Haunted Mississippi Gulf Coast by Bud Steed

Author:Bud Steed
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Published: 2012-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

BILOXI

Next to Ocean Springs, Biloxi is the oldest settlement on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and has a history of European settlement starting from approximately 1720, when the French settlement was moved back to the area of modern-day Ocean Springs from the Mobile area. Several months later, it was decided to move the settlement across the bay to near where the Biloxi Lighthouse stands today. A short three years later, it was moved again, this time to New Orleans, leaving only a few French settlers and their families in Biloxi. Life there didn’t change much while France, Spain and England were trading it back and forth; there were just a few more settlers moving in here and there. It wasn’t until the United States took possession of the area and it became part of the state of Mississippi that it really began to grow. Like some of its neighbors to the west, Biloxi developed into a summer resort area for New Orleans wealthy and for wealthy plantation owners from the Natchez area.

Grand homes were built all along the shoreline, and hotels and rental homes were built to service those who were either not wealthy enough to build the grand homes or who were single and just passing through. Vacationers flocked to Biloxi to take advantage of the cool ocean breezes in the summer and the variety of recreation alternatives available to them. Fishing, boating and grand parties became the norm during the vacation months, with life slowing a bit in the winter, as the locals took that time to do a little relaxing of their own.

In 1848, the Biloxi Lighthouse was built. It has since become one of the most photographed objects in the southern states. Manufactured in Baltimore, Maryland, and shipped to Biloxi, it has weathered every hurricane that Mother Nature has thrown at it with minimal damage. The light was a welcome addition to the coast, beckoning sailors and fishermen home to the welcoming shores of Biloxi.

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