page_title: Biloxi, Mississippi
section_title: Subsequent history
hierarchical_section_title: Biloxi, Mississippi / History / Subsequent history
caption_attribution_description: English: Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum located at Beauvoir in Biloxi, Mississippi, USA
context_page_description: Biloxi is a city and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054, and in 2019 the estimated population was 46,212. The area's first European settlers were French colonists.
  The city is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area and the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS Combined Statistical Area. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Biloxi was the third-largest city in Mississippi, behind Jackson and Gulfport. Due to the widespread destruction and flooding, many refugees left the city. Post-Katrina, the population of Biloxi decreased, and it became the fifth-largest city in the state, being surpassed by Hattiesburg and Southaven.
  The beachfront of Biloxi lies directly on the Mississippi Sound, with barrier islands scattered off the coast and into the Gulf of Mexico. Keesler Air Force Base lies within the city and is home to the 81st Training Wing and the 403d Wing of the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
context_section_description: British rule persisted 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. In 1811, the US traded with Spain to take over Biloxi and related area, making it part of their Mississippi Territory. Mississippi, and Biloxi with it, was admitted as a state to the union in 1817.
  Biloxi began to grow. In the antebellum period of the 19th century, it became known as a summer resort, because of 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 well-to-do farmers and commercial figures. Hotels and rental cottages were developed to serve those who could not afford their own homes.
  One of Biloxi's best-known features has been the Biloxi Lighthouse. It was built in Baltimore, Maryland,  and shipped south, where it was completed at the site in May 1848. (It is one of two surviving lighthouses on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which at one time had twelve.)
  In the early stages of the Civil War, Ship Island was captured by Union forces. This enabled them to take control of Biloxi as well. No major battles were fought in the area, and Biloxi did not suffer direct damage from the war. Some local Union sentiment could be discerned following the war's conclusion.
  In the postbellum period, Biloxi again emerged as a vacation spot. Its popularity as a destination increased with railroad access. In 1881, the first cannery was built in the town to process seafood, leading to others soon joining the location. This stimulated development in the city, and it attracted new immigrants from Europe and different ethnic groups who worked in the seafood factories. They processed shrimp and other local seafood. These changes gave Biloxi a more heterogeneous population.
  During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces built Keesler Field, now Keesler Air Force Base, which became a major basic training site and site for aircraft maintenance. The Biloxi economy boomed as a result, attracting new residents and businesses. By 1958, the first Jewish synagogue had been built in the town.
  Biloxi's casino history dates to a period in the 1940s. At the time, open, if technically illegal, gambling took place in a casino within the Broadwater Beach Resort. Open gambling ended during the 1950s. The Mississippi Gulf Coast became known as the "Poor Man's Riviera", and was frequented by Southern families interested in fishing expeditions during the summer. Commercially, Biloxi was dominated by shrimp boats and oyster luggers.
  In 1959 Biloxi was the site of "Mississippi's first public assault on racial barriers in its 15-year civil rights struggle". 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." Mason reacted by leading a series of protests, known as the Biloxi Wade-Ins. The protests were followed in 1960 by the worst racial riot in Mississippi history, during which ten people died. Ultimately, the protests led to the desegregation of the beaches of Biloxi.
  In the early 1960s, the Gulf Coast again emerged as a prime alternative to Florida as a southern vacation destination among Northerners, with Biloxi a favored destination. Biloxi hotels upgraded their amenities and hired chefs from France and Switzerland in an effort to provide some of the best seafood cuisine in the country. Edgewater Mall was built in 1963.
  With the introduction of legal gambling in Mississippi in the 1990s, Biloxi was again transformed. It became an important center in the resort casino industry. The new hotels and gambling complexes brought millions of dollars in tourism revenue to the city. The more famous casino complexes were the Beau Rivage casino resort, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Casino Magic, Grand Casino, Isle of Capri Casino Resort Biloxi, Boomtown Casino, President Casino Br
caption: Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum at Beauvoir
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