Page 4 - Hancock County Tourism ~ 2021 History
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Do you know about...
the Jourdan River
This 18-mile river, fed by artesian springs, winds from a quiet, secluded area north of McLeod Park in Kiln down to the St. Louis Bay. North of the park the river is narrow and creek- like with fairly strong currents. Nearly nine miles of the river’s northern course has been designated a Blueway by the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain. This stretch is a favorite for canoers and kayakers. As it journeys south, the Jourdan broadens and becomes a boater’s playground. Sandbars and oxbow lakes are some of the river’s dominant features, and pelicans, cormorants, and other migratory birds make their homes here.
Fishing on the Jourdan River
The Jourdan River was named for Noel Jourdan, one of the river’s early settlers. Jourdan served as a delegate in the 1817 Mississippi Constitutional Convention and was Hancock County’s first representative in the Mississippi Legislature.
Legend has it that during Prohibition, Al Capone, using a fleet of boats nicknamed “rum runners,” smuggled liquor from ships anchored off the U.S. coast into St. Louis Bay and to various points up the river where his cohorts stood ready to transport the contraband to Chicago.
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