The Harrison County Seawall — The Beach That Was Built

Before the 1920s, the Mississippi Sound came right up to the road — crushed oyster shells, no beach. Then Dutch engineers designed a stepped concrete seawall, 26 miles long, dedicated May 10, 1928. At the time, it was the longest seawall in the world. But concrete alone wouldn't hold. The Army Corps of Engineers recommended something softer in front of it: sand. In 1951–52, dredges pumped in what became the largest man-made beach in the United States. Every grain between your feet and the water was put there by a machine. The original seawall had nine steps. All nine are now buried under sand that has accumulated since. What you're standing on didn't exist seventy years ago. What's underneath — the concrete wall — is the only reason the Mississippi Gulf Coast still exists as a place people can live. The beach was built. The seawall holds it. You're walking on the engineering that made "America's Riviera" possible.