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Jourdan River by Willie Curet, another shipyard on Bayou Talla operated by Jeremiah Haas, also a shingle mill operated by Salvadore Necaise. All familiar names and descendants today in Kiln Community.
The great timber supply brought in another large industry known as Naval Stores,
Electric Power and Telephone service everywhere with a great future surrounded by new, modern airport and gas wells as a bonus.
Kiln still depends upon the timberland, with a large pulpwood yard and loading ramp operating on Jourdan River at the old sawmill rfie.
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(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, who, writing to Bishop Elder on June 10, 1870, says: “Father DeMorangies is well and doing his best; he travels continually in the rivers (i.e.,
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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. ^
ANNUNCIATION C VW
Kiln Baptist meet first at Lioh Branch Texas Flat
The first and nearest Baptist church to Kiln was the LION BRANCH just after the W— Between the States, with V HOLDEN as one of the deacons, and W.W. SELPH, grandfather of Judge A. Frank Selph, as clerk. This church was located on the Texas Flat Road on what is known now as the old ELIZABETH SEAL place.
The old KNIGHTS OF LABOR HALL stood about six hundred feet east of the present SHIFALO MEMORIAL BAPTIST, and one DOSSETT of CAESAR held services in this hall.
When the public school was moved from the BIG BRANCH location over near Crir ’s place, services were hek .1 this building, and among those who preached there was Senator Theodore Bilbo, Sibley, and Fayard. Old Brother HARDY SMITH, the preacher who walked across the country with his shoes slung across, his shoulder, and preaching as he went.
Finally, the public school was moved to the Bayou Talla community to a new two story building, as Herlihy and Haas had built a fair size sawmill and planer; and it was from this building that the spiritual groundwork was laid for the
nrespnt. hantiqf nhnr^h
This interested Dr. W. W. Moody, Mose Williams, James L. Morgan from Cardiff Wales, and others who purchased land near the present site of the old Shifalo home and built a church there.
This church prospered. Among the notables visiting preachers were D. V. T. Rowe, corresponding secretary of the Southern Baptist Con-vention, ALFRED FRANKLIN SELPH, MOSE
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.
In 1914, Edward Hines Lumber bought out W. W. CARRE CO. of NEW ORLEANS, and built a large sawmill. It was then that the
old tabernacle church was abandoned. Under Gibb
Varnado’s leadership it was moved to Kiln.
Jos. O.'Mauliiuy advertised “The store with a 43 ye« history - renowned for hone; values and fair dealings. Dr goods, notions, hats, clothing shoes, hardware, paints, oils.
Pre-Civil War teachers in Kilr “Lived-in” with family were paid $1 per month per child
THE LATE SENATOR THEO. G. BILBO once taught In this school located at Bayou Tallo in Kiln, Miss, in 1903.
Photo courtesy of Birdie Mae Ladner.
BY NORTON HAAS
In the period before the Civil War and after, the children were taught by itinerant teachers. Teachers would live in a neighborhood home and teach for a fee of $1 per month per child.
About 1880 the Catholic Church, with Father Smith as Headmaster, operated the first Catholic School in the Kiln using the old Church building as school room. After that, a public school was built and operated in the Bayou Talla area of Kiln and continued in operation until the Kiln consolidated school opened in 1917.
It is of interest to note in the year 1903 the principal of the
Bayou Talla School was the well known Theodore G. Bilbo, later to become Governor of Mississippi twice and U.S. Senator three times. He died during his third term as U.S. Senator.
The following is from the school annual of 1918-19 :
“The Kiln Consolidated School was formed of the following-named schools: Nicaise, McLeod, Fenton, Silver Hill and Bayou Talla, comprising a district of fifty-two square miles, with a taxing unit of about five hundred thousand dollars. The special levy now in force is ten mills or one cent on the dollar, but by another year five mills will easily operate the school. The building,
together with the equipmen cost ten thousand dollars. T1 enrollment to date ha reached three hundred an fifty pupils, one hundred an twent-five are transported i motor trucks. This means c transportation is rapid, give results and is, therefore cheapest in the long run.” The wooden structure wa replaced in the middle thirtie: by a concrete block buildin; complete with a moderr gymnasium. The schoo continued from this locatior until 1959 when students frorr the Kiln were transferred tc North Central. Today th£ same buildings are being used by the Annunciation Catholic Church as an Elementary School.
Black Baptist history in the Kiln Community