Page 27 - Hancock County Tourism ~ 2021 History

Do you know about...
the Bay St. Louis
Ice,Light & Bottling Works
Several technological improvements came to Bay St. Louis around 1900. A new facility producing ice, street lighting, and beverage bottling was built at 398 Blaize Ave. Over 100 streetlights were erected around the city, and the new ice plant was capable of producing 25 tons of ice per day. The latest equipment was also brought in for bottling carbonated drinks which were shipped throughout the county and to points beyond via the L&N Railroad.
Do you know about...
Gainesville
A Spanish land grant given to Dr. Ambrose Gaines in early 1810 was the beginning of what would become a thriving lumber and commercial center in south Mississippi. On a high bluff, with deep-water access
on the Pearl River, Gainesville was a transportation hub, where goods being shipped up and down the river were unloaded and readied for land transport. Gainesville became the county seat in 1846, and the courthouse was moved there as well. The town grew rapidly, and soon there were hotels, coffee shops, bars, stores, and two newspapers. Chief crops included tobacco, sugar cane, rice, and the much lauded sea- island cotton. Fruit orchards were also in abundance. When the courthouse burned in 1853, a lengthy debate ensued and the county seat was moved to Shieldsboro (Bay St. Louis). This, coupled with the advancement
of the railroad and the eventual decline of the local lumber industry, took its toll on this once prosperous
Unknown home in Gainesville
community. The few remaining residents were relocated when NASA incorporated the area into the Stennis Space Center.
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