Best Web Design in Gulfport, MS (2026)

Web Design for Gulfport, Mississippi

Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi and the seat of Harrison County, built as a railroad-and-harbor town that once led the world in exporting yellow pine lumber. Today it blends a working deepwater port and a large Navy Seabee base with 6.7 miles of white sand beach, casinos, and a Gulf-front tourism economy. It has rebuilt twice from catastrophe, after Hurricane Camille in 1969 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

AppWT works with Gulfport, MS businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Gulfport

Also known as. Where Your Ship Comes In. Anchored in Excellence.

History. Gulfport grew out of the earlier settlements of Mississippi City and Handsboro and was founded in 1887 by William H. Hardy as the terminus of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad. Philadelphia oil tycoon Joseph T. Jones financed the railroad, harbor and channel dredging that made the city viable; Gulfport incorporated on July 28, 1898. The name was coined in 1888 by Jackson Clarion-Ledger editor R. H. Henry after a conversation with Hardy. With the port completed in 1902, Gulfport became the world's leading exporter of yellow pine and the largest lumber-export city in the United States, shipping over 293 million feet of lumber in 1906. Hurricane Camille struck on August 17, 1969, driving a storm surge of about 21 feet and nearly destroying the port. Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005, with a storm surge of at least 19 feet, damaging or destroying about 9,571 houses. Amtrak passenger service returned to Gulfport on August 18, 2025 with the new Mardi Gras Service, after a 20-year absence.

Local economy. Memorial Hospital at Gulfport is the largest employer, with roughly 4,953 workers as of 2020. The Naval Construction Battalion Center, home base of the Navy Seabees, employs around 4,876 people. The Island View Casino employs roughly 1,976 people and is one of twelve casinos on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Port of Gulfport, a major banana and container gateway, is one of the busiest ports on the Gulf of Mexico. Tourism built around gaming, the beach and recreation is a core part of the modern economy.

Culture and community. The Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, held at Jones Park during the July 4th week since about 1948, is one of the nation's oldest and largest saltwater fishing tournaments. Cruisin' The Coast, billed as 'America's Largest Block Party,' brings tens of thousands of classic and hot-rod cars to the coast. Jaimoe, the founding drummer of the Allman Brothers Band, grew up in Gulfport. Notable people connected to Gulfport include NFL quarterback Brett Favre, politician and author Stacey Abrams, Olympic long-jump gold medalist Brittney Reese, U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, and former NBA player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.

What makes Gulfport distinct. Astronaut Stuart Roosa, Command Module Pilot of Apollo 14, was from Gulfport; he carried tree seeds to lunar orbit that were later grown into 'Moon Trees.' The Sun Herald, Gulfport's newspaper, won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for its Hurricane Katrina coverage. Gulfport's long, flat beach is largely artificial, created with sand pumped and placed behind a seawall. The city grew from a railroad man's plan to ship lumber, not from a natural harbor town.

Gulfport Landmarks and Local Life

• The Mississippi Aquarium - a 5.8-acre downtown complex that opened in 2020 with more than 200 species of animals
• Fort Massachusetts on West Ship Island - a 19th-century masonry fort within the Gulf Islands National Seashore, reached by ferry from Gulfport
• Jones Park and the Gulfport Small Craft Harbor along the beachfront.
• The Turkey Creek Community Historic District - a settlement established by emancipated African Americans during Reconstruction
• The 6.7 miles of man-made white sand beach fronting the Mississippi Sound.