Secret Facts

1. During the summers of 1951-1957, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll Elvis Presley stayed at the Gulf Hills Hotel in Ocean Springs.
2. Rumor has it that Del Castle, a former home in Ocean Springs, was a port of entry for Al Capone’s contraband liquor during the Prohibition years.
3. Several legends surround the haunting sounds of Pascagoula’s “Singing River;” one outlines a forbidden romance between Anola, a Biloxi Indian princess, and Pascagoula tribesman Altama. Their love evoked a war between the two tribes, resulting in the group suicide of the Pascagoula.
4. Pascagoula means “bread people” as the Pascagoula Indians made bread using the starchy native plants grown along the river.
5. Coastal Mississippi, from Biloxi to Henderson Point, is home to the largest and longest man-made beach in the nation.
6. Founded in 1849, the Pass Christian Yacht Club is the second oldest yacht club in North America.
7. The Biloxi Lighthouse is almost 200 years old and is notable for having several female lightkeepers in its history. 
8. In the early 19^th century, Coastal Mississippi was a hotbed for entertainment and early gambling, with tourist destinations including the Magnolia Hotel, the Nixon Hotel, Madame Pradat’s, and the Shady Grove Hotel.
9. The schooner factories along Coastal Mississippi hosted organized races for cash prizes in the late 19^th century.
10. Dog Key Island, which was only three miles long, was a popular haven for transporting illegal liquor during Prohibition.
11. The Isle of Caprice, a hotel and resort, was built on Dog Key Island due to its popularity; though by 1932, it was submerged underwater due to a series of storms and erosion.
12. Because gambling was popular, the Broadwater Beach Hotel was built in 1938 to cater to local and visitor gamblers who could afford it, a significant economy booster after the Great Depression.
13. During the 1960s, clubs such as the Fiesta, Gus Stevens, the Beach Club, and Mr. Lucky’s all offered “games of chance,” aka gambling.
14. Hancock was the first coastal county to approve dockside gambling on December 5, 1990. The Isle of Capri Casino was the first commercial casino to open its doors on August 1, 1992 in Biloxi.
15. On August 17, 1969, Category 5 Hurricane Camille made landfall near Waveland, with peak winds reaching over 175 mph.
16. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina brought a 28-foot storm surge to the shores of Coastal Mississippi, devastating all 12 coastal cities. In total, Katrina claimed 238 Mississippian’s lives and caused more than $241 billion dollars in damages to the state.
17. The Chevron refinery in Pascagoula processes approximately 351,000 barrels of crude oil daily, which equals 6.45 million gallons of gasoline.
18. Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula is the largest manufacturing employer in the state of Mississippi.
19. Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company.
20. If you want to get to the moon, you must pass through Coastal Mississippi first. Since the Apollo era, the
    John C. Stennis Space Center is known as the premier testing facility for large propulsion.
21. Stennis is home to the Naval Meteorology & Oceanography Command which includes the largest concentration of oceanographers in the world.
22. Stennis is home to the Government Printing Office’s second passport printing facility.
23. Mockingbird Café in Bay St. Louis is a plastic-free restaurant.
24. Barq’s Root Beer was invented in Biloxi in 1898. The Barq’s Building is still located in the Downtown Historic District.
25. The Ocean Springs Community Center houses a 3,000 square foot mural by late iconic coastal artist Walter Anderson.