Pascagoula, Mississippi

Pascagoula is a city located in Jackson County, Mississippi. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 26,200. It is the county seat of Jackson County{{GR|6}}. Mayor of the city is Matthew Avara.

Related Topics:
Jackson County, Mississippi - 2000 - County seat - Matthew Avara

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Pascagoula is the industrial heart of Mississippi, and the Gulf Coast as a whole. Prior to World War II, the town was a sleepy fishing village of only about 5,000. The population exploded with the war-driven shipbuilding industry. Although the city's population seemed to peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s as Cold War defense spending was at its height, Pascagoula has recently experienced new growth and development. Today, Pascagoula is home to the state?s largest employer, Ingalls Shipbuilding, owned by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems — "America?s Shipbuilder." Other major industries include one of the largest Chevron refineries in the country; Signal International, an oil platform builder; and Mississippi Phosphates. Another community asset, Naval Station Pascagoula, is located on Singing River Island and is homeport to several Navy warships as well as a large Coast Guard contingent. However, Naval Station Pascagoula is set to be decommissioned as part of the 2005 BRAC recommendations.

Related Topics:
Mississippi - Gulf Coast - World War II - Cold War - Ingalls Shipbuilding - Northrop Grumman Ship Systems - Signal International - Mississippi Phosphates - Naval Station Pascagoula - Coast Guard - BRAC

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Pascagoula, the "Singing River" city by the sea has a deep and rich history as a European settlement that goes back over 300 years. The name Pascagoula, which means "bread eaters," is taken from a band of peaceful Native Americans. Hernando De Soto first made contact with these Native Americans in the 1540s. Local legend says the noble Pascagoula tribe chanted and waded hand-in-hand into the Pascagoula River, drowning together rather than become enslaved to an enemy tribe, the Biloxi. Thus, the legend of the "Singing River" was born. Those who now live in Pascagoula maintain that on still summer and autumn evenings, the sad song of the Pascagoulas can still be heard near the river. The charm of the old South is alive in this beautiful seaside town where the streets are lined with splendid antebellum structures and grand live oaks laden with Spanish moss.

Related Topics:
Hernando De Soto - 1540s

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Pascagoula has been home, hideaway, respite, or inspiration to many interesting people including the pirate Jean Lafitte; the infamous Copeland Gang; ?Old Hickory? Andrew Jackson; General (later President) Zachary Taylor; Confederate General and Congressman David Emanuel Twiggs; Union Admiral David Farragut; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who penned "The Building of a Ship" while in Pascagoula; and Nobel Laureate in literature William Faulkner who is believed to have written "Mosquitoes" while summering in Pascagoula. The world renowned rhythm and blues band The Nite Riders also got their start in Pascagoula in the 1950s. Many of the original members still perform together in local casinos.

Related Topics:
Jean Lafitte - Andrew Jackson - Zachary Taylor - David Emanuel Twiggs - David Farragut - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Nobel Laureate - William Faulkner - 1950s

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Pascagoula gained noteriety on October 11, 1973 when two local fishermen, Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker, claimed to have been abducted by aliens from a Pascagoula pier. The media frenzy that followed touched off national interest in UFOs and extraterrestrials unparrelled since the Roswell incident. In 1983, Hickson wrote a book about his ordeal entitled UFO Contact In Pascagoula.

Related Topics:
October 11 - 1973 - Charles Hickson - Roswell - 1983

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Pascagoula also gained dubious national attention in the 1980s, when novelty singer/songwriter Ray Stevens featured the town in his hit, "Mississippi Squirrel Revival." Stevens admits, though that the song may have been set in any Southern town.

Related Topics:
1980s - Ray Stevens

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Points of interest include: Beautiful white sand beaches; championship golf courses such as Shell Landing Golf Course, designed by Davis Love III, and Mississippi National Golf Course, located on the Singing River; The Longfellow House; beautiful Horn Island located off the Mississippi Coast and the Old Spanish Fort, which was built between 1715 and 1726 and is the oldest edifice West of the Atlantic coast. Originally, this historic structure was the carpentry shop of Joseph Simon de La Pointe.

Related Topics:
Davis Love III - Horn Island - 1715 - 1726

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The city is the home of Republican Senator Trent Lott, the birthplace of American singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett, actor William Nakia Yelland and Major League Baseball player Harry Walker.

Related Topics:
Trent Lott - Jimmy Buffett - William Nakia Yelland - Harry Walker

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The city is served by Mobile Regional Airport, which is located in nearby Mobile, Alabama, the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport about 20 miles west of Pascagoula, and the recently constructed Trent Lott International Airport, located within Jackson County.

Related Topics:
Mobile Regional Airport - Mobile, Alabama - Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport - Trent Lott International Airport

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On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated Pascagoula, like Biloxi and Gulfport and the rest of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Related Topics:
August 29 - 2005 - Hurricane Katrina - Biloxi - Gulfport

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