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ettler in Kiln given Spanish grant
less. The pped from trees and turpentine nts called large plant l Jourdan aerated by itinued on his wife, id nephew, ie product looner and sats down irts of New
he sawmill io Cue in he firm of who also 1 on Bayou ion of both )y Herlihy ibout 1909, now in 3 Family y St. Louis 909 Herlihy
: to w. w. ny, Ltd. of ilready had ing north of i the first I at Kiln leir mill in rge. Today 3f 603 from res we have The Carre ntinued i until 1912 ward Hines of Chicago,
imunity of urned to its glory of the nee the days Is, Kiln has : depression, a, the dairy ow enjoys ment, many rait of Coast id Telephone ere with a •rounded by port and gas
t
Annunciation Parish served by missionaries in early 18th century
REV. A.C. DENIS
Kiln, situated 15 miles from Bay St. Louis, on the Jourdan river, and formerly known by the later name, is one of the oldest Catholic settlements in the diocese. Indians of the Choctaw-Muskhogean family inhabited this territory before white settlers began to reside in it early in the 18th century. Baptismal records of the pioneer Catholics are to be found in the parochial registers of St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans, I^a., and the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Biloxi, evidence which indicated that Catholic missionaries from these parishes visited the Jourdan River missions.
When the Diocese of Natchez had sufficient priests, Bishop Chanche requested Rev. Louis Buteiix pn July 31, 1847, to take charge of Jourdan River, Pearl River, Wolf River and Pass Christian as missions of Bay St. Louis. Rev. H. LeDuc, successor of Father Buteux, continued to visit this territory. His annual report under date of September 17, 1860, indicates that the Jourdan River mission was attended by him once every six weeks and that a chapel was being erected there. At this time the Catholic population amounted to some 300 souls with a slightly lesser' number scattered around the outlying territory.
(JHURCH BUILT
Rev. H.A. DeMorangies took charge of Jourdan River (Kiln) and its missions in April, 1869, being introduced to his flock by Father LeDuc, ids upon the	who, writing to Bishop Elder
th a large	on June 10, 1870, says:
and loading	“Father DeMorangies is well
on Jourdan	and doing his best; he travels
sawmill	continually in the rivers (i.e.,
rL	—7^-"—^ —-p-
Jourdan River, Pearl River and Wolf River, this territory being known as “The Rivers or “Three Rivers”)...The congregation is so poor, the dear Father has now a good horse.” Jourdan River bacame known as Kiln in 1813. Before long a new school building opened its doors at Jourdan River with a satisfactory enrollment. A new church was built on a convenient site after a brief delay and the spiritual and material foundations of the community became organized.	Father
DeMorangies was promoted to Holly Springs in April, 1871, and an elderly priest, Father Florent, succeeded him for some months when, forced by ill health, he resigned and Father I,eDuc of Bay St. Louis resumed the responsibility of attending the missions until the arrival of a resident priest at Jourdan River.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
By NORTON HAAS
Father A.C. Denis has brought the history of Annunciation through the construction of the new church in the year 1886. This is the period when Father Smith was pastor and operated the first Catholic school in Kiln.
Around 1900 Father Joseph Chauvin began as pastor and remained until 1919 when Father A.C. Denis took over the duties of pastor until 1947 when the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity with a small group of Priests, Sisters and Brothers sufficient to operate the Mission Church, a clinic and elementary school, and together they have continued to serve the Kiln Community and surrounding area over this period of the past 30 years. ^
Wk
m
THE ORIGINAL OLD KILN Church of Annunciation, courtesy of Birdie Mae Ladner.
Photo
ANNUNCIATION C
0^'
;S'l
TH,
et first at Lioh Branch Texas Flat
i Dr. W. W. liams, James t>m Cardiff *rs who pur-r the present Shifalo home ch there.
prospered, ibles visiting ). V. T. Rowe, secretary of '<iDtist Con-
WILLIAMS, and a young man by the name of Parence was licensed and ordained in this church called THE TABERNACLE BAPTIST CHURCH by JAMES L. MORGAN, it was named for the TABERNACLE BAPTIST, NEWINGTON, LONDON, ENGLAND.
Ift 1914, Edward Hines Lumber bought out W. W. CARRE CO. of NEW
J<)s. 0.’Mauf?ray advertised’ “The store with a 43 year history - renowned for honest old tabernacle church was Varnado’s leadership it was values and fair dealings. Dry abandoned. Under Gibb moved to Kiln.	goods,	notions,	hats, clothing,
shoes, hardware, paints, oils.”'
Pre-Civil War teachers in Kiln “Lived-in” with family were naid $1 uer month per ^hUd