Moss Point, Mississippi

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Moss Point, Mississippi
Moss Point City Hall Sept 2012.jpg
Moss Point City Hall
Flag of Moss Point, Mississippi.png
Seal of Moss Point, Mississippi.png
Logo of Moss Point, Mississippi.png
Jackson County Mississippi Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Moss Point Highlighted.svg
Location of Moss Point in the state of Mississippi
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Moss Point, Mississippi
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 30°24′42″N88°32′04″W / 30.411744°N 88.534355°W / 30.411744; -88.534355
Country United States
State Mississippi
County Jackson
Incorporated1901 (as a city)
Government
   Mayor Billy Knight, Sr. (D) [1]
Area
[2]
  Total
26.57 sq mi (68.80 km2)
  Land24.11 sq mi (62.45 km2)
  Water2.45 sq mi (6.35 km2)
Elevation
16 ft (5 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total
12,147
  Density503.75/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 ID0673878
Website cityofmosspoint.org

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.

Contents

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 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. [3]

An EF2 tornado touched down in Moss Point on June 19, 2023 [4] The tornado covered six miles of the city and damaged or destroyed over 300 homes and businesses. [5] [6]

Geography

View from ISS Expedition 72, November 2024 View from ISS Expedition 72, Moss Point, Mississippi, November 7, 2024 (ISS072-E-30992) (cropped).jpg
View from ISS Expedition 72, November 2024

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 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. [7]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1870 440
1880 1,333203.0%
1910 3,054
1920 3,3409.4%
1930 2,453−26.6%
1940 3,04224.0%
1950 3,78224.3%
1960 6,63175.3%
1970 19,321191.4%
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 [8]
Moss Point racial composition as of 2020 [9]
RaceNum.Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)2,61721.54%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)8,65571.25%
Native American 230.19%
Asian 400.33%
Pacific Islander 10.01%
Other/Mixed 3612.97%
Hispanic or Latino 4503.7%

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

Education

The city is served by the Moss Point School District.

Notable people

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. [11]

See also

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. Retrieved November 28, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  3. 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.
  4. Tornado touches down in Moss Point WXXV-TV, June 19, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023
  5. City of Moss Point provides update on tornado WXXV-TV, June 21, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023
  6. 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". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  8. United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing" . Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  9. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  10. Ward, Cherie (August 1, 2010). "Moss Point alumni honor classmate who now runs Coca-Cola at reunion". Gulflive.com. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  11. "Moss Point receives aid from Burlington, VT; become sister cities". Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2023.