The National Register

The Department of Archives and History surveyed properties in the city of Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, in 1977 and nominated 728 units to the National Register of Historic Places. There were five districts designated: Beach Boulevard District, Elmwood Historic District, Main Street District, Sycamore Street District, and Washington Street District. (Read more on the historic districts)

On January 6, 1981, Robert J. Bailey, Director of the Division of Historic Preservation for the Department of Archives and History, advised Bay Saint Louis Mayor Larry J. Bennett that the nominated districts had been officially entered into the National Register.

The districts were devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. Afterward the Hancock County Historical Society surveyed each district recording the destroyed, damaged, and surviving buildings. In 2007 we compiled a digital record of the survey results to which we added a thumbnail photograph of each building as it was when the original survey was made in 1977.

Use the menu on the left to browse all 728 houses listed on the register, ordered alphabetically by street name.

Structures designated on the National Register are classified according to the following system:

P - Primary Significance
The building retains its architectural integrity and is a key element of the streetscape.

C - Contributing
The building's appearance does not detract from the streetscape and is compatible in terms of material and scale.

M - Marginal
The building has some detracting features but not enough to be considered intrusive or maintains the scale, and incompatible alterations are reversible.

I - Intrusive
The building has been altered to such a degree that the original character is irretrievably obscured and/or scale and materials are incompatible.
For an explanation of the architectural terms used in the National Register, refer to the Glossary of Architectural Terms.