Vignettes
John Law (1672 – 1729)
Controller General of Finance who presided over the boom and bust of the Bank of France and the Mississippi Company in early colonial days. FAILED MILLIONAIRE-FINANCIER John Law, mathematician, financial genius and gambler, is depicted in most history books as the arch villain who brought down the Louisiana colony with his wild schemes. He… (read more)
19th Century Medical Quackery
The term of Andrew Jackson has been called the Age of the Common Man. Basic trends included anti-intellectualism, rejection of experts and belief that the common man was the best person to decide his own destiny, even in matters of life and death. One consequence was the rapid growth of medical quackery. As an American… (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)
Eliza Poitevent Nicholson – A Woman Ahead of Her Time
(From Along the Gulf.) “One of the most noted residents of Waveland is Mrs. Eliza J. Nicholson—better known under the nom de plume of “Pearl Rivers”—the proprietor of the New Orleans Daily Picayune, one of the most popular and powerful journals in the South. Mrs. Nicholson’s summer home, called “Fort Nicholson,” is situated on the… (read more)
Letter of Henry de Tonti, left for La Salle with Indians in 1685
Letter of Henry de Tonti, left near the mouth of the Mississippi river for René Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle, with Indians in 1685. Source: Iberville's Journal of the Badine. March 31, 1699. Iberville writes in his journal that his brother (Bienville) brought him a letter for M. de La Salle, which Tonti… (read more)