| The town of Gainesville was founded in 1810 when Ambrose Gaines received a Spanish Land Grant. The small town grew due in large part to its location on the Pearl River. Its shipping and logging industry soon made Gainesville one of the most prosperous towns in southern Mississippi. Men like W.J. Poitevent and Henry Weston made their fortunes here during the turn of the century.
Gainesville was incorporated in 1846 and was the county seat for Hancock County until the courthouse burned in 1853. Gainesville's decline began when the county seat was moved back to Shieldsborough and the railroad bypassed the town. On January 10, 1963, the entire Gainesville area was purchased to make way for what is now known as NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center.
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