Waveland is located in Hancock County, incorporated as a town in 1888 when it separated from Bay St. Louis and a city in 1972. 

Andrew Jackson once lived in Jackson’s Ridge in Waveland, what is now the site of Buccaneer State Park. He used the area as a base of military operations during the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. In 1872, the railroad was built, making Waveland a popular destination and suburb for wealthy New Orleanians. Waveland saw population growth in the first half of the Twentieth Century as Highway 90 was completed in 1927 and additional infrastructure upgrades occurred during this time.  

In 1969 Waveland sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Camille after making landfall in Louisiana. Then in 2005, Waveland was ground zero, a direct hit, for Hurricane Katrina. Making landfall as a Category 3 storm, the City was devastated. The Ground Zero Hurricane Museum was opened in 2013 in the only building south of the railroad tracks to withstand Katrina. Coleman Avenue, where the museum is located, is the heart of Waveland’s downtown area. 

Waveland is a getaway with miles of accessible coastline, 343 acres of beachfront property at the Buccaneer State Park and is the only community on the Gulf Coast to restrict commercial waterfront development, instead offering a Veteran’s Memorial Monument and Garfield Ladner Pier as waterfront attractions.