Harrison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 208,621, making it the second-most populous county in Mississippi. Its county seats are Biloxi and Gulfport. The county is named after U.S. President William Henry Harrison.
Harrison County is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area.
The county was severely damaged from both Hurricane Camille on August 17, 1969, and Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, causing catastrophic effects.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (41%) are covered by water. The Tchoutacabouffa River has its mouth at Biloxi Bay just north of the city of Biloxi. Gulfport, Mississippi, is the chief port in the state, with access to the Gulf of Mexico through a ship channel. This is the second-largest county in Mississippi by total area.
Wildlife
A single pond in the county contains the critically endangered dusky gopher frog.
Major highways
Interstate 10
Interstate 110
U.S. Highway 49
U.S. Highway 90
Mississippi Highway 15
Mississippi Highway 53
Mississippi Highway 67
Mississippi Highway 605
Mississippi Highway 43
Adjacent counties and parishes
Stone County (north) Jackson County (east) Hancock County (west) St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana (southwest)
National protected areas
De Soto National Forest (part) Gulf Islands National Seashore (part)
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, 208,621 people, 74,628 households, and 50,074 families were residing in the county.
Corrections system
Harrison County has been studied by CNN and other media, which have reported on the beatings of inmates in the Harrison County Jail in Gulfport. Inmate Jessie Lee Williams Jr. died while in custody on February 4, 2006. In 2006 and 2007, six Harrison County Sheriff's Department deputies pleaded guilty to crimes related to the abuse of inmates at the jail. Sheriff Melvin Brisolara-R was elected in 2008, for Harrison County.
Communities
Cities
Biloxi (county seat) D'Iberville Gulfport (county seat) Long Beach Pass Christian
Census-designated places
DeLisle
Henderson Point
Lyman
Saucier
Unincorporated communities
Cuevas
Howison
Lizana
Mississippi City
Wool Market
Politics
Since 1964, Harrison County has voted overwhelmingly Republican. The last Democrat to receive over 40% of the vote was Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Education
School districts include: Biloxi Public School District Gulfport School District Harrison County School District Long Beach School District Pass Christian Public School District
See also
Friendship Oak (Long Beach, Mississippi) Grass Lawn (Gulfport, Mississippi) Harrison Experimental Forest Historic Grand Hotels on the Mississippi Gulf Coast Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain Mississippi Aquarium National Register of Historic Places listings in Harrison County, Mississippi Old Brick House (Biloxi, Mississippi) Tivoli Hotel (Biloxi, Mississippi) Turkey Creek Community Historic District
References
Further reading
Burt, D.E. and H.L. Welch. (2007). Quality of water in selected wells, Harrison County, Mississippi, 1997-2005 [U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1287]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.