Pascagoula, Mississippi

Pascagoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula metropolitan area, and is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula combined statistical area and the Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area. Its population was 22,010 at the 2020 census, down from 22,392 at the 2010 census and 26,200 at the 2000 census.

The city is served by three airports: Mobile Regional Airport, to the northeast in Alabama; Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, about west of Pascagoula; and the Trent Lott International Airport, to the north in Jackson County. Amtrak service also began serving the city when the Mardi Gras Service debuted on August 18, 2025.

History

Early history

thumb|left|Pascagoula Bay, early 18th-century French map

The name Pascagoula, which means "bread eater", is taken from the Pascagoula, a group of Native Americans found in villages along the Pascagoula River some distance above its mouth. Hernando de Soto seems to have made the first contact with them in the 1540s, though little is known of that encounter. Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, founder of the colony of Louisiana, left a more detailed account from an expedition of this region in 1700. However, the Pascagoula language is completely undocumented; thus, genealogical affiliations from other authors are speculation.

In October 1973, an alleged unidentified flying object sighting and alien abduction is said to have occurred when co-workers Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker claimed they were abducted by aliens while fishing near Pascagoula. The incident, the Pascagoula Abduction, earned substantial mass media attention. In June 2019, Pascagoula placed a historical marker near the alleged abduction site. The city honors the abduction every year during an event called Goula Palooza. The festival takes place in the downtown area of the city.

Hurricane Katrina

thumb|Houses destroyed or flooded by [[Hurricane Katrina]]

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's storm surge devastated Pascagoula, much like Biloxi and Gulfport and the rest of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Katrina came ashore during the high tide of 6:12 am, more than typical. Nearly 92% of Pascagoula was flooded. Most homes along Beach Boulevard were destroyed, and FEMA trailers became an omnipresent sight.

Due to the media focus on the plight of New Orleans and Biloxi-Gulfport in the aftermath of Katrina, many Pascagoula citizens have expressed feeling neglected or even forgotten following the storm. Most Pascagoula residents did not possess flood insurance, and many were required to put their homes on pilings before being given a permit to rebuild. TITANTubes, sometimes referred to as geotubes, were installed under the beach to serve as low-profile dune cores to protect the evacuation route.

United States Navy officials announced that two guided missile destroyers that were under construction at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula had been damaged by the storm, as well as the amphibious assault ship .

Hurricane Katrina damaged over 40 Mississippi libraries, flooding the Pascagoula Public Library's first floor and causing mold in the building.

Points of interest

thumb|right|Pascagoula Art Depot, a gallery for local artists

The United States post office in Pascagoula contains a mural, Legend of the Singing River, painted in 1939 by Lorin Thompson. Murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. The mural was restored in the 1960s as the building became the Pascagoula Public Library. The building was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the mural was placed in storage. In 2010, it was reinstalled at the new Pascagoula post office on Jackson Avenue.

Pascagoula is the home of the Old Spanish Fort, the oldest building in the Mississippi Valley. It was built sometime in the 1750s.

Geography

Pascagoula is located along Mississippi Sound, on the east side of the mouth of the Pascagoula River. It is bordered to the north by Moss Point and to the west, across the Pascagoula River, by Gautier. The city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 37.25%, are covered by water.

|source 2 = National Weather Service (mean maxima/minima 2006–2020)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Pascagoula had a population of 22,010 and 8,800 households; 4,865 of those were families.

There were 8,800 households in Pascagoula, of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 34.3% were married-couple households, 21.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 37.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

| White || 10,706 || 48.6%

| Black or African American || 7,679 || 34.9%

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 99 || 0.4%

| Asian || 153 || 0.7%

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 8 || 0.0%

| Some other race || 1,998 || 9.1%

| Two or more races || 1,367 || 6.2%

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 3,254 || 14.8%

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 26,200 people, 9,878 households, and 6,726 families were living in the city. The population density was . The 10,931 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 67.15% White, 28.97% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 1.69% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3.89% of the population.

Of the 9,878 households, 34.5% had children under 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were not families. About 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city, the age distribution was 26.9% under 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,042, and for a family was $39,044. Males had a median income of $30,313 versus $22,594 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,891. About 18.1% of families and 20.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.4% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

thumb|right|A section of the [[Ingalls Shipbuilding Company showing various US Navy ships under construction]]

Pascagoula is a major industrial city of Mississippi, on the Gulf Coast. Prior to World War II, the town was a sleepy fishing village of about 5,000. The population skyrocketed with the war-driven shipbuilding industry. The city's population seemed to peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as Cold War defense spending was at its height. Pascagoula experienced some new growth and development in the years before Hurricane Katrina.

Today, Pascagoula is home to the state's largest private, single-site employer, Ingalls Shipbuilding, owned by Huntington Ingalls Industries. Other major industries include the largest Chevron refinery in the world; Rolls-Royce Naval Marine, specializing in U.S. Navy ship propulsion; and First Chemical/Chemours.

Naval Station Pascagoula was located on Singing River Island and was homeport to several Navy warships, as well as a large Coast Guard contingent. Naval Station Pascagoula was decommissioned as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure recommendations, and ceased operations in 2006.

Education

The Pascagoula-Gautier School District serves Pascagoula. Resurrection Catholic School is a parochial school for prekindergarten to grade 12, established in 1882.

Notable people

Brent Anderson, country music singer
Vick Ballard, NFL player
Earl Blair, Canadian Football League player
George Blair, NFL player
Steve Bowman, NFL player
Isaac Brown, Wichita State University basketball coach
Terrell Buckley, NFL player born here
Joey Butler, MLB player
William Colmer, US congressman
Chuck Commiskey, NFL player
Tony Dees, Olympic silver medalist in 1992
Uncle Elmer (real name: Stan Frazier), former professional wrestler
Mike Ezell, U.S. representative for Mississippi
Senquez Golson, NFL player
Litterial Green, NBA player
Ira B. Harkey Jr., editor and publisher of Pascagoula Chronicle, won Pulitzer Prize for courageous editorials devoted to processes of law and reason during integration crisis in Mississippi in 1962
Antonio Harvey, NBA forward
Richard Harvey, NFL player
Dr. Calvin Huey, chemist, businessman, first African-American football player at Navy
Edgar Hull, physician
Sam Leslie, former MLB player (New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers) and Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame member
Trent Lott, US senator
Aubrey Matthews, NFL player
Shane Matthews, NFL player
Tony Sipp, MLB player
Judson Spence, musician, singer, songwriter
Diron Talbert, NFL player
Harry "The Hat" Walker, MLB player
Otis Wonsley, NFL player

Sister city

– Chico, California (U.S.) 2005

In popular culture

Pascagoula is the setting for Ray Stevens's novelty song "Mississippi Squirrel Revival".
Jimmy Buffett wrote a song called "The Pascagoula Run".
Pascagoula is also home to the Mississippi's "Phantom Barber", where a man would run around cutting women's lock of hair at night.
Several free concerts have been held in Pascagoula by famous musicians, including The Charlie Daniels Band (2006), Blake Shelton (2007), and Jimmy Buffett (2015)
Pascagoula, along with several other Mississippi Gulf Coast cities, participates in hosting the "Crusin' the Coast" car show every year, which was named America's best car show in 2020 by USA Today.
Pascagoula appears as a level in Tom Clancy's EndWar. The player is given the task of either destroying or defending the Pascagoula Refinery, described as the largest in the U.S.

References

External links

City of Pascagoula official website