Gulfport’s post office opened in 1887, and 16 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #53 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
Most of Gulfport was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. 16 places in town are on the National Register, among them seven historic districts with 980 buildings between them. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1900.
The Gulfport post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Six smaller post offices, Mississippi City (1839), Handsboro (1854) and Stonewall (1871), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,060 in 19002020 census: 72,926139 years
How historic is Gulfport?
B−
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Gulfport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gulfport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gulfport is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #53 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gulfport’s overall grade.
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 Gulfport’s 143 sits above most of its state (70% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 1,044 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Gulfport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Gulfport’s post office has been open since 1887. Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mississippi City
1839–1967
Handsboro
1854–1967
Stonewall
1871–1896
Gulfport
1887–today
Landon
1895–1924
Lorraine
1896–1918
Nugent
1896–1921
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arlington Heights Mobile Home ParkBayou Oaks Mobile Home ParkBulahCouves Mobile Home ParkCypress Bay Mobile Home ParkDeer Mobile ParkEpicoFernwood Trailer CourtGrasslawn Mobile Home ParkHandsboroHidden Acres Mobile Home ParkKathy Mobile ParkLandonLoraineMississippi CityNorth GulfportNugentOaks Mobile Home ParkOrange GroveParadise Park Mobile Home ParkPettis Mobile ParkPoolside Mobile Home VillageShady Oak Mobile ParkSmallwood Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Gulf Coast Military AcademyschoolGulfport Army Air Fieldmilitary
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gulfport
EvergreenFloral HillsHandsboroJones Memorial Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Two villages predated the founding of Gulfport: Mississippi City, located along the gulf, and Handsboro, founded in the 1800s along the northern bayous. Mississippi City was born out of the Mississippi City Company that was formed in 1837 to build a town to serve as the terminus for the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad. The purpose of the railroad was to transfer yellow pine for ship-based trade. While a depression led to the abandonment of the railroad, the town was nevertheless built and later made the county seat upon the creation of Harrison County in 1841.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gulfport. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Gulfport South sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gulfport.
Every building
Gulfport, building by building, 1904–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Gulfport post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Gulfport rank for history?
Gulfport is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #53 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 Gulfport?
16 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Hewes Building (listed 1982, the first), and 7 historic districts with 980 contributing buildings. 1,044 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Gulfport?
3% of Gulfport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (16), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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