Editing Hancock County, Mississippi

{{short description|County in Mississippi, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Hancock County 
 | state                = Mississippi 
 | seal                 = 
 | founded              = 1812 
 | seat wl              = Bay St. Louis 
 | largest city wl      = Bay St. Louis 
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 553 
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 474 
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 79 
 | area percentage      = 14 
 | population_as_of     = 2020 
 | population_total     = 46053 
 | pop_est_as_of        = 2023
 | population_est       = 46159 {{gain}}
 | density_sq_mi        = auto 
 | web                  = https://hancockcounty.ms.gov/ 
 | ex image             = HancockCountyCourthouse14Sept07.jpg
 | ex image cap         = Hancock County courthouse in Bay St. Louis
 | district             = 4th
 | time zone            = Central
 | named for            = [[John Hancock]] }}

'''Hancock County''' is the southernmost [[County (United States)|county]] of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Mississippi]] and is named for [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] [[John Hancock]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n147 148]}}</ref> As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 46,053.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Hancock County, Mississippi|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Hancock_County,_Mississippi?g=0500000US28045|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 8, 2023}}</ref> Its [[county seat]] is [[Bay St. Louis, Mississippi|Bay St. Louis]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> Hancock County is part of the [[Gulfport, Mississippi|Gulfport]]–[[Biloxi, Mississippi|Biloxi]], MS [[Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area|Metropolitan Statistical Area]]. It is situated along the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and the state line with [[Louisiana]]. The area is home to the [[John C. Stennis Space Center]], NASA's largest rocket engine test facility. The county was severely damaged from [[Hurricane Katrina]] on August 29, 2005, which caused a huge [[storm surge]] and [[Effect of Hurricane Katrina on Mississippi#Hancock County|catastrophic damage]].

==History==
This area of Mississippi was inhabited by indigenous peoples at the time of European colonization; the French were the first settlers and traders in the area. They imported African slaves as laborers, and in time a Creole class of [[free people of color]] developed.

After the United States conducted [[Indian Removal]] in the 1830s, more Protestant Americans migrated into this area, but it retained French and African Catholic influences. Located on the Gulf Coast, the county was regularly hit by hurricanes but its residents learned to handle these incidents.

In 2005, the county was the scene of the final landfall of the eye of [[Hurricane Katrina]], and its communities and infrastructure suffered some of the most intense damage inflicted by that storm. Over the entire {{convert|7|mi|km|adj=on}} beach front, not one building or home was left intact. Nearly the entire first block off the beach was destroyed for the entire {{convert|7|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch. <!-- Fatalities? How many people evacuated? -->

Homes as far inland as {{convert|10|mi|km}} were flooded by the historic storm surge, which occurred during a full moon high tide. All rivers and waterways were inundated by the surge. Highway 603 south from [[Interstate 10 in Mississippi|Interstate 10]] was completely submerged, and the [[U.S. Highway 90#Mississippi|Highway 90]] - Bay St. Louis Bridge was left looking like a stack of dominoes.

Houses were floated off their foundations. In Waveland and Bay St. Louis, some homes were stranded atop the railroad tracks and others in the middle of streets. Towns like Pearlington, Waveland, Bay St. Louis, [[Diamondhead, Mississippi|Diamondhead]], and [[Kiln, Mississippi|Kiln]] suffered catastrophic damage.

==Recovery from Hurricane Katrina==
{{Expand section|date=August 2007}}
A loosely knit group of [[hippies]] called the "[[Rainbow Family]]" arrived in Hancock County soon after Hurricane Katrina. From early September 2005 to early December 2005, they ran the "[[New Waveland Cafe and Clinic]]"  <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://newwavelandcafe.blogspot.com/|title=Pferdeerziehung im Fohlenalter|date=July 1, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hippie Kitchens Serve Final Meal to Hurricane Victims |website=[[NPR]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801195613/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5025313 |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |url-status=live |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5025313}}</ref> located in the parking lot of Fred's Dept Store on Highway 90.

The café provided free hot meals three times a day. The clinic was staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses from around the United States who saw more than 5000 patients during the duration. They provided treatment free of charge and dispensed free medications. Donations of medications and supplies came from a multitude of sources, with International Aid <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://internationalaid.org/|title=International Aid|website=internationalaid.org}}</ref> arranging the most donations. This was the first experience of the Rainbow Family in running a disaster relief center. The Bastrop Christian Outreach Center also volunteered with the Rainbow Family.

Local churches were central points of recovery in Bay St. Louis, Waveland, and Diamondhead. Some churches provided shelter, meals, clothing, and various clean-up supplies. The churches also provided distribution points where supplies could be donated and easily passed on to those who needed help. Other disaster relief agencies that were active in Hancock County include Samaritan's Purse, Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief, Red Cross, Rotary International and Salvation Army.

Businesses became operational as quickly as possible. The Waveland Wal-Mart operated out of a tent for 3 months following the storm; Diamondhead Discount Drug was opened within 2 days following Katrina, although the owner's store and home were both severely damaged. Other business such as Dairy Queen and Subway donated their foodstuffs, before it could spoil, in order to feed survivors.

==Geography==
[[Image:Mississippi-Coast-towns-NOAA.jpg|right|thumb|400px| Coastal counties of Mississippi.]]

