Vignettes - Etcetera
The Bay’s Early Movie Houses
The first picture show in Bay Saint Louis was the Bay Pictorium, which opened in 1905 on the water side of North Beach Boulevard, formerly known as Front Street. Its owner/operator, W. A. Sigerson, advertised “a change of moving pictures daily, beautiful illustrated song, a first class electric theatre with admission of a nickel but… (read more)
The Old Time Church – Reflections of S. G. Thigpen
In the old time churches when I grew up sixty to seventy years ago [early 1900’s], the older people—the pillars of the church—sat up in the corner next to the preacher. The country church in my community had two front doors. The men went in at one door and the women at the other, the… (read more)
Trains Come to the Coast
Plans for the 140-mile Mobile to New Orleans route of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad were laid in the early 1850’s. The first surveyor of the route, Colonel A. A. Dexter, died after completing plans for the first 120 miles. Subsequently, Lewis Troost replaced Dexter, and he recommended a route going southwest from Mobile to… (read more)
Commuter Trains along the Mississippi Gulf Coast
After the War Between the States, the railway system in the United States blossomed. Connecting the eastern and western coasts was a project begun by President Abraham Lincoln, and even though he didn’t live to see his dream brought to complete fruition, his forward thinking helped the nation industrialize and grow after its great conflict. … (read more)
Fostoria traveling salesroom
Vic E. Lizana was the representative for the Fostoria Glass Company of Moundsvile, West Virginia, makers of fine crystal ware. Fostoria's traveling salesroom stopped in Bay St. Louis in 1932. The custom-built vehicle was built by the Curtis Aero Company of America. It contained a long display table on one side of the highly finished… (read more)
Mystery of the Honey Island Swamp-Rat Killings
Mystery, intrigue, and legend have enshrouded one area of the lowest part of the Pearl River basin for centuries—Honey Island Swamp. Located between the East and West Pearl Rivers, it has engendered tales of pirates, ne'er-do-wells, robbers, murderers, and other unsavory characters. While respectable, honest people have lived there through the years, it has also… (read more)
Bay St. Louis Bridge
Did you know that the first bridge across Hancock County’s Bay of St. Louis was not built until 1926? While Robert L. Genin had procured a franchise for a privately built bridge across the Bay of St. Louis as early as 1912, it took the efforts of Horatio S. Weston, president of the Hancock County… (read more)
The Hancock Bank Building
One of the most photographed spots in Bay St. Louis following Hurricane Katrina was where Main Street meets Beach Boulevard. Although the spot is one of the highest points on the entire Gulf coast, the hurricane did its best to ravage this historical intersection. Storm stricken residents, however, both present and dislocated, took some comfort… (read more)
The Bicycle Craze in Hancock County
After its invention in Germany in the early 1800’s, the bicycle went through several modifications and updates to enter the “Golden Age of Bicycles” in the 1890’s. Between 1890 and 1895 the bicycle craze came to Hancock County. Even though the fad came to the county, no one in the area owned a bicycle. To… (read more)
Sheep Raising in Hancock County
Long before foreign settlers arrived in the area now known as Hancock County, Mississippi, Native Americans lived on and worked the land. Europeans brought domesticated crops and animals with them when they came to settle this newly found land. Among the animals were sheep. In one of his letters, J. F. H. Claiborne praised Hancock… (read more)