Vignettes - Places
Lake Borgne
….when it extended to the south shore of Bay of St. Louis “The French, thinking that it did not answer precisely the definition of a lake, because it was not altogether land-locked, or did not at least discharge its waters only through a small aperture, and because it looked rather like a part of… (read more)
Battle of Pass Christian – Bedsheet Surrender
Life was hard but not so hard as it might have been for Mississippi Coast Residents during the Civil War. The Union naval blockade certainly caused food and material shortages, but the blood and destruction that spread through Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri and South Carolina mercifully was not to happen along the Coast. Suffering was… (read more)
The Battle of the Bay of Saint Louis
The War of 1812 is the last time that a foreign army invaded United States soil. British forces arrived in great force along the eastern seaboard, and because of the importance of the port of New Orleans which controlled the Mississippi River, authorities knew it was only a matter of time until British naval forces… (read more)
A Summer Camp for Jewish Orphans
Did you know that during the middle part of the last century Hancock County was home to a summer camp for Jewish orphans? In 1918, the Jewish Federation of New Orleans purchased what was described as the magnificent J. P. Dart home located at then 984 South Beach Boulevard, the last property in Bay St.… (read more)
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)
A Brief History of the Bay-Waveland Garden Club
According to the history of the Bay-Waveland Garden Club, the idea for the club emerged in the de Montluzin Drugstore during discussions of how the towns of Bay Saint Louis and Waveland could beautify and promote private and commercial gardens to attract people to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Rotary Club was a “men only”… (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 Formation of the City of Diamondhead
The community of Diamondhead became the City of Diamondhead in 2012. There was a great deal of fanfare when the Secretary of State presented the newly issued city charter to the mayor and city council. As the city council started taking its first halting steps at creating the city, you couldn't help thinking about how… (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)