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Version 03-17-14
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Early Handpainted Pearlware Tea Cup (AD 1795-1820) from Site in Hancock County (left) (FEMA pJioto 2012). Handpainted Creamware, Annularware Mug (AD 1795-1820) from Site in Hancock'County (right) (FEMlAphoto 2012). \ \
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// , \ Mississippi Territory (1812-1817)	/	^	--	\	/
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On August 1, 1812, the area south of the 31st parallel wasprganized, into the, county of Mobile. Hancock County was officially established on December 14j'1812.'^Fhe new county was carved from the county of Mobile and consisted of the land south of tHe 3 lst^parallel, from the Pearl River east to a line running due north from the middle of the Bay of Biloxi. This includes the present day counties of Hancock, Pearl River, Harrison and Stone, as well as sections of Lamar, Forrest and Perry counties (Scharff, 1999).	- ^	'	^
Settlers claimed lands along major river routes first. The communities that sprang up were small, usually revolving around a localized industry. Small-scale sawmills and businesses producing naval stores opened all over tihe county. A few families occupied the current area of Bay St Louis. During and after the War of 1812 the area became a military base and continued to grow. No known structures from this period survived into the 21st century.
Early Statehood (1817-1845)
The United States admitted Mississippi as the twentieth state in 1817. The primary occupations of Hancock County residents included hunting,' small-scale agriculture, herding and the production of naval stores (Scharff, 1999). The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830 forced ' the Choctaw to relinquish their lands in Mississippi and set them on the “Trail of Tears” to Oklahoma. Many Choctaw resisted.removal and a group moved to Devil’s Swamp in Hancock _ County, northeast of the future settlement of Logtown. Choctaw also lived along Bayou La Croix, surviving by growing crops and hunting. They worked in the pine tar industry and, later, in the, timber industry. Women of the community made baskets to sell (National Park Service, 2009;/"
Little remains to testify to the way of life of the early pioneers in Hancock County. A description of a pioneer home built along Wolf River prior to 1832, but is not extant, can illustrate the living conditions in Hancock County during the 1830s. The home was large, made of logs and pine boards and had a brick chimney. The large logs were plentiful and offered strength and protection against the elements. Heart pine and cypress were common for building materials, as were oaken beams and floors. Window openings were small and had shutters rather than glass
Survey Data Publication Hancock County Mississippi
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