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HANCOCK
Area: 478 sq. miles Rank: 54
Long range view of Hancock County courthouse
The Historic Hancock County Courthouse
In 1817 the first county courthouse was built at Center, which later became Caesar. The county government remained there for twenty years, at which time the seat was moved to Gainesville on the Pearl River.
The Gainesville courthouse served the county’s needs for many years and then was used as a lodge hall and public meeting place after the county seat was moved to Shieldsborough following an election in 1867. The election results were “interpreted” first by the county board to have been in favor of retaining Gainesville as the county seat, but two months later, an announcement was made that the election results favored moving the county seat.
After locating at Shieldsborough, the county and city shared a building for governmental purposes. In 1871 some sort of controversy developed between county and city officials. The result in the county officials’ convening a meeting at the Sea Side Hotel. The board named a house belonging to Madalane Moreau as the courthouse. Soon this house was found not suitable. Subsequently, the officials went back to the Sea Side Hotel the next month, January 1872, the city and county officials reconciled, and the City Hall again became the courthouse.
Early ini875 the name Bay St. Louis was used to designate the place which had been called Shieldsborough. This choice seems obvious since the county seat is near the mouth of the Bay of St. Louis.
The present courthouse at Bay St. Louis was completed in 1911 at a contract cost of slightly under $25,000. Keenan and Weiss, architects of New Orleans, submitted plans which were approved by the Hancock Board of Supervisors. Napoleon Caron was low bidder for moving the old courthouse out of the way. The new courthouse received a cornerstone installed by Jett Brothers for $50.00. Some old furnishings were used, and the following new ones were added: three dozen chairs, four dozen cuspidors, and a dozen sets of beds, mattresses, etc., for jury use. In 1969 Hurricane Camille inflicted some damage to the courthouse, and repairs cost $133,000. In 1981 an exterior facelift was done on the courthouse building, including sandblasting of the walls.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina roared inland and devastated the coastline of Mississippi including Bay St. Louis. The storm compromised the roof, exposing thousands of irreplaceable documents to the weather, but the excellent elevation saved the building from the ravaging effects of the rising water. Under the auspices of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, renovations and repairs were made, costing slightly under $6 million. Ceremonies to rededicate the historic Hancock County Courthouse were held on August 8, 2009.
—Hancock County Historical Society (2009)