Page 17 - Hancock County Tourism ~ 2021 History

Do you know about...
the Kiln Turpentine Factory
The long-leaf pine forests
of northern Hancock County, conveniently close to the Jourdan River, brought thriving business opportunities to Kiln in the 1800s and 1900s, turpentine manufacturing in particular.
The trees were tapped for their natural gum, and large stills turned the gum into turpentine and resin. One such facility was owned and operated by Albert John McLeod and his wife,
Virginia, and their nephew, Norton Haas. They ran a sawmill, stave mill, planer mill, turpentine plant, and general store, all of which employed nearly 500 people. Their products were shipped down the Jourdan River to New Orleans and Mobile,
Ala. McLeod died in 1931, but “Aunt Gin” and Haas continued production until the 1950s. The 328-acre McLeod Park is named after them.
Albert John and Virginia McLeod
Do you know about...
the Summer Camp
for Jewish Orphans
Children from a Jewish orphanage in New Orleans spent many summers here on the beautiful shores of the Gulf of Mexico. In 1984, the Jewish Federation of New Orleans purchased a home at 984 S. Beach Blvd. in Bay St. Louis where the children could enjoy
a vacation with many outdoor activities. Boys’ and girls’
groups alternated for two-week periods throughout the summer. Eventually, the number of children at the orphanage declined, so
the Federation brought in other groups, and extra cabins were built behind the main house. When the
property was eventually sold, the new owner had a 32-foot section cut out of the center of the main house and moved several hundred feet over, making three houses on the property, 984, 986, and 988 S. Beach Blvd. All were destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.
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