Page 29 - Hancock County Tourism ~ 2021 History

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Westonia & Santa Rosa
Two other early communities supported by the huge H. Weston Lumber Company in the 1800s were Westonia and Santa Rosa, both of which would eventually become a part of the enormous buffer zone surrounding NASA’s Stennis Space Center. Westonia was located south of I-10, along Hwy. 607. A tiny cemetery with graves
of former Westonia residents lies hidden behind the treeline along this highway. Travelers entering west Mississippi along I-10 can
stop at the Westonia Mississippi Welcome Center where they can explore space history at the Infinity Science Center, NASA’s official visitor center of the Stennis Space Center. Walking trails, a 3-D theater, indoor exhibits, and guided tours are all part of the experience. Visitors can also get an up close and personal look at an Apollo 13 lunar lander trainer, an Apollo 4 capsule, and a giant Saturn V first stage booster rocket.
Across the Stennis complex from Westonia was Santa Rosa, a tiny community on the northern edge of the Stennis buffer zone, located near the Honey Island Swamp.
At one time there were stores, a church, a one-room schoolhouse, a post office, and plenty of venues selling illegal whiskey. Former residents are buried in the Turtleskin Cemetery near Stennis’ northern main gate.
The schoolhouse there was the former Aaron Academy, one of the
Aaron Academy in Santa Rosa
oldest schools in northern Hancock County. William Wesley Frierson established the school prior to 1890 and insisted it be named after his father, Aaron Frierson, who was a lifelong staunch supporter of public schools. By 1937, the one-room
Westonia School in 1905, with teacher Esta LaHatte
structure had become a six-room school with a small auditorium. It was all demolished when NASA took over the property. Theodore G. Bilbo, a two-time governor of Mississippi and U.S. Senator from Mississippi, once taught here.
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