Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Biloxi
    Biloxi
    Biloxi
    Ebook187 pages46 minutes

    Biloxi

    By Jamie Bounds Ellis and Jane B. Shambra

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Biloxi, named for the Native American tribe originating on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is the peninsula city picturesquely situated between the Gulf of Mexico's Mississippi Sound and the calm waters of Biloxi's Back Bay. Shaped by European exploration, Biloxi boasts many colorful stories and personalities. Images of America: Biloxi showcases the city's history, including tales about the seafood and canning industries, immigration, religion, centuries of tourism, gambling, and diversity, as well as the Keesler Air Force Base. Explore the birthplace of Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, celebrated potter George E. Ohr, and Barq's Root Beer. The images presented in this book offer a glimpse into why Biloxi is a destination place for people near and far.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439622766
    Biloxi
    Author

    Jamie Bounds Ellis

    Authors Jamie Bounds Ellis and Jane B. Shambra comprise the staff of the local history and genealogy library of the Biloxi Public Library and Harrison County Library System. Ellis is the local history and genealogy librarian, and Shambra is the local history and genealogy library assistant. From the thousands of images archived in the Biloxi Public Library and Harrison County Library System's local history and genealogy library collections, the authors chose the best and most representative images from the past to reintroduce Biloxi in photographs.

    Related to Biloxi

    Related ebooks

    Photography For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Return Of The Pilgrim

      Mar 30, 2020

      Return Of The Pilgrim
      10 min read

    • Article

      Gene Autry in Oklahoma

      Mar 5, 2024

      Gene Autry in Oklahoma
      6 min read

    • Article

      JEAN BAPTISTE POINT DuSABLE

      Nov 6, 2021

      JEAN BAPTISTE POINT DuSABLE
      2 min read

    • Article

      Front Words

      Dec 15, 2023

      Front Words
      4 min read

    • Article

      Telling Our Stories

      Jun 22, 2018

      Telling Our Stories
      3 min read

    • Article

      Explaining Settlers to Ourselves

      Mar 4, 2021

      Explaining Settlers to Ourselves
      4 min read

    • Article

      Cast in Iron?

      Apr 2, 2020

      Cast in Iron?
      7 min read

    • Article

      West Coast Preservation

      Feb 14, 2023

      West Coast Preservation
      1 min read

    • Article

      Down In The Delta

      Dec 12, 2023

      Down In The Delta
      2 min read

    • Article

      Get Your Kicks in Gillespie

      Mar 8, 2022

      Can you believe that here we are in March of 2022, and the COVID-19 situation is still with us, still disrupting our daily lives, cancelling our coin shows, and taking up all the news? I can’t. I am fully vaxxed and boosted, and I am tired of hearing

      3 min read

    • Article

      Pieces Of History: The Story Of Gee’s Bend

      Aug 4, 2021

      Quilts are what propelled the small community of Gee’s Bend into the headlines, so it is fitting their quilts tell the Gee’s Bend tale… Long before the quilts of Gee’s Bend hung in museums of Fine Art, the women of Boykin, Alabama were making quilt

      6 min read

    • Article

      British Columbia Bookshelf

      Mar 6, 2020

      British Columbia Bookshelf
      11 min read

    • Article

      The Other Billie

      Dec 4, 2018

      The Other Billie
      5 min read

    • Article

      Down In The Delta

      Jan 21, 2020

      Down In The Delta
      2 min read

    • Article

      Front Words

      Dec 15, 2022

      The son of a Canadian war hero has unveiled a stone statue of his father in Kilkeel, Northern Ireland. Robert Hill Hanna immigrated to BC from County Down in 1905, and at age 27 enlisted with the 29th Battalion in Vancouver. His November 1914 attesta

      3 min read

    • Article

      Remembering Ida

      Feb 1, 2023

      For many years, Ida B. Wells-Barnett contributed to Chicago’s rich African American history. For 11 years, between 1919 and 1930, the Barnett family made their home at 3624 Grand Boulevard (now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive). The stately brownstone wa

      1 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Biloxi

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Biloxi - Jamie Bounds Ellis

      Library.

      INTRODUCTION

      Biloxi is a walk through time and the streets and scenic past of Biloxi, Mississippi, an important part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Settled by Pierre LeMoyne d’Iberville in 1699, Biloxi has a rich cultural heritage that includes the first people of this area, the Native American tribe known as the Biloxi Indians. European settlers would not have been successful without the help of the Native Americans of this area. With cultural influences from Native Americans, France, Spain, and England during Colonial times, a unique culture emerged, one that is identifiable with other cities along the Gulf of Mexico including New Orleans, Louisiana; Mobile, Alabama; Pensacola, Florida; and Galveston, Texas.

