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Diamondhead is a city in southeastern Hancock County, Mississippi, United States. The city is located just over 50 miles (80 km) northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. In February 2012, Diamondhead was officially incorporated as a city.

SIGHTS AND ACTIVITIES

Diamondhead Country Club

30 minutes from Gulfport/Biloxi, and 45 minutes from New Orleans, this 36-hole, beautiful and challenging layout is sure to live up to all your expectations. The Diamondhead Pine Course has well-placed bunkers and water that comes into play on many holes and was masterfully carved into the rare rolling terrain. The Diamondhead Cardinal Course is wooded, built on gently rolling terrain with extra-long sand bunkers and has no parallel fairways. Diamondhead also offers the only indoor/outdoor Golf Academy along the MS Gulf Coast, full service practice facility and Golf Shop, restaurant & bar and the public is always welcome. Diamondhead has been host to  the MS Gulf Resort Classic Pre-Qualifier and Qualifier for multiple years. Diamondhead is the right choice for players of all skill levels in search of championship golf, scenic beauty and some of the best greens along the coast.

EDUCATION

SCHOOLS:

  • East Elementary School
  • Hancock N Central Elementary School
  • Hancock Middle School
  • Hancock High School

NEIGHBORHOOD

When Diamondhead was an unincorporated census-designated, the population was 8,425. The city population, with slightly different boundaries, was estimated at 8,048 in 2019.

The population density was 745.6 people per square mile (286.6/km2). There were 4,308 housing units at an average density of 381.2/sq mi (146.5/km2).

There were 3,586 households, out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $51,361, and the median income for a family was $58,533. Males had a median income of $41,725 versus $29,595 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $26,631. About 4.3% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

POPULAR REAL ESTATE

Diamondhead has one residential neighborhood, Diamondhead. 

HISTORY

On October 25, 1961, NASA announced the formation of the Mississippi Test Facility, now the John C. Stennis Space Center. The center would be located in an area bordering the Pearl River in Hancock County. During and following the construction of the facility, an influx of government workers, contractors, and their families moved into the area.

Much of the land that became Diamondhead had been purchased by Walter Gex, Sr., in 1937 from the Gulf State Paper Company and the Easy Opener Bag Company. Additional land was purchased by Gex, bringing his acquisition to nearly 5,000 acres (2,000 ha). In the late 1960s, D.E.A.R., Inc., later known as the Diamondhead Corporation, a large corporation interested in resort developments, began operations on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, with Diamondhead as its first project.

Plans for the largest resort-type community in the southern United States were unveiled at a press conference in 1969. Hawaiian-style architecture, landscape, and road names were featured in the development. The company became interested in purchasing 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of property adjacent to Interstate 10, which was still under construction in the Mississippi Gulf Coast area in the 1960s. The development would be located north of the Bay of Saint Louis, with 2 miles (3 km) of shoreline along the bay and 9 miles (14 km) of shoreline on the Jourdan River and Rotten Bayou. When completed, Diamondhead was expected to represent a total investment cost of $10 million.

The corporation was scheduled to close on the purchase on August 18, 1969, one day after Hurricane Camille made landfall in Hancock County. Shortly after the storm left the area, the investment team was able to survey the damage and found that the area around current-day Diamondhead received far less damage than other coastal areas. Seeing such little damage from Camille, the investment team decided to go ahead with the project. Soon after, Diamondhead had streets, lots, infrastructure, model homes, a country club, an airport, a driving range, and a pavilion that would become the community center.

Diamondhead was responsible for much economic growth by creating opportunities for builders, tradesmen, and service industries related to the construction industry. The community also benefitted from other growth along the coast as employees from the Naval Oceanic Office at Stennis Space Center, the Michoud Assembly Factory in New Orleans, and other developments around the area chose to live in Diamondhead.By the end of the 1970s, 6,500 of the 10,000 lots offered at Diamondhead had been sold. Most of the early residents came from New Orleans, but later residents came from all over the United States. A survey taken in the late 1970s revealed that a large percentage of property owners came from New Orleans to escape overcrowding conditions.

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