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HANCOCK 'OuSTY.
Hancook Coui’ty is one of the^three count.tee that lie along the Mississippi Gulf Coast ,all of which fom a Riviera that in natural advantages ana picturesque "beauty rival*,to a large extent,the ccasus of Southern Europe. This uounty was formed while the State -vas yet a territory. It has a land surface of 611 square miles and was named in honor of John Hancock,one of the illustrious signers of the Declaration of Independence. The early history of the delightful region in which it lies is filled with romance of a varied nature,.:. ’ which has "been preserved in original records and in prose <x:w \
An interesting library of the history and literature of this eectiu of the State awaits collection by some patriotio Inhabitant. An excerpt from a magazine article,prepared "by the writer during the Centennial year of 1917,descriptive of the Gulf Coast Region,is given in a footnote with the hope that it may interest the reader.
The Southern Coast of Horth America was first discovered 1-y the Spaniards and later explored by LaSalle,after which it was,in 1699, colonized by Pierre Le Moyne de Iborville,the great French Canadian,who established his capitol at Old Biloxi and erected a fort which he called Fort ds Maurepas. The French claimed the country by right of ra«i4eacy and colonization and named it Louisiana,in honor of Louis ICV.,though it was often referred to in early records us the Mississippi Country,
the great river by that name having impressed it3elf upon the European
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mind as a wonder equalling the ancient Kile.
By the Treaty of Paris,in 1763,a part of the province of Louisiana,
which extended to the Rocky Mountains,for a period became a British
province and was included in the newly established province of British
West Florida and was governed by four English .governors ,\»ith the capit
*	* t
at Pensacola.(See Vols. I.and II.of English Colonial Archives in the Hl33lBai. -ppi Historical Department. )________________