Vignettes - Places

Mystery of the Honey Island Swamp-Rat Killings

Mystery, intrigue, and legend have enshrouded one area of the lowest part of the Pearl River basin for centuries—Honey Island Swamp.  Located between the East and West Pearl Rivers, it has engendered tales of pirates, ne'er-do-wells, robbers, murderers, and other unsavory characters.  While respectable, honest people have lived there through the years, it has also… (read more)

Bay St. Louis Bridge

Did you know that the first bridge across Hancock County’s Bay of St. Louis was not built until 1926?  While Robert L. Genin had procured a franchise for a privately built bridge across the Bay of St. Louis as early as 1912, it took the efforts of Horatio S. Weston, president of the Hancock County… (read more)

The Formation of the City of Diamondhead

The community of Diamondhead became the City of Diamondhead in 2012.  There was a great deal of fanfare when the Secretary of State presented the newly issued city charter to the mayor and city council.  As the city council started taking its first halting steps at creating the city, you couldn't help thinking about how… (read more)

The Hancock Bank Building

One of the most photographed spots in Bay St. Louis following Hurricane Katrina was where Main Street meets Beach Boulevard.  Although the spot is one of the highest points on the entire Gulf coast, the hurricane did its best to ravage this historical intersection.  Storm stricken residents, however, both present and dislocated, took some comfort… (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)

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)