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Rehabilitate — Restore — Adaptive use for tax benefits
BY Mnrgatet Gibbons Historic Situs Chairman
ing along thr beach of Bay St. Louis, the above pictured will catch ihe eye of newcomers who wonder about the V of the house, and the older residents remember when ais the home of theLudovic Adrian De Montluzin Family, sr Hurricane Camille the house was not occupied and ■.vos some diimage to the facade of the building. Mrs. P iick and three sons purchased the home and have taken interest to restoring the house back to its original '1. They obtained pictures of the home and custommnde ilustrade. The duplicated newel posts are of particular
■	si. The staircase leading to the second floor level was the <» Edition to the original design on the front of the building, x.nteresting to note that Mrs. Rene De Montluzin wrote in
a request that nothing changed in the house, that the tv of the place not be impaired and that if ever there was any building. that it would be in the back by making a ! beach. According to her wilshes, De Montluzin Street ;tl a later dale dedicated. Mrs. De Montluzin could have credited as the first preservationist of Bay St. Louis, original uses of the buillding have always been SMtial with the exception of the upper level, which was for Dr. De Montluzin's office for a short period of time, iovic Adrien De Montluzin du Sauzay came to America 54-from Lumville France, the Province ot Lorraine. He nod a college education at Louis-le-Grand in Paris, and ed Reine'. In 1856-57 they decided to imigrate to siana, a country which they believed would have new
■	or opportunities. Ludovic and Reine' thought there iJbe an opportunity to become more fortunate and
acquire more in this country. After they left Franco they went to St. Martinville (La.). Using the tools that they brought along, he built a house here for his family. 1 hey lived up to the customs and habits of their native France according to their circumstances and conditions in life. There was a great spirit of economy and the closest unity among the members of the family remained under the parental roof. His father-in-law arrived here after Ludovic and family contracted yellow fever. Ludovic became a teacher in a school across the river and director of the Institute of St. Jacques. He was here until the Civil War when his school closed. At this time, he organized a number of his French emigre' friends into the French Company of St. James Parish, a special unit under the direct command of the Governor of Louisiana and entrusted with the duty of patrolling the Mississippi River from Donaldsonville to New Orleans	I'ills
After the war Ludovic went to>few Orleans and there he bought the Insitution Caron. In 1©72 he was the propeitor of 1' Exole Classiciue et Commerciale. founded by A. V. Roman, and a boys school on Conti Street was established. He remained there until retirement in 1874 because of illness and came to Bay St. Louis for his health.
Some of the boys from the school followed, and he had a school here until he bought the drug store lot from J. V. Toulme, east of the Beach Road near Main Street. Many residents still talk of this drug store, which was later destroyed bv Hurricane Camille in 1969. After his death in 1910, his sons Joseph Alfred and Jean Rene Gabriel continued the drug store business until 1977.
The De Montluzin house and the family that resided in this homo i<; nn\a/ rprji«;tnrr>H hw tlio MqnrnrP County Historical
Society as a historic site with thp Department of Archives and History in Jackson. It is considered as architecturally-hi9toric-ally significant to tho total environment and culture of Bey St. L ">uis. the building is now used adaptively for an apartment rental, restored architecturally to original design, and the owners af this property, which is scheduled for submission to the Mississippi Historic Preservation Review Board and to Ithe National Register, can proceed in the interim to take advantage of tho 1976 Tax Reform Act just as if the property were already on the National Register. It provides that a taxpayer may amortise over a 60 month period any capital expenditures incurred in a certilfied rehabilitation of certified historic structures, in New of depreciations otherwise allowable.
The law defines certified historic structures as a building or structure which can be depreciated as provided in section 167 of tax code and must have some commercial characteristcs. Residential property may qualify IF it is rented and listed on the National Register.S
Othei buildings of Bay St. Louis have been registered by the Historical Society as well as this building. In April, 1978, the City Council of Bay St. Louis passed a resolution to conduct an architectural-historical survey of Bay St. Louis buildings. ■ Persuant to this, if a historic district were designated by the city, all buildings and owners of historic buildinqs would qualify for this advantage.
It is with a great deal of pride and nostalgia that the residents of this city should possess when viewing such buildings' steeped in the local history. The BUILDINGS best represent the culture and heritage of those like Ludovic and Reine' de Montluzin du Sauzay of France.
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