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Situated in southeastern Mississippi, the city of Moss Point is in Jackson County. The Mississippi Gulf Coast community developed at the confluence of the Pascagoula River and the Escatawpa River, and was originally known as Mossey Pen Point when it served as a resting point for cattle herders transporting their cattle along the rivers. At one time, its post office was designated as Elder’s Ferry, but the town became known as Mossey Point, which was later shortened to Moss Point. The lumber industry aided the growth of the town, as sawmills were established to produce lumber from the surrounding Piney Woods region. The sawmills came to a halt during the American Civil War, as Union troops took over the town and the mills. After the war, the lumber and sawmill business revived. Once the Longleaf Pine was exhausted, and nearly eliminated from the Mississippi landscape, Moss Point hosted paper mills that used remnants of the cut forest and second-growth pines to produce kraft paper. A four-mile railroad, known as the Moss Point & Pascagoula Railroad was built in 1894, running from Moss Point to Scranton, now known as Pascagoula. This railroad changed ownership and names several times over the years, and was both extended and shortened at different times, currently operating as the Mississippi Export Railroad. The city was incorporated in 1901, the only community in Mississippi to become a city before being a village or a town. Today, the city depends in part on eco-tourism and recreational activities. Surrounding communities include Escatawpa, Gautier, Orange Grove, and Pascagoula. Biloxi, Mississippi is about thirty miles west, and Mobile, Alabama is about thirty-eight miles northeast of Moss Point.

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