      Biloxi is located on a peninsula and across Biloxi’s Back Bay in southeastern Harrison County; the county formed in 1841. In addition to Biloxi’s Back Bay, other waterways include the Tchoutacabouffa River, the Biloxi River, and Big Lake. The Mississippi Sound serves as a buffer between Biloxi and the Gulf of Mexico and is rich with marine life. Biloxi’s borders have expanded beyond the original city lines of the late 1890s with the additions of West Biloxi, Edgewater, North Biloxi, and the Woolmarket community.

      Images of businesses, storefronts, and streetscapes document Biloxi from the late 19th century through the 20th and into the 21st. Downtown Biloxi is prominent in the following chapters, as it speaks to the history of the times. When downtowns thrived, Biloxi’s Howard Avenue bustled with businesses and people. As suburbs became more popular and cities sprawled, downtown areas changed, and this was certainly true for Biloxi as well. Howard Avenue, known as Pass Christian Road in the 1890s, and particularly the section known today as Vieux Marche Mall, served as the major retail center prior to Edgewater Mall’s construction in the 1960s and the expansion of the city west and north after World War II. Keesler Air Force Base, once on the edge of the city, was one of the reasons for Biloxi’s expansion, and this also had a large impact on the area economically, culturally, and socially.

      The streets of Biloxi have a history all their own. Street names have changed, and street numbers were changed in 1989 to comply with E-911 regulations, so identifying the placement of older structures can prove a trying experience at times. This became even more evident after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, when many individuals strove to understand the history of their homes. Whenever possible, the authors strive to include information in the image captions as to whether the address is old or new.

      Beach Boulevard, repaved and restriped with new curbs and sidewalks during 2008 and 2009, has been identified by different names over the last century. This scenic boulevard is also known more formally as Highway 90. Several sections of this boulevard have been named in honor of hometown heroes and innovators. Sections are dedicated to Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise and civil rights leader Dr. Gilbert Mason Sr. (1928–2006), both pioneers of the 1960s.

      Interstate 10 also runs through Biloxi, and the Interstate 110 loop’s southern end begins in Biloxi and ends in the city of D’Iberville. The I-110 bridge replaced the former Back Bay bridges of 1901 and 1927 that linked Biloxi to the farming country. The I-110 loop memorializes J. A. Tony Creel and Sen. John C. Stennis. Connecting to the northern end of I-110 is Highway 15, designated as the Wade Guice Memorial Highway in 1997 in memory of the former Harrison County civil defense director.

      Another notable figure from this area is potter George E. Ohr. Ohr worked and lived in present-day downtown Biloxi, and his pottery now has an international following. He lived on Delauney Street in the early 1900s, and a section of the street has been renamed George E. Ohr Street. The Frank Gehry–designed Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art is just around the corner on the Biloxi beachfront.

      Hurricanes are a natural part of being situated on the Gulf of Mexico, and Biloxi has seen quite a few. Photographs from the hurricane of 1947 and 1969’s Hurricane Camille show that the coast has been devastated by natural disasters before Hurricane Katrina. Images from Hurricane Katrina are also included to give a visual survey of downtown Biloxi in October 2007.

      Some properties documented in this book no longer exist; however, the growth and rebirth of Biloxi is evident with the survival of places and monuments everywhere. The Biloxi Lighthouse, built in 1848, survived and still shines bright, but the Dantzler House, built in 1849 and located just to the northeast, did not survive Hurricane Katrina.

      Tourism has always played an integral role in Biloxi’s economy. Wealthy visitors from New Orleans first came by boat to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for vacation and second homes in antebellum Biloxi. Grand hotels were built along the beachfront in the 1910s and 1920s. In the 1950s and 1960s, the emergence of nightclubs and tourist court motels changed the tourist landscape once again. Gaming was part of the culture all along, although it was hidden before gambling was legalized in the 1990s. Now casinos line areas where seafood factories once stood in east Biloxi. Tourists from all over visit this area for a variety of reasons, and casinos, beaches, condos, golfing, fishing, hotels, and restaurants are all available for visitors and citizens alike.

      Parades are an important cultural aspect of this entire area, and Biloxi has long celebrated Mardi Gras. Many Biloxians enjoy Mardi Gras balls, and parades are a festival open to all who would like to just have fun. Many of the parade images

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1