Vignettes - Places
March 19,1886 – Red Letter Day for City of Bay Saint Louis
In a communication mailed from Jackson, Mississippi and directed on March 19, 1886 to the Honorable James A. Ulman, Mayor of the City of Bay St. Louis was the long awaited approval of the Charter and Ordinances of the City of Bay St. Louis. A copy of this document is filed in the City Hall,… (read more)
Seafood Canneries in Bay Saint Louis
There were two prominent seafood canneries in Bay St. Louis in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. G. W. Dunbar Sons established an oyster and shrimp canning company on North Beach Blvd. at the north end of present-day Dunbar Ave. The Peerless Oyster Company was located on North Beach Blvd., where North Second Street… (read more)
Bay Saint Louis Brag Sheet of 1915
Back in 1915 when I.F. Banderet was Bay St. Louis city Marshall, F.H. Egloff was tax collector and L.B. Capdepon was mayor, these men and municipal officers got together and came up with the following list of pluses. The list was printed as an advertisement in support of a Catalog of the City Schools of… (read more)
The Republic of West Florida
With the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, it was assumed that the area known as West Florida was a part of the United States. However, Spain claimed the lands as her own. Ultimately in 1810, citizens of West Florida revolted from Spain and set up their own country known as the Republic of West Florida. From… (read more)
The Gilmore Hotel
The Gilmore Hotel stood at the corner of Keller Street and Railroad Avenue (currently Blaize Ave.) from the 1890’s until the mid-1940’s. Located across the street from the train depot, it offered lodgings as well as spirits and tobacco to boarders. The proprietor was James Gilmore Fayard, Sr. Information about the hotel and its history… (read more)
Fort Lovell – Civil War Fort of Shieldsborough
Tradition has included two possible sites for Civil War forts in Shieldsborough, now known as Bay St. Louis. One site is believed to have been at the corner of St. Charles and the beach; the other, on Leopold Street about two or three hundred yards behind the present marina. Collateral evidence might favor Leopold Street,… (read more)
Cedar Rest Cemetery
Bounded by Second, Easterbrook, and Toulme Streets, Cedar Rest Cemetery became the property of the City of Bay St. Louis in three separate deeds at different times. The chain of ownership of the land begins with the United States and from there passes to Elihu Carver, Millette Lassassieur, Peter Surrogate, Madam Charlo, and John B.… (read more)
Devil’s Swamp – 1830 Indian Hideout
Long before the advent of the French explorers, the area now known as Hancock County was inhabited by Native Americans, members of the Choctaw Muskhogean family. The area of present-day Bay St. Louis contained an Indian village called Chicapoula (or Chou-cou-pou-lou), meaning “bad grass.” Living in this paradise, the natives hunted plentiful game such as… (read more)
Elmwood Manor
Elmwood, which stood at 900 North Beach Blvd. prior to Hurricane Katrina, was the manor house of the Cowand-Fields plantation. Its history began in 1768 when the French and Indian War ended. At that time a peace agreement was signed between France and England, giving all French territory to Spain. During her time of governance… (read more)
Incorporation of the Town of Shieldsborough 1818
To establish and incorporate the Town of Shieldsborough. Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Mississippi in General Assembly convened, That the place situated on the West side of the Bay St. Louis, in the County of Hancock, known by the name of Shieldsborough, is… (read more)