Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state
capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the other county seat
of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the
Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is
included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined
Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city of Gulfport had a
total population of 67,793, with nearly 400,000 in the metro area as
of 2018. It is also home to the US Navy Atlantic Fleet Seabees.This
area was occupied by indigenous cultures for thousands of years,
culminating in the historic Choctaw encountered by European explorers.
Along the Gulf Coast, French colonists founded nearby Biloxi, and
Mobile in the 18th century, well before the area was acquired from
France by the United States in 1803 in the Louisiana Purchase. By the
Indian Removal Act of 1830, the United States completed treaties to
extinguish Choctaw and other tribal land claims and removed them to
Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. In that period, the other four of the
Five Civilized Tribes in the Southeast were also removed, to make way
for white settlers to take over the lands and develop them for
agriculture, especially cotton.This area was occupied by indigenous
cultures for thousands of years, culminating in the historic Choctaw
encountered by European explorers. Along the Gulf Coast, French
colonists founded nearby Biloxi, and Mobile in the 18th century, well
before the area was acquired from France by the United States in 1803
in the Louisiana Purchase. By the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the
United States completed treaties to extinguish Choctaw and other
tribal land claims and removed them to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.
In that period, the other four of the Five Civilized Tribes in the
Southeast were also removed, to make way for white settlers to take
over the lands and develop them for agriculture, especially cotton.An
early settlement near this location, known as Mississippi City,
appeared on a map of Mississippi from 1855. Mississippi City was the
county seat of Harrison County from 1841 to 1902, but is now a suburb
in east Gulfport.Gulfport was incorporated on July 28, 1898. The city
was founded by William H. Hardy, who was president of the Gulf and
Ship Island Railroad (G&SIRR) that connected inland lumber mills to
the coast. He was joined by Joseph T. Jones, who later took over the
G&SIRR, dredged the harbor in Gulfport, and opened the shipping
channel to the sea. In 1902, the harbor was completed and the Port of
Gulfport became a working seaport. On April 28, 1904 the Treasury
Department changed the port of entry for the district of the Pearl
River from Shieldsboro to Gulfport. It now accounts for millions of
dollars in annual sales and tax revenue for the state of Mississippi. Gulfport, Mississippi Top Movies & Young Movies