Long Beach is a city located in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 15,829.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which , or 3.74% is covered by water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, 16,780 people, 6,545 households, and 4,243 families were residing in the city.

Education

The city of Long Beach is served by the Long Beach School District, which operates five campuses and has an enrollment around 2,700 students. These campuses are Long Beach High School, Long Beach Middle School, Reeves Elementary School, Quarles Elementary School, and Harper McCaughan Elementary School, rebuilt in a new location after the previous school was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast campus is located in Long Beach on East Beach Boulevard. Through the 52-acre beachfront campus in Long Beach, Mississippi, USM serves as the only four-year public institution located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 50 distinct academic fields. The Gulf Park campus is also home to the state’s only bachelor’s degree in ocean engineering and the only film studies pathway offered at a public institution in the state.

History

The early 1900s

Long Beach began as an agricultural town, based around its radish industry, but on August 10, 1905, Long Beach incorporated and became another city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As the years went on, the city moved from its agricultural heritage and moved toward tourism with the beach becoming increasingly popular.

"The Radish Capital of the World"

Long Beach's early economy was based largely upon radishes. Logging initially drove the local economy, but when the area's virgin yellow pine forests became depleted, row crops were planted on the newly cleared land.Long Beach is a friendly city
''The Sun-Herald''. Retrieved October 17, 2007. A productive truck farming town in the early 20th century, citizens of Long Beach proclaimed the city to be the "Radish Capital of the World". The city was especially known for its cultivation of the Long Red radish variety, a favorite

beer hall A beer hall or beer palace () refers to a type of establishment that gained significant popularity in the 19th century, particularly across Central Europe. These venues were pivotal to the social and cultural life of cities renowned for their bre ...

staple in the northern US at the time. In 1921, a bumper crop resulted in the shipment of over 300 trainloads of Long Beach's Long Red radishes to northern states. Eventually, the Long Red radishes for which Long Beach was known fell into disfavor, and the rise of the common button radish caused a dramatic decline in the cultivation of this crop in the area.

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

struck the city on August 29, 2005, destroying almost all buildings within of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

shoreline. Many Long Beach residents were left homeless or living in water- and or wind-damaged houses. At least one person was confirmed dead. The city of

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, held a fund raiser to help its eponymous relative. The city of Peoria, Arizona, adopted Long Beach and provided both public and private resources. This resulted in a close relationship between the two communities.

Today

Today, the city is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Residents are returning as beaches and condominiums in the area are being repaired, but the city has not seen a return of business to pre-Katrina levels due in part to building codes on the beach established by the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and to the economic downturn.

Notable people

* Richard Bennett, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives * Hale Boggs, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and House majority leader and a member of the

Warren Commission The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President of the United States, President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the A ...

* Ted N. Branch, retired

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and former Director of Naval Intelligence * Myles Brennan,

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the LSU Tigers * Richie Brown, NFL player * Nick James, former professional

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

* Shea Kerry, writer/producer * Gerald McRaney, film and television actor

References

External links

City of Long Beach official website
{{authority control Cities in Mississippi Cities in Harrison County, Mississippi Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area Populated coastal places in Mississippi