Legends and Lore of the Mississippi Golden Gulf Coast Read online

  Published by The History Press

  Charleston, SC 29403

  www.historypress.net

  Copyright © 2013 by Edmond Boudreaux Jr.

  All rights reserved

  Front cover, bottom: Michael McCarthy (MSMcCarthy Photography). All other cover images are from the Alan Santa Cruz Collection.

  First published 2013

  e-book edition 2013

  Manufactured in the United States

  ISBN 978.1.61423.925.3

  Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

  print edition ISBN 978.1.60949.904.4

  Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgements

  Introduction

  1. Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast

  2. The Legend of Captain Patrick Scott’s Buried Treasure

  3. Carved Magnolias and the Pirate Jean Lafitte

  4. Jean Lafitte’s Deer Island Treasure

  5. The Legend of the Pitcher Point Pirates

  6. The Pirates’ Cave: Legend of the Pirate House

  7. The Legends of the Ghost of Blue Fire and the Headless Ghost of Deer Island

  8. The Legend of the Beautiful Ghost of Krebs Lake

  9. The Indian Legend of the Singing River

  10. The Indian Legend of the Ring in the Oak

  11. Weaving a Tall Tale

  12. D’Iberville and the Opossum

  13. D’Iberville’s Cannons

  14. Letter from Cat Island: The Battle of New Orleans

  15. The Hermit of Deer Island

  16. Jefferson Davis: A Vision of His Early Life

  17. The Day the Liberty Bell Visited Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast

  18. Pascagoula’s Old Spanish Fort and Cannons

  19. The Monte Carlo of the South

  20. Shoo Fly

  21. George E. Ohr: The Mad Potter of Biloxi

  22. The Isle of Caprice

  23. The Ship Island Lighthouses

  24. The Biloxi Lighthouse

  25. St. Martin’s Miracle Man

  26. Roosevelt’s Visit to Biloxi

  27. Pass Christian’s Dixie White House and President Woodrow Wilson

  28. The 1925 Mardi Gras Carnival’s Water and Street Parade

  29. Biloxi: Birthplace of Barq’s Root Beer

  References

  About the Author

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  While many years of my own research have gone into this book, certain people have made this book possible. This encompasses a special group of local historians that includes Julia Cook Guice, Mary Louise Adkinson, Murella Hebert Powell, Kat Bergeron and Dr. Val Husley.

  In 1985, I became involved with the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum located in Biloxi. It developed into a first-class museum, but in 2005 Hurricane Katrina destroyed the building and all the exhibits less than one year after a total remodeling and addition to the museum. Today, it has a temporary location in the Edgewater Mall and is in the process of rebuilding. The museum’s records, documents and pictures played a big part in the research of this book.

  Thank you to Alan Santa Cruz, who allowed his collection of Gulf Coast postcards to become an important part of this book.

  The Local History and Genealogy Department of the Harrison County Library System also deserves special thanks. Its collection of historic photographs, documents, newspapers, directories and other records have been instrumental in the research of this book.

  I would also like to thank The History Press for recognizing the historical legends and lore of Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast through the printing of this book.

  To Virginia, my wife, a very special appreciation for editing my work and keeping me straight.

  INTRODUCTION

  During the 1970s, Captain Joe Scholtes became a tour guide and historical interpreter of Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast. He hoped to promote tourism and brought tourism dollars to the whole Gulf Coast. He coined the phrase “Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast” while selling Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast as a tourist destination where visitors could soak up the sun while enjoying a variety of activities, including swimming, fishing and golfing. He was also selling Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast as a place rich in history, structures, legends and lore.

  There were numerous historical homes, like the Pirate House; St. Stanislaus School; the Dixie White House; Ballymere; the Mississippi Centennial buildings on the Gulfport Veterans’ Administration grounds; Beauvoir, the last home of Jefferson Davis; Father Ryan’s Home; Old (Biloxi Cemetery) French Cemetery; Biloxi Lighthouse; Ancient Burial Grounds (Moran Art Studio) on Porter Avenue; Magnolia Hotel; Old French House; Spanish House; Le Moyne Galleries; Church of the Redeemer and the Ring in Oak; Seashore Methodist Assembly; St. Michael Catholic Church, the fishermen’s church; Old Place Plantation; Long Fellow House; Old Spanish Fort and Museum; and many more.

