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

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Unrecorded to 1699
Indian Village at BSL called Chickpoula or "Bad Grass" 1699 - First European visitor was Robert Cavalier de
LaSalle in 1682 - April 7,	1682.	(from	H. C. Chamber of
Commerce letter)
1699
Iberville and Bienville. In Dec. 1699 Bienville placed a few families, a sergeant and 15 men in a fort on the bluff at Bay St. Louis (Beach, n. side of deMontluzin st.
1721
Jan 3,	1721 the "Le Gironde" and "La Volage" arrived
with immigrants from Madam Mazieres whose grant of 17,084 acres lay north of present day Felicity Street.
_______ Arrival of the Caskett Girls Feb 10, 1763 Treaty
of Paris France ceeded to Great Britian.
1782
1781 is the first written land grant within the present city of BSL issued to Philip Saucier. This land was later passed to Marshall and Joseph Necaise.
1799
May 8,	1799	Spain	declared	war	on	G.B.	and forced the
surrender of British possessions on the Gulf Coast to Spain.
1800
Fall of 1800 Spain secretly ceded Louisiana to Napoleon by the Treaty of Ildelphonso. However, Spain remained in actual possession of the territory until 1803 when Louisiana went from France to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.
1812
Established - On May 14,	1812	the	area	from the Pearl
to the Perdito became by statute a part of Mississippi territory. In September this large area became known as Mobile County. On December 14,	1812 the territorial
legislature split this area into three counties. The United States claimed the land that today includes Hancock Pearl River, Harrison and Stone counties. The large area received the name "Hancock County" in honor of John Hancock, the famous signer of the Declaration of Independence. (PC&C p8)
Established Dec 14,	1812	(Eagle	Centenial	Aug	1958)
Named for John Hancock, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence
Bounded north by Pearl River, east by Harrison, south by the Gulf of Mexico, and west by Louisiana.
Size -
Population	White	Colored
Population - 1820 - 1,954 1830 - 1,962 1840 - 3,367 1850 - 3,672
1860 - 3,139	1,067	and	434 voters in
county