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FORT MAUREPAS
1699-1702 Ocean Springs, Mississippi
ABOUT THIS FORT...
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The lower Mississippi River Valley from Alabama through Mississippi to NW Louisiana was claimed by France, for the first time by right of occupation by a European power, in April of 1699 when the original of this Vauban-style fort was built at today's Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The French-Canadian Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, recorded in his ship's log that he had ordered his men on April 8, 1699 to "...begin clearing the land and to sink a well..." for the original Fort Maurepas. He had brought plans for this fort with him on sailing from Brest, France in October of 1698. From that first Fort Maurepas, European-origin settlements began in Mobile in 1702, subsequently in the Montgomery, Alabama. (Fort Toulouse) Alabama area, Natchez, MS, in the Natchitoches area, New Orleans, Louisiana, and the areas in-between. Even Mississippi's State Capital, Jackson, was originally LaFleur's Bluff for a French trading post there*
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Present-day Fort Maurepas is partially replicated from copies of the original plans found in French archives. It is located on Beachfront Drive in Ocean Springs, MS, and may be viewed from the beach at any time. Narrated visits with lectures by authentically attired volunteers may be arranged by contacting the Ocean Springs Mayor’s office at (601)875-6722, or by writing the Fort Maurepas Society, PO Box 1741, Ocean Springs, MS 39566-1741.
The Fort hosts authentic re-enactments of French Colonial living history twice yearly, presented by the Fort Maurepas Society of Ocean Springs in early Spring during Mardi Gras Season, and again in the Fall. - By Gloria Moran, Member