BAY ST. LOUIS OLD TOWN MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION
  • Home
    • Upcoming Events
  • HOT SPOTS
  • Shop
    • 211 Main
    • Antique Maison
    • Bay Books
    • Bay Elements
    • Bay Life
    • Bay-Tique
    • B.E.E. by the Bay - A Fine Art Gallery
    • Biz-zee Bee
    • California Drawstrings
    • Clay Creations
    • Cottage Curios
    • Fleurty Girl
    • Gallery 220
    • Jane Evans Designs
    • Magnolia Antiques
    • Salty Soul Outfitters
    • Sassy Bird Interiors
    • Smith & Lens Gallery
    • Social Chair
    • Southern Accents
    • Tami Curtis Gallery
    • The French Potager
    • The Porch
  • Dine/Drink
    • 200 North Beach Restaurant
    • Bodega Spirits and Liquor
    • Cuz’s Old Town Oyster Bar & Grill
    • Daiquiri Shak
    • Dan B Murphy's Restaurant & Bar
    • Ms. Mary's Old Town Snoball
    • Mockingbird Cafe
    • Parrot Head Bar & Grill
    • PJ's Coffee
    • Pop Brothers
    • Purple Banana
    • Serious Bread Bakery
    • Smokin' Jo's
    • The Buttercup on Second Street
    • The Creole Creamery
    • The Sycamore House
  • Stay
    • Bay Cottages
    • Bay Town Inn
    • Life's A Beach Cottage
    • Sandy Feet Retreat
    • The Trust Bed & Breakfast
  • Services
    • Bay St. Louis Historic Depot, Visitor Center, Museum, & Displays
    • Bodega BSL
    • Full Moon Clockworks
    • Hancock Chamber of Commerce
    • Hancock County Historical Society
    • O'Dwyer Realty
    • The Arts, Hancock County
    • The Loft
  • Entertainment
    • 100 Men Hall
    • Alice Moseley Museum
    • Bay St. Louis Little Theatre
    • The Shoofly Magazine
  • Maps
  • 2nd Saturdays
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • December 2019
    • September 2020
  • Home
    • Upcoming Events
  • HOT SPOTS
  • Shop
    • 211 Main
    • Antique Maison
    • Bay Books
    • Bay Elements
    • Bay Life
    • Bay-Tique
    • B.E.E. by the Bay - A Fine Art Gallery
    • Biz-zee Bee
    • California Drawstrings
    • Clay Creations
    • Cottage Curios
    • Fleurty Girl
    • Gallery 220
    • Jane Evans Designs
    • Magnolia Antiques
    • Salty Soul Outfitters
    • Sassy Bird Interiors
    • Smith & Lens Gallery
    • Social Chair
    • Southern Accents
    • Tami Curtis Gallery
    • The French Potager
    • The Porch
  • Dine/Drink
    • 200 North Beach Restaurant
    • Bodega Spirits and Liquor
    • Cuz’s Old Town Oyster Bar & Grill
    • Daiquiri Shak
    • Dan B Murphy's Restaurant & Bar
    • Ms. Mary's Old Town Snoball
    • Mockingbird Cafe
    • Parrot Head Bar & Grill
    • PJ's Coffee
    • Pop Brothers
    • Purple Banana
    • Serious Bread Bakery
    • Smokin' Jo's
    • The Buttercup on Second Street
    • The Creole Creamery
    • The Sycamore House
  • Stay
    • Bay Cottages
    • Bay Town Inn
    • Life's A Beach Cottage
    • Sandy Feet Retreat
    • The Trust Bed & Breakfast
  • Services
    • Bay St. Louis Historic Depot, Visitor Center, Museum, & Displays
    • Bodega BSL
    • Full Moon Clockworks
    • Hancock Chamber of Commerce
    • Hancock County Historical Society
    • O'Dwyer Realty
    • The Arts, Hancock County
    • The Loft
  • Entertainment
    • 100 Men Hall
    • Alice Moseley Museum
    • Bay St. Louis Little Theatre
    • The Shoofly Magazine
  • Maps
  • 2nd Saturdays
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • December 2019
    • September 2020

Hancock County Historical Society

Picture




​108 Cue Street
Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi 39520
228 467-4090

​



website
Picture
Like many Bay St. Louis residents, it was love at first sight for Charles Harry Gray, the director of the Hancock County Historical Society. The year was 1984. The event was the Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge. Mr. Gray had driven in his Rolls Royce from New Orleans to the Bay to observe. Within a week, Charles Harry Gray had purchased his first home in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Not long afterward, Mr. Gray attended a meeting of the Hancock County Historical Society, became a member, and was made vice president on the very day he joined.  This was before the Lobrano house was bestowed to the Historical Society at a time when Historical Society members held their meetings at local restaurants.  Charles Harry Gray knew all about restaurants, as he had operated Corinne Dunbar’s restaurant in the grand parlor of her home on St. Charles Avenue. At Corinne Dunbar’s, guests were treated as if they were dinner guests at a party in her home. I suspect that those who visit the Hancock County Historical Society experience a similar sense of welcome.

The Society is headquartered in the Kate Lobrano House, described on the Historical Society's website as “a delightful 1896 shotgun cottage that was donated to the society in 1988 by the grandchildren of Katherine Maynard Lobrano.” The original house (108 Cue Street) is used as a turn-of-the-century museum while an addition to the rear of the house provides office and storage space. Depending on the day of week, guests will find either Charles Gray or Eddie Coleman, newsletter editor and staff person, manning the operation along with one of the Society’s officers or a community volunteer.

Membership in the Hancock County Historical Society is 1,000 strong, and membership is nationwide. In fact, Gray marvels that a contingent of out-of-state members commit to months of volunteer service onsite while vacationing in the Bay area.

In the pre-Katrina years, visitors traveled to Hancock County regularly via tour bus often to visit the 728 Bay St. Louis houses on the National Registry. The tour buses are no longer running, and the Hancock County Historical Society functions in many ways as a guest or travel center for those who want to know what to see and do while in the area. At its heart, however, the Historical Society collects, preserves, and maintains a collection of documents, photographs, memorabilia, and artifacts designed to help future generations understand their heritage.

As a private institution with no state funding, the Hancock Historical Society relies entirely on charitable contributions and memberships and is only as strong as its community involvement. To that end, the Historical Society has a standing invitation to anyone who has lived in Hancock County to share their family histories. If you bring in photographs, Society volunteers will copy and file them in color-coded binders labeled Waveland, County, People, Tony Scafidi, Hurricanes, Cemeteries, Registered Trees, Bay St. Louis Houses, and so on. The photos will also be scanned and saved online to the Cloud. The Hancock County Historical Society is only as good as its community participation. ​​
​

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.