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ither articles to passengers through the rain windows.
To meet the problem of increasing notor traffice, a two-mile long wooden lighway bridge spanning the Bay of St. _ouis was built and opened to trafficjn 928 and thus ended the inadequate ferry )oat service between Bay St. Louis and Henderson Point. This Bridge, becoming intiquated with the passage of time and ncreasing traffic, was replaced in 1954 )y a magnificent nine million dollar, our-lane concrete bridge, lighted at light, which is now toll-free. It is on U.S. Highway 90, which is the main coastal lighway from Florida to Texas.
Today, there are only two incorporated owr* in Hancock County: Bay St. Louis viti ) population of 6,752 in 1970, and A/aveland with a population of 3,108. approximately 60 per cent of the copulation lives in the coastal area. However, in the early years of the county here were thriving towns at Gainesville, 3earlington, and Logtown, all on Pearl River. Also, Necaise, Kiln and Sellers
were once good size villages. These were all sawmill boom towns around the turn of the century. But, when most of the fine long-leaf yellow pine forests had been clean cut, they all more or less became ghost towns, and are now mostly thinly populated rural communities.
The population of the county reached
11,886	in 1900 and remained rather stable through 1950.
The economy of the county traditionally depended on timber and agriculture. But in recent years has come to depend more and more on tourist business, even though it has enjoyed a small degree of industrialization. Even in its early years the raw beauty of the large live oak trees draped with long hanging moss, the majestic long leaf pines, the beautiful flowering shrubs and the mild climate of the coastal area made it attractive as a resort area tor the more affluent citizens from New Orleans, Natchez and other areas.
The stretch of U.S. Highway 90 for several miles through the city of Bay St.
Louis has been called the "Praline Capitol of the World". And maybe rightfully so. By day, signs, arrows, beacons, and billboards literally shout to passing motorists; by night, huge, booming multi-colored neon signs announce the wares of dozens of praline and gift shops. According to the people who operate the shops and sell pralines, there are more little family praline factories in that one area than in any other similar place in the world. Each and every one of them has his own individual recipe, which he claims is better than anyone else's. The pralines are made fresh daily.
Hurricane Camille devastated the coastal area and caused damage throughout the county on the night of August 17, 1969. Scores of people were killed, thousands made homeless, and property damage ran into the millions. Yet, the citizenry with a great spirit of "we may be down but we're not out" has cleared away the rubble and has built back bigger, better, and more attractive than ever before.
Tlu* <lily of Waveland is opening its doors for the Fourth of July. The Civic ("enter, the oltl W avcland School. ^	has	been	remodeled	and vvill he open to the public, along with the Hospitality OiiUm;
anti tin* other civic buildings. For further information call (he city hall at U>7-60.'i I.