  Rooted deep in the Golden Gulf Coast history and the history of its structures were legends and lore, retold from generation to generation while being modified and refined. It is hard to separate fact from fiction in many of these legends and lore, but they do give us a window into Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast culture. Some legends are believed to be fact but are just well-crafted tales that entertain and amuse us. Mixed with historical facts, they become a part of the history of the Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast. This book will explore and separate the facts and fiction of these historic legends, as well as how they have evolved over time and gained lives of their own. These legends and historical lore have become part of the fabric of Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast culture and a piece of its history.

  CHAPTER 1

  MISSISSIPPI’S GOLDEN GULF COAST

  The first mention of Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast appears in a booklet entitled The First Edition 1970–71 Tour Guide & History of Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast: From New Orleans to Mobile. The brainchild of Captain Joe Scholtes and his wife (referred to as “his mate” on the cover of the booklet), the guide is a window into the 1970s Golden Gulf Coast. This is very recent history, but the changes that have occurred on the Mississippi Golden Gulf Coast since 1970 are amazing. Aboard the Sailfish, Captain Joe Scholtes conducted tours of Biloxi Harbor, including shrimping and oystering exhibitions. During his life, he collected numerous historical photographs of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Some of this collection would later be published as Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast: A Pictorial History, by Colleen C. Scholtes and L.J. (Joe) Scholtes.

  The three coast counties have grown by 38.8 percent over a period from 1970 to 1990. In 1970, the Mississippi Gulf Coast was still recovering from Hurricane Camille. Joe’s opening letter to visitors indicates that the Golden Gulf Coast is “slightly tarnished at the moment, please remember we are still recovering from a most unladylike visit.” The guide indicates that the “Mississippi’s Golden Gulf Coast extends from New Orleans to Mobile.” Scholtes reports that the sister cities of Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula form the Golden Gulf Coast.

  The guide contains a brief history of each city but then describes activities, sights to see, res
taurants, motels, hotels and miscellaneous information. This is a basic look at businesses and sites that were either restored or suffered little damage after Camille’s destructive visit. The guide begins on Old Spanish Trail, U.S. Highway 90, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and ends in Mobile, Alabama.

  Courtesy of the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum.

  The Tulane Hotel, Bay St. Louis. Courtesy of Alan Santa Cruz Collection.

  Here is a look at the 1970 cities, history and places listed in the guide. Bay St. Louis is the seat of Hancock County, with a 1970 population of ten thousand. Scholtes indicates that General Thomas Shields built two houses near the mouth of the bay. This settlement became known as Shieldsboro. Scholtes reports that the name was changed to Bay St. Louis, and in 1858, the city was incorporated.

  In Bay St. Louis, the guide lists the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club on Beach Drive as a point of interest. Other points of interest were St. Augustine’s Seminary, located on Highway 90, and St. Stanislaus College, a Catholic elementary and secondary boarding school for boys on South Beach. St. Stanislaus was founded in 1855. Boys from New Orleans, Mobile and the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast, as well as from other states, have attended St. Stanislaus. Some students have come from as far away as Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela. In 1970, the school averaged about five hundred students a year. Horne’s Restaurant on U.S. 90 and Ramada Inn & Restaurant are the only restaurants and motels listed.

  Here at the city of Bay St. Louis the Mississippi Golden Gulf Coast crosses the bridge over the Bay of St. Louis, and you arrive at Henderson Point in Pass Christian. Pass Christian’s 1970 population was 5,500. The Pass Christian Yacht Club is the oldest in the South, organized in 1849. Scholtes points out that Mrs. Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer (1861–1951) lived in Pass Christian for almost fifty years. Mrs. Gilmer went by the nom de plume of Dorothy Dix, and her syndicated column was “Dorothy Dix Talks.” Scholtes called her “Mother confessor to the nation.”

