on June 19, 2023 The tornado covered six miles of the city and damaged or destroyed over 300 homes and businesses.

Geography

Moss 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 mi to the Biloxi area and northeast 36 mi 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 mi to Lucedale, while Highway 613 leads south 4 mi to the center of Pascagoula and north 5 mi to Escatawpa.

Moss Point has a total area of 68.8 km2, of which 62.6 km2 are land and 6.3 km2, or 9.11%, are water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 12,147 people, 5,102 households, and 3,263 families residing in the city.

Education

The city is served by the Moss Point School District.

Notable people

• Verlon Biggs, NFL football player, Defensive end for the New York Jets from 1965 to 1970 and the Washington Redskins from 1971 to 1974
• 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)
• 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
• Kenny Johnson, former cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons and Houston Oilers.
• 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

Sister cities

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Burlington, Vermont became the sister city of Moss Point and provided much-needed aid to the city.

References

References

1. 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.
2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
3. Gary Tuchman, Transcript of "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" (2006-08-29) 19:00 ET, ''CNN'', [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0508/29/acd.01.html 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, Mississippi. Harrison County]] of 71,000 was then under water.
4. [https://www.wxxv25.com/tornado-touches-down-in-moss-point/ Tornado touches down in Moss Point] WXXV-TV, June 19, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023
5. [https://www.wxxv25.com/city-of-moss-point-provides-update-on-tornado/ City of Moss Point provides update on tornado] WXXV-TV, June 21, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023
6. [https://www.wxxv25.com/moss-point-community-prepares-to-rebuild-after-tornado/ Moss Point community prepares to rebuild after tornado] WXXV-TV, June 21, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023
7. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Moss Point city, Mississippi". U.S. Census Bureau.
8. United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing".
9. "Explore Census Data".
10. Ward, Cherie. (1 August 2010). "Moss Point alumni honor classmate who now runs Coca-Cola at reunion".
11. "Moss Point receives aid from Burlington, VT; become sister cities".