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|553|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|474|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|79|sqmi}} (14%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_28.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 4, 2014|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928074019/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_28.txt|archive-date=September 28, 2013}}</ref>

===Major highways===
* [[Image:I-10.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 10]]
* [[Image:US 90.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Highway 90]]
* [[Image:Circle sign 43.svg|20px]] [[Mississippi Highway 43]]
* [[Image:Circle sign 53.svg|20px]] [[Mississippi Highway 53]]
* [[Image:Circle sign 603.svg|20px]] [[Mississippi Highway 603]]
* [[Image:Circle sign 607.svg|20px]] [[Mississippi Highway 607]]

===Adjacent counties and parishes===
* [[Pearl River County, Mississippi|Pearl River County]] (north)
* [[Harrison County, Mississippi|Harrison County]] (east)
* [[St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana]] (south)
* [[St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana]] (west)

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1820= 1594
|1830= 1962
|1840= 3367
|1850= 3672
|1860= 3139
|1870= 4239
|1880= 6439
|1890= 8318
|1900= 11886
|1910= 11207
|1920= 10380
|1930= 11415
|1940= 11328
|1950= 11891
|1960= 14039
|1970= 17387
|1980= 24537
|1990= 31760
|2000= 42967
|2010= 43929
|2020= 46053
|estyear=2023
|estimate=46159
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 5, 2024}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref><br />1790-1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref> 1900-1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ms190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref><br />1990-2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref> 2010-2013<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28/28045.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 3, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607051127/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28/28045.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref> 2019<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MS/PST045218|title=QuickFacts. Mississippi counties|access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref>
}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Hancock County racial composition as of 2020<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US28045&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 16, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
|37,341
|81.08%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
|3,911
|8.49%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|244
|0.53%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|424
|0.92%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
|9
|0.02%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|2,206
|4.79%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|1,918
|4.16%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 46,053 people, 20,036 households, and 13,081 families residing in the county.

Hancock is the only county in Mississippi where Roman Catholics outnumber Baptists. Catholics comprise a plurality of residents of Hancock County, owing to the county's French colonial heritage and proximity to deeply Catholic Southern Louisiana.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Royal Berglee |first=PhD |date=June 17, 2016 |title=4.3 United States: Population and Religion |url=https://open.lib.umn.edu/worldgeography/chapter/4-3-united-states-population-and-religion/ |language=en-us}}</ref>

==Communities==

===Cities===
* [[Bay St. Louis, Mississippi|Bay St. Louis]] (county seat)
* [[Diamondhead, Mississippi|Diamondhead]]
* [[Waveland, Mississippi|Waveland]]

===Census-designated places===
* [[Kiln, Mississippi|Kiln]]
* [[Pearlington, Mississippi|Pearlington]]

===Unincorporated communities===
* [[Ansley, Mississippi|Ansley]]
* [[Clermont Harbor, Mississippi|Clermont Harbor]]
* [[Lakeshore, Mississippi|Lakeshore]]
* [[Leetown, Mississippi|Leetown]]
* [[Napoleon, Mississippi|Napoleon]]
* [[Necaise, Mississippi|Necaise]]
* [[Shoreline Park, Mississippi|Shoreline Park]] (former CDP)

===Ghost towns===
* [[Gainesville, Mississippi|Gainesville]]
* [[Logtown, Mississippi|Logtown]]

==Politics==
Hancock County, like most of the rest of the Gulf Coast, votes heavily Republican. The last Democrat to carry the county was [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1976 through a narrow 90-vote plurality, and [[Al Gore]] in 2000 was the last Democrat to manage even 30% of the county's vote.<ref>https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/</ref>

{{PresHead|place=Hancock County, Mississippi|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 2, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|16,684|4,262|229|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|16,132|4,504|321|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|13,811|3,344|482|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|12,964|3,917|286|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|13,020|3,768|268|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|12,581|5,107|181|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|9,326|4,801|421|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|5,820|4,303|1,254|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|6,422|4,651|2,367|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|7,763|3,760|164|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|7,662|2,630|52|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|5,088|3,544|283|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|3,765|3,855|222|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|5,133|745|71|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|1,065|904|4,072|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|2,550|1,501|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|719|2,132|502|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|1,421|1,179|74|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|1,347|1,578|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1948|Dixiecrat|151|222|1,402|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|137|1,642|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|197|1,550|1|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|164|1,284|16|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|109|1,349|14|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|456|1,284|0|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|192|467|50|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|130|305|3|Mississippi}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|68|512|2|Mississippi}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|28|365|59|Mississippi}}

==Education==
School districts include:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28045_hancock/DC20SD_C28045.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414180042/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28045_hancock/DC20SD_C28045.pdf |archive-date=April 14, 2022 |url-status=live|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Hancock County, MS|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|accessdate=July 31, 2022}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28045_hancock/DC20SD_C28045_SD2MS.txt Text list]</ref>
* [[Bay St. Louis School District]]
* [[Hancock County School District]]
* [[Picayune School District]]

==See also==
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Hancock County, Mississippi]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080828180109/http://www.hancocklibraries.info/index.html Hancock County Library System]
* [http://www.hancockso.com/ Hancock County Sheriff's Office]
* [http://www.hancockschools.net/ Hancock County School District]
* {{Commons category-inline|Hancock County, Mississippi}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311104829/http://www.mississippicourthouses.com/Hancock Mississippi Courthouses – Hancock County]

{{Geographic location
|Centre    = Hancock County, Mississippi
|North     = [[Pearl River County, Mississippi|Pearl River County]]
|Northeast =
|East      = [[Harrison County, Mississippi|Harrison County]]
|Southeast =
|South     = [[Gulf of Mexico]]
|Southwest =
|West      = [[St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana]]
|Northwest =
}}

{{Hancock County, Mississippi}}
{{Mississippi}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|30.39|-89.47|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-MS_source:UScensus1990}}

[[Category:Hancock County, Mississippi| ]]
[[Category:Mississippi counties]]
[[Category:Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area]]
[[Category:1812 establishments in Mississippi Territory]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1812]]