Long Beach

History

Long Beach began as an agricultural town, based around its radish industry, but on August 10, 1905, Long Beach incorporated and became another city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As the years went on, the city moved from its agricultural heritage and moved toward tourism with the beach becoming increasingly popular. Long Beach's early economy was based largely upon radishes. Logging initially drove the local economy, but when the area's virgin yellow pine forests became depleted, row crops were planted on the newly cleared land. A productive truck farming town in the early 20th century, citizens of Long Beach proclaimed the city to be the "Radish Capital of the World". The city was especially known for its cultivation of the Long Red radish variety, a favorite beer hall staple in the northern US at the time. In 1921, a bumper crop resulted in the shipment of over 300 trainloads of Long Beach's Long Red radishes to northern states. Eventually, the Long Red radishes for which Long Beach was known fell into disfavor, and the rise of the common button radish caused a dramatic decline in the cultivation of this crop in the area. The city of Long Beach, California, held a fund raiser to help its eponymous relative. The city of Peoria, Arizona, adopted Long Beach and provided both public and private resources. This resulted in a close relationship between the two communities.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Laughing Gull

  Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,806
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,717
• Brown Pelican

  Pelecanus occidentalis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  4,667
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,511
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,438
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,426
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,105
• Sanderling

  Calidris alba (Pallas, 1764) · Aves
  3,946

Largest nearby schools

• GULFPORT HIGH SCHOOL
  High · Gulfport · 1,728 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• WEST HARRISON HIGH SCHOOL
  High · Gulfport · 1,124 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• NORTH GULFPORT ELEMENTARY AND MIDDL
  Elementary · Gulfport · 1,060 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• LONG BEACH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · Long Beach · 932 students · 15:1 ratio
• BAYOU VIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · GULFPORT · 826 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• HARPER MC CAUGHAN ELEM SCHOOL
  Middle · Long Beach · 687 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• BAYOU VIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · Gulfport · 682 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• WEST HARRISON MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · Gulfport · 653 students · 17.6:1 ratio