Vignettes
The James Copeland Gang
Many people express the opinion that crime is more prevalent now than ever before in the history of Hancock County. At first glance this might appear to be true, but investigation shows that conditions are different. When one examines the available records of crime more than a century ago and makes a comparison with today’s… (read more)
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)
The Sisters of Saint Joseph
Their story began in Bay St. Louis, MS, on January 6, 1855, with the arrival of three sisters from France at the request of Father Buteux, the pastor of Our Lady of the Gulf Church. “They arrived on the day of the Epiphany—what a beautiful coincidence….Are not these sisters the star which comes to lead… (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)
Mosquito Lore
People who must endure the mosquito population during the sultry summers and autumns of the South tend to create stories on the various sizes of these pesky creatures in their areas. Such exaggeration is not a new phenomenon. In the M. James Stevens collection of papers in the vertical file of the Hancock County Historical… (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)
Henry Weston (1823 – 1912)
Did you know that this October 29th will mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Henry Weston, one of the most successful and well-known businessmen in the history of Hancock County? Born in Skowhegan Island, Maine, in 1823, Henry Weston moved to New Orleans in early 1846 looking for business opportunities and a healthier… (read more)
The Louisiana-Mississippi War of 1905
In the 1890’s the South endured annual plagues of yellow fever, borne by mosquitoes. Even though the Army Yellow Fever Commission headed by Major Walter Reed confirmed in 1901 the hypothesis of Cuban scientist Dr. Carlos Juan Finlay that yellow fever was caused by a mosquito, most of the South ignored its implications. Mosquito control… (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)
Early Telephone Service
Telephone service came to Bay St. Louis August 18, 1899 and 47 total telephones were initially served by this exchange. One year later the total number of telephones had climbed to 108 and by 1905 to 190. It wasn’t until 1910 that the total number of telephones served by the Bay St. Louis exchange passed… (read more)