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Our Lady of the Gulf Church (1908/1926), 228 South Beach Blvd, Bay St Louis (FEMA photo 2008).
The Great Depression (1930-1940)
The Great Depression dominated the 1930s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, elected in 1932, implemented a series of economic programs known as the New Deal. The New Deal assisted -American citizens through a combination of direct relief, assistance to businesses, regulatory reform and government job creation. The largest of the programs was the Works Progress Administration or WPA, begun in 1935.
The WPA supported numerous kinds of projects across the country, becoming a major job creator of the time. This agency funded the construction of the Bay St. Louis Post Office in 1936. A government commissioned artist, Louis Raynaud, completed the mural, “Life on the Coast” for the building in 1938. While no longer a post office, the brick Art Deco building still stands today at 137 Main Street. The mural was moved to the current post office in 1987. WPA funds also facilitated the construction of a new county jail in 1937. The County Jail still stands today at the rear of the courthouse at 152 Main Street in Bay St. Louis. The jail was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1983. The WPA Library Project transformed the second story of the Hancock Bank into the County’s first library in 1934. The WPA Library Project was a major employer of women.
Survey Data Publication Hancock County Mississippi
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