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the sun herald __________(
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SUNDAY, AUGUST 1, 1993 -
Bay St. Louis: A right pleasant place for the longest time
Bay St. Louis is the envy of big-city dwellers weary of late-night sirens, smelly cars, crime and long queues. Yet, it’s inhabitants can kick up their festive heels as well as any city, including fun-loving New Orleans only 50 miles away.
The Bay — its affectionate nickname — at age 175 is the Coast’s oldest incorporated community.
But in the past, this waterfront town of 8,100 has not crowed about its 1818 incorporation. That’s strange, considering the attention-getting antics of better-known Biloxi, which was not officially chartered until a decade later.
Change is in the air, though. This weekend the Bay is crowing from its highest perch atop its ancient oaks.
Two birthday parties
The Miss Teen USA pageant has decided to feature the town in a 12-minute telecast on the Coast’s offerings. To do it up right, the town decided to make a big deal of its 175th birthday, which was technically in January. But what the heck. The city was planning to celebrate sometime anyway.
Tight security for the teen-age contestants dictates that this party be private, but as soon as cool weather hits, the town is planning to publicly celebrate its 175th.
For a while, Bay St. Louis forgot how old it is. The date etched on City Hall was 1858, and in 1958 the townsfolk dutifully staged a great centennial party — 40 years too late.
“Bay St. Louis has always been off on the edge of the Coast,” says Charles Gray, a transplant who is helping the Bay reach its historical potential.
“We used to joke about Pass Christian and Biloxi being on the mainland. ”
No more. The gap is bridged by more than a span across the bay, first discovered in 1699 on the feast day of the French saint, Louis IX. Thus the name of the bay and the town.
Bay St. Louis history is spiced with tasty praline candy, money-hungry pi-
COAST CHRONICLES
By Kat Bergeron
Bay St. Louis has always been off on the edge of the Coast. We used to joke about Pass Christian and Biloxi being on the mainland.
Charles Gray
rates, lean missionaries and well-fed tourists, each of which makes a fascinating tale.
Stories galore
Old-timers remember when, before Interstate 10 caused motorists to bypass the Bay, it was The Praline Capital of the World. They tell of the Catholic missionaries who ignored hunger and disease to found schools in the unlikely spot
Who could forget the famous pirate Jean Lafitte, whose haunted house in neighboring Waveland was destroyed in Hurricane Camille along with much of the Bay shoreline? Or other privateers who hid bootie in the nearby swamps? Not surprisingly, people
The Bay St Louis City hall, built in 1905, graces the front of a 1910 postcard. But the building is not nearly
as old as the city that still uses it The Bay will celebrate its 175th birthday a couple of times this year.
still dig for the treasures, or try to pry information from the locals.
The town’s populace offers a wonderful mix of French Cajuns, Italian, New Orleans transplants and others who blend nicely in the ethnic gumbo pot. They may be part-time citizens, workers in the seafood industry, commuters to New Orleans, retirees, NASA workers, old-timers or new-timers.
Some are now employees at Casino Magic, which opened last year in the Bay. Attempts by other casinos to open on the beach front and near downtown have been beaten back — so far — by the historical-minded who don’t want the ambience of their little town changed.
One of the recent driving forces for historical preservation is the Hancock County Historical Society, which has jumped from 31 members to 285-and-growing. It’s a sign of the changing times.
"Bay St. Louis is the third largest
National Register District in Mississippi,” says Gray, a former society president. “We should be an historical attraction for tourists with our 300-year history, and we’re working on that with a trolley bus and historical walking tour ending with Southem-style tea and pastries.”
The Bay is making a fine niche for itself in the Coast’s scheme of things. Downtown boasts numerous little antique shops, a few galleries and tasty restaurants. Mardi Gras, crabs, the beach and art are celebrated each year in festive style.
“The town doesn’t take itself too seriously — it is still more of a resort than a business community,” says Gray.
“For a Southern Mississippi town, Bay St Louis has a remarkable, sophisticated attitude.
“I think that’s because of our proximity to New Orleans. So many people from the big city stayed here or built summer homes here. They came
to relax and enjoy.”
“There is no other town like it on the Coast.”
Growing in stages
The Bay’s history began long before white man established a tiny settlement in the late 17th century. The area’s bountiful fishing and hunting made the area a popular Indian destination, just as it would later draw European settlers.
In December 1699 the French landed a few families, a sergeant and 15 men for the Bay’s first white settlement. Over the next century, the land changed hands nationally as the French, Spanish and British won and lost wars and made treaties.
The first American flag waved over the community in 1811.
The handful of French were joined by others and a community slowly grew until it was large enough to seek a charter. A year earlier, the state’s 1817 constitutional convention con-
The Bay of St.
Louis is esteemed as one of the most healthy places in that latitude; and is the retreat for many of the citizens of New Orleans during the sickly season.
American Atlas
sidered naming the Bay — then called Shieldsboro — as the state capital.
In the next decade, the “American Atlas” recorded: “The Bay of St. Louis is esteemed as one of the most healthy places in that latitude; and is the retreat for many of the citizens of New Orleans during the sickly! season.”	;
One 1842 letter to a New Orleans; editor offers insight into that early; town:
“Fishing and fine bathing, good eat- • ing and drinking, music and dancing,' bowling and pistol shooting, billiards,; et cetera, contribute some of the amusements and enjoyments at the-Bay St. Louis Hotel.	•
“There are lots of beautiful and interesting ladies, who complete the! galaxy of splendid attractions now at;■ this desirable resort.
“Indeed, Bay St. Louis is a right! pleasant place. ”	;
■	Kat Bergeron is a staff writer for The Sun • Herald.	I