This text was obtained via automated optical character recognition.
It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.

---

HANCOCK COUNTY
Before the coming of French explorers, the area now called Hancock County, Mississippi, (vas part of the Choctaw Nation and was inhab-ted by: “Muskhogean” families, who lived in a /illage namedChicapoula, (meaning bad grass).
The French explorer Sieur de La Salle came rom Canada down the Mississippi River and eached the Gulf of Mexico on April 2,1682. He lamed this vast territory Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV. This was 150 years after the Spanish explorer de Soto marched from the Carolinas to Texas (Old Spanish Trail).
In 1698 Sieur d’lberville was commissioned to fortify the mouth of the Mississippi River for France. On Feb 10, 1699, Iberville and his brother Sieur de Bienville landed on Ship Island.
A landing party entered Biloxi Bay (named for "V the Biloxi Indians), and established a colony ‘ where Ocean Springs now exists. On Aug 25, 1699, Bienville, in search of the mouth of the Mississippi River, landed on the western shore of the Bay of St Louis, and so named it after the feast day of the Sainted King Louis IX of France.
Designated a county on Dec 14, 1812, Han-' cock County was named for John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress and first to sign the Declaration of Independence.
In the early 1900’s, Hancock County was home to the largest lumber producing mills in the world In 1961 it was picked by the federal government as a site for one of eight NAS A field centers. Over 1/3 of its 310,400 acres is involved in the John C Stennis Space Center. The main mission of the Stennis Center is to support the development testing of the space shuttle main engine and large propulsion systems. Today Hancock County is becoming the hub of industry related to maritime and space endeavors that can benefit from the services of NASA’s Technology Utilization Program. Nearby, Port Bienville is a 2,400-acre industrial park with a railroad and water channels to accommodate such industry. However, the economic boom that Hancock County is currently enjoying is due to the casino industry - namely, Casino Magic and Bayou Caddy's Jubilee Casino.
V
Pirate House
The Pirate House was located on Beach Boulevard, Waveland and destroyed by Hurricane Camille. It was reported to h?-; been a stopping-off point t or the famed pirate Jean Lafite. Tradition says there was a underground tunnel entry to the building. (Card photo is courtesy of Charlene Dickinson of Bay St. Louis, who received it in a collection from her late grandmother, Mrs. Rose Ernst, a camp owner in Waveland for many years.) The Echo welcomes photos older than 25 years for publication. They will be returned to their owners.
(
FLAGS THAI HAVE FLOWN OVER MISSISSIPPI
1540 1630 SPANISH BANNER OF CASTILE & LEON Hernanoo DeSoto discovered the Mississippi River tn 1S*1 land car nod r.amo Hag as Co fumbuf When hi* CliSCOVf*n\i |he New World almost 50 yea's earlier The ling was quarteted red and while with the golden casnes of Castile •no the red lions of Leon Spam later controlled the territory from 1779 1798 and Hew the Bars Of Aragon Hag from 1785
1682-1763 BOURBON FLAG OF FRANCE France gamed control ot the territory along the Mississippi River when LaSalle claimed the area m me name of Louis XIV tn 1682 The Bourbon flag ot France included 3 golden fleurde-fis on a white field The origin of the fteur de lis is lost, but some say they are spearheads, others say theyareiiiiesbtoughttiomparadise TheFrench were driven out of North America in 1763 1763 - 1760 BRITISH RED ENSIGN In 1707 Queen Anne chanoed ttte British flag from a combination of the ctoss o* St George •nd the c/oss of St Andrew on a blue held to a sow red field with the crosses of St George and St Andrew tn a reduced fashion m the canton corner This flag was used throughout the American Revolution and was fiown over Mis trssippi when Britain gained control ot the area from the French in 1763 1708-1810 STAR-SPANGLED BANNER OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA The United States Hag was created m Congress on June 14 1777 The first flag of 13 altemat»ng red ar>d white stripes and white stars on a blue held was made by Betsy Ross in Philadelphia PA Two additional stars and stripes were later added to include Kentucky and Vermont This flag was raised tn Mississippi m 1798 Today 50 stars represent the 50 states ot our country and 13 stnpes honor the original colonies
1910 BONNIE BLUE FLAG OF REPUBLIC OF WEST FLORIDA The Republic of West Florida was organued in 1810 after a successful rebellion aoamst Spam The Bonnie Blue flag was adopted and waved over Pass Christian and Pascagoula for 74 days It was the pattern for the Texas Lone Star ftao and reappeared tn 1fl6l during the War Between the States The design was one s*ngM» white star centered on a blue background
1861 • 1894 MAGNOLIA FLAG The Magnolia flag was authorized as the official hag of the Sovereign Republic of Mississippi on January 26 1861 This flag used th«» Bonnie Blue design at the upper left with a Magnolia tree tn the center of a whilP background After the Crvil War the Magnolia flag was retained as the stale flag until 1894 when the present flag was adopted
1861 • 1865 STARS ANO BARS OF CONFEDERACY The Stars and Bars, the first flag ot the Confed eracy was raised over Mtssissipp»onMatch27 1861 The hag had 7 whitesta'sonahiueback ground at the upper lett with 3 broad horizontal bars 2 red and 1 white The 7 stars represented the 7 states that seceded at the time Eventually 13 stars were included representing the states of the Confederacy
Sources: Flat's w	by	Cwil	F.
Cun. Official & Stati>nral Rrgfi.-r H»«1 i<wt. Department of Arctme* & UtMmy anrl Department nf F**on<mit<‘ Development