Gulfport Museum of History

Union Station

It is unclear when the depot was built, but the Louisville & Nashville Railroad operated in Gulfport for several decades in the 20th century. The depot also operated as an Amtrak station but that ended in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina damaged it. The building was eventually restored and is occupied by a few businesses in addition to the museum, which opened on March 4, 2020 (it appears that the museum did operate for some time previously but closed after Hurricane Katrina).

John C. Robinson 

John Charles Robinson was born in Carrabelle, Florida in 1903. His mother, sister, and step-dad (his father died when he was a baby) moved to Gulfport when he was young. His love of flying probably started in 1910 when he saw a plane fly over the city. After graduating from the Gulfport High School for the Colored in 1919, he enrolled in the famed Tuskegee Institute, where he studied automotive science. Despite his degree in automotive engineering, he had difficulty finding a job worthy of his education job due to racial discrimination. He did, however, become one of the first African-Americans to own a mechanic's shop in Chicago.

During these years, Robinson never gave up his dream of flying. In 1927, he was admitted into the Curtis-Wright School of Aviation in Chicago after he got a job as a janitor and sat in on classes. He earned his pilot's license the next year. In 1930, he and a friend opened an airfield in Robbins, Illinois. In 1933, he also encouraged Tuskegee Institute to establish an aviation school, which it did.

In 1935, Robinson accepted an officer's commission to serve in the Ethiopian military. At the time, tensions between Italy and Ethiopia were rising. Italy, which was led by a fascist government, wanted to expand its sphere of influence in Africa. Robinson was disturbed by these developments and wanted to do his part to fight for an independent African country (it was led by Emperor Haile Selassie). There was also little opportunity for him, as an African-American man, in the U.S. military. In Ethiopia, he led the Imperial Ethiopian Air Corps. In the end, however, Ethiopia was no match for Italy's military and Italy occupied Ethiopia until 1941. Robinson managed to escape to England and returned to America in 1936 and was lauded for his efforts.

His career in aviation continued in the coming years. He and the same friend opened John Robinson School of Aviation for African Americans at Poro College in Chicago. He was appointed head of the Aviation Training Program in Chicago, which was part of the National Youth Administration. From 1939-1943, he trained white and Black mechanics for the U.S. Army Air Corps. At the request of Haile Selassie, who had returned to power, Robinson helped rebuild the Imperial Ethiopian Air Corps. In 1946, Robinson helped established the East African Airlines, which became the present-day Ethiopian Airlines. Around this time, one of Selassie's sons, Prince Makonnen, appointed Robinson as head of an aviation school. It appears Robinson remained in Ethiopia for the remainder of his life. He died in Ethiopia in 1954 from injuries he suffered from a plane crash.

"Col. John C. Robinson: The Brown Condor, 1903-1954." Mississippi Gulf Coast Museum of Historical Photography. Accessed February 3, 2021. http://www.msmohp.com/john-c-robinson.html.

Fuentes, Andres. "Gulfport Museum of History hopes for a better year after rough 2020." January 3, 2021. https://www.wlox.com/2021/01/03/gulfport-museum-history-hopes-better-year-after-rough. https://www.wlox.com/2020/02/01/gulfport-museum-history-getting-final-touches-before-grand-opening.

Colter, Cyrus. "The Black Pioneer Who Had to Fly." Chicago Tribune. September 27, 1988. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-09-27-8802020525-story.html.

"Gulfport Museum of History." Visit Mississippi. Accessed February 3, 2021. https://visitmississippi.org/things-to-do/point-of-interest/gulfport-museum-of-history.

"Gulfport Union Depot - Gulfport, Mississippi." Waymarking. July 26, 2008. https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM49QG_Gulfport_Union_Depot_Gulfport_Mississippi.

Lacy, Mike. "Gulfport Museum of History getting final touches before grand opening." WLOX. January 31, 2020. https://www.wlox.com/2020/02/01/gulfport-museum-history-getting-final-touches-before-grand-opening.

"Second Italo-Ethiopian War." New World Encyclopedia. November 2, 2019. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Second_Italo-Ethiopian_War.