What You Can Do
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11 Most Endangered
Historic Communities and Landmarks of the Mississippi Coast
Year Listed: 2006
Location: Gulf Port , Mississippi
Current Status: Favorable
Threat: Development, Natural Forces
A home in the Mississippi coast. Historic Communities and Landmarks of the Mississippi Coast was named as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Places in 2006.
Credit: National Trust for Historic Preservation
Significance
When Hurricane Katrina's 145-mile per hour winds and 30-foot storm surge hit the Gulf Coast last August 29, the damage to Mississippi's historic communities was enormous. Unique and charming cities and towns such as Gulfport, Pass Christian and Ocean Springs suffered unfathomable damage which their residents are still working to repair. Between 250-300 historic structures on the coast were wiped out completely and more than 1,200 were damaged. Historic Landmarks with significant damage form the hurricane include Beauvoir, where Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote his memoirs and spent his final years in Biloxi; Pascagoula's LaPointe-Krebs House, the "Old Spanish Fort,"; and Bay St. Louis's Hancock County Courthouse. The stories are heartbreaking and numerous.
Updates
The historic communities of the Mississippi Gulf Coast are threatened with land speculation and new development that ignores the remaining historic character of these towns. In addition, lack of preservation specific funding hinders individual homeowners from tackling the difficult job of stabilizing and rehabilitating their property. Progress is being made however, and in 2008 federal funding provided to the MS-SHPO has enabled the agency to aid more than 300 historic homeowners to begin the rehabilitation process work so critical to recovery.
Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis' home in Biloxi, has been restored and was opened for tours in the summer of 2008. The design phase of the site's Visitor Center and Library has begun. There is good news to report on the Walter Anderson Cottage, and rehabilitation of this valuable property has been completed. The Charley Houses, located in Ocean Springs, have been stabilized with an RFQ issued for these properties.
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