Vignettes
Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville
Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, French explorer and colonial administrator, was born in Ville Marie (Montreal), Canada, in 1680. He was the eighth of eleven sons of the wealthy Charles le Moyne of Montreal. He joined the French navy at age twelve and during King William’s War served at the Hudson Bay engagement… (read more)
State Flower, Motto, Bird and Tree
Hancock county and Jackson were the only two large counties which comprised the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1817 when Mississippi became a state at the First Session, First General Assembly (1817-1818). The great Seal of Mississippi was adopted and is described in the Laws of the State as follows: “The seal of the state, the… (read more)
Valena C. Jones United Methodist Church
This is the fourth in a series on historic churches in Hancock County. This month we return to the Bay St. Louis area with a look at the Valena C. Jones United Methodist Church located located at 248 Sycamore Street. Between 1865 and 1882, the predominately white Methodist Episcopal parent church faced the… (read more)
Hancock County Schools
WPA PROJECT 1937 [Emma A. Clay and Edmond J. Giering wrote the following report in February and March of 1937.] The first attempt to establish a system of public or common schools proved futile in the early days of the state and counties. The following Acts of the Legislature did not bear fruit until… (read more)
Williams School – Pearlington
In the fall of 1912, I began teaching in the public school of my hometown, Pearlington. I was principal and teacher. My pupils numbered thirty-two from primer through eighth grade. I had had two years of helping my mother in her private school in Pearlington. Then attended the Tri-County Normal School in Wiggins,… (read more)
Trains
“I never thought I would miss the sound of the trains passing through the Bay. When I first moved back to Bay St. Louis, we lived right across from the depot. The first night we were awakened not only by the wailing of the train, but by the sound of my pictures falling from the… (read more)
The Depot
At the turn of the 19th century, the Louisville and Nashville railroad station at Bay St. Louis was considered to be the prettiest station on the line between New Orleans and Mobile. Meeting the dollar excursion train from New Orleans morning and evening was an outstanding attraction during the summer season. In the evening, the… (read more)
Onward Oaks
Situated on an elevated plot of land facing the St. Louis Bay and the Mississippi Sound, Onward Oaks (c.1875) is a raised Creole cottage with Greek Revival and Italianate influences. Resting on reconstructed brick piers, the house is a frame, one-and-one-half story, seven by four bay, side gabled building wit undercut galleries spanning both the… (read more)
Early History of the Kiln
Prior to the early 1910's the area we know as Kiln or “The Kiln” was referred to as the Jourdan River Community. However, since at least the 1880's, it has been known as Kiln because of the kilns once located there and used for the production of pine tar. By 1913 the name Kiln was… (read more)
Last Hanging in Hancock County – Silas Richardson
The capture, trial and execution of Silas Richardson as reported in the Sea Coast Echo 1928 – 1929 Sea Coast Echo, August 17, 1928 MAN KILLED, POLICEMAN SHOT, NEGRO MURDERER ESCAPES, OFFER REWARD John Victor Dambrio Is Dead, Chief of Police Mark Oliver Seriously Wounded as Result of Shots… (read more)