Page 14 - Pascagoula Magazine - 2026

Pascagoula
Pascagoula, the “Singing River” city beside area when Hernando De Soto first explored
HISTORY OF
the Gulf, has a deep and rich history as a
European settlement that goes back over 300 years. The name Pascagoula—meaning “bread eaters”—is taken from a band of peaceful Native Americans who inhabited the
the Mississippi River area in the 1540s. The history of The Flagship City includes
a vital role in WWII, the legendary Jimmy Buffet, and even aliens, but the story of this magnificent history is still being written.
The alien abduction account of fishing buddies Calvin Parker and Charles Hickson has made the city of Pascagoula a beacon
for out-of-this-world visitors for the past
52 years. In fact, their recount of the October 1973 event is one of the most well-documented cases of extraterrestrial landings and abductions in American history and will make a believer out of the most stubborn skeptics.
The fishing buddies had settled on the bank of the Pascagoula River to drop a few lines. Hickson was 42 and Parker was 19, and both men recalled a football-shaped vessel emerged from a misty cerulean glow and
a few seconds later, three extraterrestrial beings were looming before them. The aliens paralyzed both men, abducted them, and then released them back on the riverbank.
14 Pascagoula, MS 2026 • www.cityofpascagoula.com