  President Woodrow Wilson stayed in Pass Christian for the Christmas holidays of 1913–14. The Wilson family stayed three weeks in a home that was designated the “Dixie White House.” In 1916, former president Teddy Roosevelt was the guest of John M. Parker of Pass Christian.

  The Pass Christian Isles Golf Club was listed as an eighteen-hole course. According to the guide, one of the oldest homes in the city is the Ballymere, located at 551 East Beach, built in 1839. The Pass Christian Oyster Reef, just off shore, was listed as a place where, during oyster season, one “can see men hand tonging oysters from the reef.” There were two restaurants listed: the Plantation Restaurant on East Beach and the La Galerie on West Beach.

  The next city is Long Beach, with a 1970 population of ten thousand. Long Beach was established in 1884. It was the vegetable farming and trucking center of the Gulf Coast, and produce was trucked from New Orleans to Mobile.

  Long Beach was the home of Gulf Park Junior College for Women. Today it is known as USM Gulf Park Campus, Long Beach on Highway 90. The college first opened its doors in 1921. On the campus, classes are conducted amidst the branches of the huge live oak called the Friendship Oak. Long Beach’s Gulf View Motel was also located on West Beach.

  Next door to Long Beach is Gulfport, the Harrison County seat. Gulfport’s 1970 population was fifty-five thousand. Scholtes points out that after the Civil War, some Mississippians recognized the wealth of Mississippi’s pine forest. According to Scholtes, the creation of Gulfport in 1887 was to meet the needs of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company for a railroad and harbor access to deep water. The first large vessel entered Gulfport Harbor in 1902 and was the beginning of a boom for Gulfport and the Mississippi Golden Gulf Coast. In 1970, Gulfport Harbor was a major importer of bananas from Central and South America.

  The Mississippi State Port at Gulfport. Courtesy of the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum.

  Gulfport had two bowling alleys listed and three golf courses. The Triangle Lanes was located on Twenty-fifth Avenue, and Mid City Lanes was on Courthouse Road. The Broadwater Beach Sea Golf Course was located on Highway 90, and the Bayou View Golf Course was on Washington Avenue, while the Gulfport 3 Par Golf Course was on Thirty-fourth Street.

  The guide indicated that at the Gulfport Harbor, one could find the Harbor Tour Train, which offered a thirty-minute narrated tour of the harbor. The Pan American Clipper was docked at the small craft harbor and would depart daily for Ship Island excursions. Gulfport Yacht Club was organized in 1903 and hosted annual regattas. In July 1970, the annual Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo was hosted by the city of Gulfport. Scholtes also reports that the Marine Life Aquadome was being rebuilt and would reopen in 1971.

  Scholtes listed the Gulfport Veterans’ Administration Hospital, the Air National Guard site at Gulfport-Biloxi Airport and the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center as points of interest. Many of the buildings on the VA grounds were built in 1916 for the Mississippi Centennial Exposition to celebrate one hundred years of Mississippi statehood.

  Gulfport’s restaurants listed in the guide include Downtowner Motor Inn Dining Room, Moody’s Fountainhead Restaurant & Pancake House and the Captain’s Table, all of which were located on Highway 90. In addition to the Downtowner Motor Inn, the other Gulfport motels and hotels listed were Moody’s Motel & Cottages, Alamo Plaza Hotel Court, Worth Motor Lodge and the Confederate Inn Motel.

  Scholtes discusses areas that were once Mississippi City and Handsboro. Mississippi City was established in 1837 and became a resort town, while the city of Handsboro became the marketing and manufacturing center of the Golden Gulf Coast during the 1800s. Scholtes’s guide indicates that Mississippi City and Handsboro are now part of Gulfport and Biloxi. “Biloxi and Gulfport have expanded until they now share a common boundary of DeBuys Road.”

  Biloxi’s 1970 population was seventy thousand. Biloxi is also the home of Keesler Air Force Base, established in 1941. Biloxi was named for the Biloxi Indians. In 1699, the French explorers encountered Biloxi warriors hunting the Biloxi peninsula. Scholtes indicates that Biloxi is the oldest settlement in the Mississippi Valley. He also reports that Biloxi is “historically the most interesting” of the Gulf Coast towns. Scholtes continues, “After you pass Broadwater Beach Hotel and its impressive marina, you enter the section called the ‘Gold Coast’ by local residents for its concentration of night clubs, bars, lounges, amusement park, super slide and miniature ‘Goofy Golf’ course all sure to delight the kids.”

