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It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.

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at the outbreak of the Civil War, recruited what was known as the ?Hancock Rebels? made up of men from the county and known in history as Company C. To John V. Toulme, another man who figures prominently in the early history of the county and city, is given the credit for organizing the ?Shieldsboro Rifles?. These men were recruited in Bay St. Louis and saw service in the long war between the States. There was also the ?Shieldsboro Dragons? which was a cavalry company organized in 1861 and fought the whole length of the war.
The act organizing the county specifies no county seat. It was provided by an act passed February 2, 1825, that sessions of the county courts be held part of the year in Bay St. Louis and part in Pearlington, and that the use of either jail for the confinement of prisoners was left to the discretion of the sheriff. Court was also held two or three times a year at a place called Center, somewhere near the present Caesar. Later the town of Gainesville on the Pearl River was the County seat. Fire destroyed the court house on April 1, 1853 and the County seat was subsequently moved to Bay St. Louis. In 1860 the County seat moved to Bay St. Louis.
/ Bay St. Louis is the name by which the settlement / was originally known. Later it was called Shieldsboro I and both names were used for many years. The V Mayor and Board of Aldermen at their first meeting I January 4, 1858, attempted to clarify the matter by
1	incorporating the city under the name of the City of J Shieldsborough. This evidently did not meet with \ the general approbation, so on March 2, 1875, the first name was restored, and the city wgs incorporated as the City of Bay St. Louis. The cij\f is situated in Hancock County on the Mississippi-Gulf Coast in the extreme southwest corner of MissistsifJpi adjacent to Louisiana where Pearl River forms the dividing line.
It is bounded on the east by Jourdan River and on the south by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Oysters, salt water fish, shrimp, and crabs abound in the waters of the Gulf and draw fishermen from all parts of the world. Excellent highways lead into the county and approximately 170 miles of paved roadways within \the county are excellent for travel and transportation.
It is interesting to note that by 1880 there were many businesses which thrived in the community. Mr.
J. B. Toulme had a leather factory where he employed 7 men and utilized over 10,000 pounds of leather per ' year. Mr. A. A. Ulman had a woolen mill on Nicholson Avenue which was capitalized at $40,000. He had 54 people employed and paid a total of $14,000 in wages per year. Mr. Ulman also had a small leather factory in the neighborhood of Bay St. Louis where he employed 6 men and paid total wages of $2,000
Young people of the Gay Nineties enjoyed such amusements as picnics, boating, and group singing such as shown here. A chaperon was always present. The lady in the center of this gathering was chaperon for the occasion.
per year. The V. & II. Landrheu Company had a brick yard of $1,500 value and they employed 3 men at $1.25 per day. Mr. A. F. Cazanave had a leather factory where he employed 8 men working 11 hours per day. Their wages were $1.12 per day. There were a number of saw-mills in the neighborhood. B. S. Besson had a mill that cut two million feet of lumber per year and he employed 10 men. Mr. Wm. S. Keel had a mill which cut one million and eight hundred thousand per year and employed 12 men at $1.00 per day.
Today all of these have passed into oblivion remembered by only the ?old timers.?
Wherever the French explorers unfurled their banner, they planted at the same time the Cross of Christ. Along with d?Iberville?s very first expedition to the Coast were two priests, Father Athanasius Douay and Father Bordenave. The pioneer settlers of Bay St. Louis were all of the Catholic faith. Reverend Louis Stanislaus Mary Buteux was appointed first pastor of Bay St. Louis on July 31, 1847. He was also confided by the Suplican bishop Chanche at Natchez the communities at Pass Christian, Pearl River, Jourdan River, and Wolf River, and as far as 20 to 25 miles to the north.
Today our youngsters gather in our Youth Center in a more relaxed atmosphere. However, the Center still adheres to the chaperon idea with Mr. and Mrs. Cyril Glover, assisted by parents of the youngsters, always on hand.
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