OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss.—Towering live oak trees, some more than hundreds of years old, line the historic streets of Ocean Springs. Beneath the lush overhang of trees, colorful vibrant storefronts dot the streets of the quaint coastal town.
Ocean Springs is a small town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with a population of around 19,000 people that live within approximately 11 square miles.
The town has recently entered the national spotlight amid the ongoing investigation into the death of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old resident of Ocean Springs.
A park ranger found Wells’ body on Horn Island on July 6, two days after Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, and a friend reported Wells missing to authorities when he didn’t return home from a boat trip to Horn Island with his friends.
The Wells’ case has recently brought the small coastal town into the national spotlight, but there’s a rich local history and culture that defines Ocean Springs.
Origins of Ocean Springs
Ocean Springs was colonized by the French and settled in 1699 by French explorer Pierre Le Moyne D’Iberville. He established Fort Maurepas, which was the first capital of the French colony of Louisiana.
In the early 1800s, the area was home to a large community of immigrants who primarily came to the area from France, Spain, Ireland and Portugal and earned a living through farming, lumbering and the naval and seafood industry.
The town was incorporated on September 9, 1892. At the time of incorporation, it had a population of around 1,500 people.
In the 1850s, the town became a tourist destination known for its mineral springs on Fort Bayou. The springs became a popular tourist attraction, drawing people from across the country. Originally called Old Biloxi, Ocean Springs got its current name in 1854 from the Ocean Springs Hotel.
The original springs have been preserved in Marble Springs Park, a historic site.
Today, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that Ocean Springs has a population of approximately 18,993 people.
Although Ocean Springs has been a multicultural community at points throughout its history, today the population is majority-white, with 79.6% of its residents identifying as white, 8.4% as Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% identifying as Black, 5.2% identifying as Asian, 0.1% as Indigenous and 5.8% as two or more races.
This is less diverse than the state of Mississippi overall, which the U.S. Census Bureau reports identifies as 58% white, 36% Black, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% Asian, 0.9% Indigenous and 3% as two or more races.
Ocean Springs also reports a lower percentage of its residents who live in poverty, at 5.5%. That is significantly lower than the state average for Mississippi at 17.8%.
Major employment sectors in Ocean Springs include healthcare, hospitality, education and retail, with local tourism, the maritime industry and its small-business economy serving as large economic drivers.
Seafood Industry
The roots of Ocean Springs’ seafood industry can be traced back to Indigenous communities, who fished and harvested seafood from the coast for centuries before its French colonization.
In 1699, the abundance of seafood in the area also supported French settlers who came to the coast. However, it wasn’t until the town became a tourist destination in the 1850s that markets for local seafood started to become a major Ocean Springs industry.
Sarah Qarqish, the director of arts and culture at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center in Ocean Springs, said the seafood industry still plays a key role in the town.
Qarqish said today, shrimping and oyster farming are still key parts of Ocean Springs’ seafood industry, with some companies supplying their catch directly to local restaurants in town.
“It’s still very prominent,” Qarish said. “And something that Ocean Springs is still very proud of.”
A Town for Artists and Creatives
Ocean Springs is widely known for its rich artistic history that continues to influence the culture of the area today.
In addition to serving as director of the Mary C. O’Keefe Center, Qarqish founded a community of artists called Local Creatives. She said the art community is special because it’s clear everyone is “genuinely passionate about what they’re doing.”
Cynthia Sutton, the CEO of the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce–Main Street–Tourism Bureau, said the origins of the economic development and creative community in Ocean Springs today came from the Anderson family.
“When you come into town, you just breathe and see art,” Sutton said.
Today, the Anderson family legacy is a cornerstone of the local arts community in town.
Peter Anderson and his brothers Walter and James were all celebrated artists in the Ocean Springs community known for their painting and pottery.
Peter founded Shearwater Pottery in 1928, which is still operated today by his descendants.
Walter was known for his frequent trips to Horn Island to inspire his paintings, including one where he tied himself to a tree during a hurricane to experience the storm so he could more accurately capture its power in his art. The Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs is home to him and his brothers’ artistic works.
Sutton said the downtown area of Ocean Springs currently has nearly 150 small businesses that sustain the “bustling town.” She said Ocean Springs has also become known as the “shopping and dining mecca” of the Gulf Coast due to its wide variety of restaurants and shops, most of which are locally owned and operated.
“Ocean Springs has a huge entrepreneurial spirit—from the school district to the arts community,” Sutton said.
Sutton said the Ocean Springs Art Association has a membership of around 300 artists city-wide and that $30,000 in grants have recently been awarded to businesses downtown for new murals.
“Ocean Springs just loves art,” Sutton said. “So businesses start breathing art.”
Qarqish said the Ocean Springs, especially the artist community, is “like a family” where everyone wants to “treasure and protect” each other and the land.
“People in our community put a lot of energy into things that they believe in,” Qarqish said. “The most important thing that we want people to experience when they’re here is to feel welcome, to feel inspired.”
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