  In Biloxi, the guide listed the Deer Ranch & Six Gun Junction as a “two for the price of one.” The ranch was described as being north of the corner on Highway 90 and DeBuys Road behind the Friendship House. Here a tourist or local could “hand feed the tame deer, then visit the wild west ghost town with real shoot outs and can-can girls to entertain you.” The price of admission was $2.50 for adults and $1.25 for children. Other entertainment places listed in the guide included the Amusement Park and Super Slide, both located on West Beach.

  The only bowling alley left in Biloxi after Camille was the Beach Bowl on West Beach, but there were six golf courses listed. They were the Broadwater Beach Sun Golf Course, Sunkist Golf Course, Edgewater Golf Course, Par 3 Golf Course, Broadwater Beach Course and Biloxi Par 3.

  Biloxi’s historical and cultural points of interest listed in the guide included Beauvoir, the last home of Jefferson Davis; Father Ryan’s Home; Old (Biloxi Cemetery) French Cemetery; Biloxi Lighthouse; Ancient Burial Grounds, now the Moran Art Studio, on Porter Avenue; Magnolia Hotel; Old French House; Spanish House; Le Moyne Galleries; Church of the Redeemer and the Ring in Oak; Seashore Methodist Assembly; and St. Michael Catholic Church, the fishermen’s church.

  Biloxi restaurants listed in the guide included Friendship House, William Tally House Restaurant, Admiral Benbow Inn Restaurant, Holiday Inn Restaurant, Broadwater Beach Hotel Dining Room, the Broadwater Marina Restaurant, Golden Galleon at Ramada Inn, Emerald Beach Motel Restaurant, Gus Steven’s Restaurant, White Pillars Restaurant, Buena Vista Hotel
Dining Room, Baricev’s Seafood Harbor and Mary Mahoney’s Old French House Restaurant.

  Biloxi’s motels and hotels listed in the guide, starting on West Beach and heading east, were: Sea Gull Tourist Court, Cabana Gardens Motel, Twin Star Motel, Edgewater Gulf Hotel, Admiral Benbow Inn, Holiday Inn of America, Broadwater Beach Hotel and Motel, Ramada Inn, Sun-n-Sand Motel, Schenck’s Motel, Emerald Beach Motel, Belmar Motel, Travel Inn Motel, Flamingo Motel, Swan Motel, White House Motel, Buena Vista Hotel and Motel, Oak Manor Motel, Sun Tan Motel, Beach Manor Motel and Trade Winds Hotel and Motel.

  East of Biloxi is Jackson County and the city of Ocean Springs. Ocean Springs has a 1970 population of ten thousand. Scholtes reports that in 1699, Ocean Springs was the location of Fort Maurepas. He indicates that during the late 1800s to 1930s, Ocean Springs had excellent orchards and was the center for shipment of citrus and pecan on the Gulf Coast.

  In Ocean Springs, the guide listed the Gulf Hills Dude Ranch and Golf Course as a point of interest and the only motel. Here one could play golf in the morning and ride horses or go for a hayride in the evening. Camping sites listed in the guide included Magnolia State Park and KOA Campgrounds. The Shearwater Pottery was listed as a place to “see interesting and unusual ceramics and art works in a rustic setting.” Ocean Springs restaurants listed in the guide included Allman’s, Trilbry’s and the Village Inn, which were all located on Highway 90, and Dale’s Ante-Bellum Mansion Restaurant on Port Avenue.

  The Fernando Gautier Home at Gautier. Courtesy of Alan Santa Cruz Collection.

  Gautier was listed as an unincorporated area, but the guide listed the Hickory Hills Country Club Course for golf and Old Place Plantation as a beautiful historical setting. Josie Singing River Pottery was located south of Old Place Plantation and sells ceramics, driftwood and shell jewelry. He also notes that between Ocean Springs and Gautier on Highway 90, there were some small motels that were not listed.