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?tate Historic Landmark
BAY ST. LOUIS?The old Dr. Richard Marshall, direc-
earth fort at Jackson?s Landing Mulatto Bayou, Hancock County, was officially declared a Slate Archaeological Landmark this week when Elbert Hilliard, director, Division of Historic Sites and Archaeology, Department of Archives and History, State of Mississippi, invoked the terms of Section Six of House Bill 12, as signed into law by Gov. John Bell Williams on March 3, 1970.
Hilliard took the action after learning of a proposed industrial development that would endanger the site and possibly result in irrepairable damage to the fortification.
The state historic sites chief cited the law to C. H. Hill, director, Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission, developers of the West Hancock County Harbor and Industrial Area, following a request from the port authority for a definite ruling on the future of the landmark.
' Hilliard said, in part, ?In accordance with the provisions of Section Six of House Bill 12, which is referred to as the Antiquities Law of Mississippi, the prehistoric archaeological sites on property of the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission are automatically declared to be state archaeological landmarks and are the sole property of the State of Mississippi and this is the position of the Department of Archives and History.
ENLARGE AREA ?...I am of the opinion that we should include territory to the North of the fortification back to International Paper's property.?
The archives director then went on to say that in addition i io a fine industrial park a supplementary historical park could be built in conjuction with the development that cnuld be tiio finest in the state. He indicated it would give tourists a packuge tour with items of historic importance to visit in each coastal county.
tor, State Archaeological Surrey, also In the county conducting a summer course from Mississippi State University, praised both the action of Hilliard and of the port authorfy. He said the cooperation between the. two public identities .was outstanding and that such efforts if practiced throughout the rest of the state could bring about a new level of archaeological appreciation.	?
Port director Hill reported that his board was very familiar with the situation and wanted to do the best thing for both the state and the county.
GET IT RIGHT ?Our position is that we want to lay out the area required by your office, get the right property description and pass title on to the state,? Hill declared.
The discovery will present us with some problems with our prospective tenant for the area
In a statement issued by Dr. Marshall earlier this year, the Mulatto Bayou areas was de-i scribed as being one of the most historically important sites In
?	the state and the only area Known on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to have approximately 4,000 years of continuous human occupation. .	'
Hilliard, in May of this year, issued the following releas# under the heading of a ?Statement of Significance? ....
POTENTIAL VALUE The Jackson Landing area (NW y4, NW S 2, T 10S, R 16W) on Mulatto Bayou in southwest Hancock County is one of the most interesting and potentially valuable archaeological sites in Mississippi. Being the first elevated ground up the Pearl River from the Gulf, the area has accumulated approximately four thousand years of --------------- =
TEMPLE MOUND
South of the 1200? fortification is a temple mound of the Mississippi^ n Period, as well as shell middens containing Indian ceramics from every period, except those producing fiber-tempered pottery types, which have been found on the Cedar-land and Claiborne archaeological sites to the north of the fortification.
Extensive research was conducted in the area in the 1960s by Sherwood Gagliano, Coastal Studies Institute, Louisiana state University. Dr. Gagliano is of the opinion that the fortification is possibly a remnant of the prehistoric Indian culture which thrived in the area; however, during his work, he did not excavate the fortification.
Professor Richard A. Marshall, Mississippi State University and archaeological survery
but in order for us to make the right decisions we must go ahead and get the transfer completed, the harbor commission chief said.
Believed to be the first time the terms of the new law have been involked, the bill is designed to provide the machinery required by political subdivisions to preserve historic sites and artifacts from destruction.
Section Six, cited by Hilliard, states, in part, ?All other sites, objects, buildings, artifacts im-; plements, and locations of historical, archaeological, scientific, or educational interest, includ- j ing, but expressly not limited to, those pertaining to prehistoric and historical American Indian or aboriginal campsites, dwellings, and habitation sites, their artifacts and implements \ coins of culture, as well as archaeolo-1 hoes
prehistory and history, and much of its story remains yet to be interpreted and told.-. The earliest extant desijrip-tion of the site is found in the original journal and field notes of B.L.C. Wailes, who visited i the area in August, 1852. Wailes, state geologist and eminent scholar, meticulously described the site in his notes 1 which have been preserved in the collections of the Mississippi Department of Archives and ! History. One of the features ; recorded by Wailes was an an-jcient fortification of mysterious ? origin, and attributed through the years to the French, British, Spanish, Andrew Jackson, and even Confederate troops. Wailes reported that numerous French artifacts had been found in the area, including French of copper, bridle bits, and gun barrels. Wailes,
director for the Mississippi Department of Archives and His-
' tory, conducted a brief excavation during the summer of 1969 on the Claiborne and Cedarland sites, but his work was abbreviated by Hurricane Camille.
According to the late John R. Swanton. noted 20th century Indian authority and ethnologist, the only historic Indian tribe to inhabit the area of the Lower Pearl River and settled around Lake Pontchartrain in 1702.
"ical sites of every character that are located in, on or under the surface of any lands belonging to the Stateof Mississippi or to any county, city, nr political subdivision of the state, are hereby declared to the State Archaeological Landmarks and are the sole property of the State of Mississippi...?
however, suggested that the for tification might be earlier than the coming of the French because of the size of two live oaks on top of the wall and a magnolia grandiflora on its side. The area had also yielded, according to Wailes, countless artifacts of the ?aborigines."
According to Mama, the Blanchard's home was in this area. I have vivid memories of being there. I was afraid at night* it was hot and humid and the windows were all left open, no screens, and a black man was intercepted entering one of the bedrooms. Another memory, a violent, all night, reaction of 3 or 4 of us children from eating mushrooms in the woods. Also, many lovely memories of groups of us (teenagers and children) spending the days in the woods. What a group! The Perres and us and another family whose name I can't remember. We ate, drank and danced on the green!
Marguerite Hopkins Gabe
(See picture, circa 1920, with Juliette, Elvie, Leonide, Buoy, etc.)