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Ocean Springs, Mississippi is a popular senior tourist town and coastal retirement community.

Ocean Springs MS History

Once called Old Biloxi, Ocean Springs was the landing site of French Canadian explorer Pierre le Moyne d'Iberville, where he established Fort Maurepas in 1699. Located on the east shore of the Bay of Biloxi, the French made contact with local Native American Indians living on the Pascagoula River. Ocean Springs became part of British West Florida after France lost the Seven Years War in 1763. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 gave the land to Spain. Spain held the area until it came under the United States’ control in 1811. Mississippi was admitted into the Union in 1817.

The small village known as Old Biloxi or East Biloxi developed slowly. In 1853, the Ocean Springs Hotel was built, giving the town its name. Ocean Springs thrived on visitors traveling to the mineral springs at Fort Bayou until the tourist trade and local economy were decimated by the Civil War. In 1862, Union Navy sailors and marines sailed to Ocean Springs to confiscate guns, rifles and muskets that were being used by Confederate loyalists.

In the 1880’s, tourists started coming back to Oceans Springs. Also in the 1880’s, the pecan, citrus and seafood industries developed nearby.

Ocean Springs Mississippi – Artists’ Colony & Senior Tourist Town

Incorporated in 1892, Ocean Springs Mississippi is now an active artists' colony and popular senior tourist town. The area is still known for its abundant supply of shrimp, fish, crabs, and oysters harvested daily.