Located in the southern part of the state of Mississippi and a city in Harrison County, Gulfport sits in the east of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is also a port of entry on Mississippi Sound which is an embayment of the Gulf of Mexico. The area is the site of the terminus of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad. Gulfport experienced a short-lived boom as a seaside resort after the Gulf line was purchased by the Illinois Central Railroad. At the end of World War II, the resort-hotel business grew and was enhanced by one of the world’s longest man-made sand beaches. Gulfport’s surrounding coastal bayous and rivers are abundant with fish and its deepwater harbor is notable for handling the importation of bananas.