Pearlington is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Hancock County,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, United States, on U.S. Route 90, along the Pearl River, at the

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

state line. It is part of the Gulfport–

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,684 at the 2000 census. On August 29, 2005,

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. ...

made landfall just south of Pearlington.

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 CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (4.91%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,153 people, 371 households, and 215 families residing in the CDP.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,684 people, 648 households, and 460 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 830 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 77.55%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 20.43%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.36% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population. There were 648 households, out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.08. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $31,224, and the median income for a family was $36,711. Males had a median income of $32,450 versus $25,948 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $14,040. About 18.2% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 22.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Pearlington is served by the Hancock County School District. All of Hancock County is in the service area of

Pearl River Community College Pearl River Community College is a public community college in Poplarville, Mississippi. It was founded as Pearl River County Agricultural High School in 1909 and became the first junior college in Mississippi in 1921. Residents of Hancock, ...

John C. Stennis Space Center

In 1961, Pearlington was one of six communities in Hancock County acquired by the federal government either wholly (Gainesville, Logtown, Napoleon, Santa Rosa, and Westonia) or in part (a section of northern Pearlington), to provide a acoustical

buffer zone A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types o ...

for what was envisioned to be

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

's main rocket testing facility, the

John C. Stennis Space Center The John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) is a NASA rocket testing facility in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on the banks of the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River at the Mississippi–Louisiana border. , it is NASA ...

(SSC). These communities had a total population of 700 families, who were fully relocated from their former properties. , SSC is NASA's largest

rocket engine test facility A rocket engine test facility is a location where rocket engines may be tested on the ground, under controlled conditions. A ground test program is generally required before the engine is certified for flight. Ground testing is very inexpensive i ...

. It also provides testing facilities for more than 30 different state, national, international, public, and private rocket developers and manufacturers. Remnants of the portion of Pearlington and the other five communities still exist inside the testing buffer zone at SSC. These include such features as city streets, now overgrown with grasses and shrubs, and a one-room school house.

Hurricane Katrina

On August 29, 2005 at 10am CDT (1500

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

made a third landfall on Pearlington. The eye of the hurricane made direct contact with Pearlington, halfway between

and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Hurricane Katrina came ashore during the high tide of 8:01am, raising flood waters +2.2 feet more. Hurricane Katrina damaged more than 40 Mississippi libraries. The Pearlington Public Library was a total loss, and it required a complete rebuild. Almost a year later, a member of C.O.D.R.A. (Coalition of Disaster Relief Agencies) in Pearlington noted that all (but 2) homes, every building, and every vehicle in the town of 1600 was destroyed. The storm surge travelled inland to drown what little was left under 12–20 feet of toxic stew from the saltwater storm tide off 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 ...

. The town was reduced to a site for survivors to get water, ice and military-issued meals from aid stations. There was no Red Cross or shelter. The houses were heaps of debris, and broken trees and nail-studded boards littered the roads. The people - perhaps 600 of the 1,700 residents - had to live in tents and under tarps. The elementary school buildings that were still standing were opened as shelters after the water went down. Residents say that Pearlington was old and generally overlooked. It has been a segregated and isolated town. It has no

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. The only form of government was the town's all volunteer fire department, West Hancock Fire Rescue, and its head, Chief Kim Jones. After further damage from

Hurricane Gustav Hurricane Gustav () was the second most destructive tropical cyclone of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. The seventh tropical cyclone, third hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Gustav caused serious damage and Casualty (per ...

in 2008, Pearlington began to rebuild.Pearlington, MS Rebuild Site
Accessed 28 January 2013.

Notable people

* Ripley A. Arnold (1817–1853), founder of Camp Worth, eventually renamed

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

* Emma Sadler Moss (1898–1970), pathologist * P. Rutilius R. Pray (1793–1839), Justice of the

Supreme Court of Mississippi The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the Supreme court, highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in 1818 per the terms of the first constitution of the state and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appeals from 1832 to 1 ...

Notes

External links

Article on how Pearlington, Mississippi was affected by Hurricane Katrina
* http://westhancockfirerescue.org * http://thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1101 This American Life radio program, episode 299: Back From the Dead, 10.07.2005. Act Two. 'P' Is For Porta-Potty. Producer visits Pearlington to report on activities after Katrina, where it is unclear who is in charge {{authority control Census-designated places in Hancock County, Mississippi Census-designated places in Mississippi Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area