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A handful of French Canadi ans left a small exploration fleet in the lee of ‘Isle aux Ves seaux”’ and sailed for the main land which they judged to be four leagues north. The day was Monday, Feb. 13, and the year was 1699. Just where they actually land ed on the Biloxi peninsula will never be known, but one fact is certain—this group, represent ing the Grand Monarch, King Louis XIV of France, started a commercial area which exists to this very day. Pierre le Moyne, Sieur a'Iber ville was personally in charge o nly some four months before, he had sailed from Brest via Santo Domingo to make certain that LaSalle’s claim to the Mississip pi Valley would be made secure, (de Pineda, de Narvaez and others had passed off Biloxi be fore). The all-wise French Minister of Marine, Count Ponchartrain, selected tried and proven vet erans, born and case-hardened in the New World (Quebec), to colonize and settle that central land area of the present Gulf States where the waters of the “Gulf du Mexique”’ played—the mouth of a certain great river must be forever under the Fleur-de-Lis banner. The French found the Spanish al ready entrenched at Pensacola and sailed westward. It was a race for a great prize because peace had come to a war-torn Europe and the adroit @ Iberville with his usual saga city acted quickly. He found Ship Island to be a safe anchor age inside from the Gulf. The time had come to examine the countryside and great tension was evident aboard the “La Ba dine. When d'Iberville beached his small sloop, his 21-year old brother, Jean Baptiste le Moyne Bienville, and several capable Canadians, jumped on the terra firma of the Biloxi peninsula, on the west beach between the present site of the lighthouse and the old Biloxi cemetery. The Canadians were especially well versed in Indian customs and dialects. At first the tiny array of Caucasians found a lack of native human habitation. Then Indian canoes were seen going to and from Deer Island. With the patience of the intrepid French, they finally won the friendship of the Indians. To bacco, paint, beads and knives were lavishly bestowed upon the natives. D'Iberville learn ed that the savages were a small tribe called the Biloxi and he never forgot their kindness— somewhat unusual for a branch of the Sioux. Leaving Bienville and two Ca nadians behind asl hostages, d‘Iberville took a group of the Indians to the fleet of four ves sels at Ship Island. The Indians found the ships to be “floating houses.”” The firing of cannon amazed them, a tast of liquor had a somewhat burning effect and the spy glass taxed their ingenuity. After careful inspections of the lay of the land, d’Iberville came to the conclusion that the first colony (and capital of French Louisiana) must be built behind the safety of Deer Island—free from the roving eyes of other nationals. On April 8, 1699, axes were swung while song birds sang. Fort Maurepas was built on the Ocean Springs side of the Bay of Biloxi. From September 8, 1721, until December, 1722 Biloxi served as the headquarters of the colony. Communications with the French world throughout the continent into Canada was con ducted from Biloxi via the Mis sissippi. Great plans for a fort and city were made but only a small camp in central Biloxi and a number of small settle ments sprang up; plans for the fort were never carried out. By 1800 there were at least six large families on the penin sular. They anchored the settle ment and because of their solid relationship with their kin on the Bay of St. Louis, the first road materialized; Point Caddy-Pass Christian Road. On each end the first two towns be gan to grow. By 1810 the mi gration of people from the inter ior northeast began. Statehood came in 1817 and land grants were in a booming stage by 1819 when Spain sold West Flor ida to the U. S. for $5,000,000 after years of dispute. The first store began opera tions on the Portage Road near the road mentioned above. Small homes went up quickly along the Portage Road (now Lamouse) and the beach road (now Water Street) and the town of Biloxi was born. By 1861 it was prepared to muster men for the Great War and did so, leaving only the very young and the old behind. By making a wooden cannon (mock) and using an old field piece propped behind sand bags near the old light house, the old men were able to fool the fed eral boats in the gulf. For the union vessels had only one chan nel into Biloxi and they thought it was a shore battery guarding it. But soon they realized what it was and with a company of soldiers visited the beach and demanded surrender, which did occur with no resistance—there were no able bodied men to re sist. With the war over, Biloxi re turned to its peaceful existence of living from the sea and trad ing charcoal, turpentine and beef to the other cities in ex change for the household ne cessities. But soon the peace was broken with the coming of the railroad and the packet sidewheelers bringing the city people to the shores for sum mer fun. The tourist trade boomed, followed by the sea food industry. By 1880 the town was a mixture of saloons, ho tels, cottages, pavillions, bath houses, depot-to-beach arcades, etc. and the population expiod. The small community be came a city and by 1909 the en tire peninsula was homestead ed, but not until 1925 did the road system evolve into a com plex maze linking all the areas to allow the city as we see it to day. The tourist trade and the seafood industry continue to boom and have made a city out of a wilderness, a wilderness of 270 years ago.
Newspaper Details
Biloxi Daily Herald
Biloxi, Mississippi, US
Tue, Mar 11, 1969
Page 37
Full Page
Clipped by
Jane S.
MS, USA 12 Jun 2026
Other Publications Near Biloxi, Mississippi
The Keesler Field News
Biloxi Sun Herald
Biloxi Herald
South Mississippi Sun
Biloxi Daily Herald
