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CHistory
History · Gautier

Gautier dates to 1867, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #67 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it

Most of Gautier was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1970.

1867founded
3on the National Register
0.6%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Gautier began

When was Gautier founded?

1867

Gautier dates its founding to 1867 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 2,087 in 19702020 census: 19,024159 years

How historic is Gautier?

C

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Gautier’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gautier is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #67 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gautier’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.6% of homes (±0.5) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register3 listings, 11 historic buildings, 5.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MS town 71.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 29%
NewerOlder
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (100)Ahead of 33%

Mississippi towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Mississippi town has 71.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Gautier’s 5.8 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1867.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Gautier’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gautier, and 12 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Gautier are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Gautier’s post office has been open since 1898. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

West Pascagoula
1860–1867
Fort Bayou
1881–1914
Gautier
1898–today
Hulda
1903–1904
Martins Bluff
1910–1912
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Anchor Trailer ParkCoast Meadows Mobile Home ParkFairchilds Mobile Home ParkFort BayouGulf Breeze Mobile Home ParkHickory HillsHildaIsle of Pines Mobile Home VillageLonghorn Mobile ParkMartin BluffOlive Pine Mobile Home ParkSimmons Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Avers MilllocaleBethel ChurchchurchLyons Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gautier
BethelMartin BluffPinecrestTaylor

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Gautier’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gautier’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Gautier came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gautier.

Read it all →

The town takes its name from the Gautier family that originated in Lyon, France. Fernando Upton Gautier (1822–1891) was born on a cargo ship as his parents were emigrating to New Orleans. In 1867, Gautier established a spacious homestead at the mouth of the Pascagoula River, which still stands. He established a lucrative sawmill business in the area, and the town grew up from it. The home, known by locals as "The Old Place", is owned by the descendants of Fernando Upton Gautier and his wife, Theresa Fayard Gautier (1828–1911), and is used for private and public events.

The Eric Clark Coastal Preserve is a 900 acres (360 ha) protected coastal land preserve with hiking areas in Gautier. It was established in 2023.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gautier, 1860 to 1943

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe West Pascagoula post office opens
  3. 1867
    FoundingGautier is established
  4. 1867Post officeThe West Pascagoula post office closes
  5. 1881Post officeThe Fort Bayou post office opens
  6. 1898Post officeThe Gautier post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1914Post officeThe Fort Bayou post office closes
  9. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Gautier, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Historic Gautier Cemetery2015Historic Gautier CemeteryHercules Fishing Club2015Hercules Fishing ClubSears - panoramio (1)2013Sears - panoramio (1)House on Watersedge Drive in Gautier, Mississippi Nov 20122012House on Watersedge Drive in Gautier, Mississippi Nov…FEMA - 19095 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 11-10-2005 in Mississippi2005FEMA - 19095 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 11-1…
On the map

Gautier on the map, 1943 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gautier. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Gautier on the 1943 USGS mapGautier on the 1955 USGS mapGautier on the 1982 USGS map1943Pascagoula sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gautier.

On the National Register

3 listings protect 11 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
11
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Col. Alfred E. Lewis House
Col. Alfred E. Lewis HouseGautier SchoolGautier Beachfront Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Moderne1
All 3 listings
Col. Alfred E. Lewis HouseBuilding · listed 1980Gautier SchoolBuilding · listed 2012Gautier Beachfront Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2013

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Gautier, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00019802000202019,024

Grew from 2,087 people in 1970 to 19,024 in 2020, 9 times over.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gautier’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

VancleaveIts storyDOcean Springs21 historic placesA−

Questions about Gautier’s history

What year was Gautier founded?

In 1867, according to Wikidata. Gautier’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1970 counted 2,087 people here.

How does Gautier rank for history?

Gautier is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #67 of 100 in Mississippi. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Gautier?

Three places: the Col. Alfred E. Lewis House (listed 1980), the Gautier School (2012) and the Gautier Beachfront Historic District (2013).

How old are the homes in Gautier?

0.6% of Gautier’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1984.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.