Biloxi (city), in southeastern Mississippi, in Harrison County, on a peninsula extending into the Gulf of Mexico.
It is a year-round resort and a major fishing center, shrimp and oysters being the principal catch.
Keesler Air Force Base is nearby.
Historical attractions in the area include a home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and, on Ship Island, a Union fort of the American Civil War (1861-1865).
The city, named for the Biloxi people, is one of the oldest communities in the Mississippi Valley.
The French established a settlement at Old Biloxi (now Ocean Springs), across Biloxi Bay, in 1699, and in 1719 present-day Biloxi was founded; it served as the capital of the French Louisiana Territory from 1719 to 1722.
Biloxi was incorporated as a city in 1896. Population; 50,600+.

Mississippi A state of the southeast United States. It was admitted as the 20th state in 1817. The first settlers in the region (1699) were French, and the area became part of Louisiana. It passed to the British (1763-1779) and then to the Spanish before being ceded to the United States in 1783. The Mississippi Territory, organized in 1798 and enlarged in 1804 and 1813, also included the present state of Alabama. Jackson is the capital and the largest city. Population, 2,586,400+.

Updated 07-03-04

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