Gulf Coast - History. The Mississippi Gulf Coast area was explored in 1699 by Pierre LeMoyne d'Iberville who was sent by the King of France to claim this important coastal region. With a small troop, he sailed into Biloxi Bay and established Fort Maurepas and a small colony on the east shore that is now Ocean Springs. A replica of this fort has been created and may be visited. It is a particularly lively place for the -Fort Maurepas Reenactment- or the annual -Landing of d'Iberville- celebrated in Ocean Springs. Mississippi Gulf Coast, once home to the Biloxi Indians, then d'Iberville's French, changed hands many times over the years. Each new flag brought the infusion of a new culture. Traces of Spanish rule may be seen -and touched- at the Old Spanish Fort in Pascagoula, built in 1718 and still open to tour. Southern planter society left graceful antebellum homes along Beach Boulevard -Hwy 90 which runs the length of the central section of Mississippi Gulf Coast. Grasslawn -1836 in Gulfport, The Father Ryan House -1840, Beauvoir -1852-54, Tullis-Toledano -1856 and The Church of the Redeemer bell tower -1873-73 all in Biloxi are open to tour year-round. Beauvoir, last home of Jefferson Davis, the first and only President of the Confederacy, is outstanding among the many antebellum and fine Victorian homes that grace the Coast. Here, Davis wrote his memoirs and spent his final years. The home, library and grounds are beautifully preserved. For those interested in Southern culture and mansions, what better time to visit than during the annual -Spring Pilgrimage-. The Gulf Coast Garden Clubs open many historic homes and gardens massed with color. Built prior to the Civil War but little used except as a Union prison, Fort Massachusetts stands guard off shore on West Ship Island, its cannons still ready to repel pirates or invaders. Now a part of the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Seashore, the fort may be toured on your own or with the assistance of park rangers. A delightful 70-minute ferry ride takes visitors to West Ship Island to enjoy the fort, surf-pounded beaches, surf fishing or serene exploring on this uninhabited island. 2244 Beach Blvd Biloxi, MS 39531 228-388-1313 228-388-9074 Fax (228) 388-1313 Seaside retirement estate of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy. Confederate Museum, soldier's home, cemetery, and Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier. Presidential Library opening May 30, 1998. Open daily March 1 - Sept. 1, from 9:00am to 5:00pm; Sept. 1 - March 1, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Admission charged. Group rates available. P O Box 508 Biloxi MS 39533 228-435-6308 FAX: 228-435-6246 E-mail: museums@biloxi.ms.us. Located on Highway 90 (Beach Blvd) at the foot of Porter Avenue, the Biloxi Lighthouse has been a symbol of Biloxi's maritime history since it was erected in 1848. Open by appointment only. The Father Ryan House BB. 1196 Beach Blvd Biloxi MS 39530 228-435-1189 1-800-295-1189 E-mail: info@fatherryanhouse.com. Built circa 1841, this home is on the National Historic Landmark and the one time home of Father Abram Ryan, Poet Laureate of the Confederacy. Open for tours from 1:00 to 5:00 pm. No admission charged. Grass Lawn P O Box 651 Gulfport, MS 39502 228-896-2827 E-mail: Located at 702 East Beach Blvd. Southern summer home built 1836; 10 ft wide galleries supported by two-story box columns. Appropriately furnished. Open by appointment only. Admission charged. 580 Beach Blvd Biloxi MS 39530 228-436-6257/436-6225 1-888-436-6257 FAX: 228-436-6225 E-mail: Gulf Coast's oldest antebellum mansion, circa 1826. Built on a Spanish land grant. Two acres, two buildings on National Register. Appointed fine antiques. Fine example of period architecture. No admission charged. Tours available 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, seven days a week. Hancock County Historical Society. 108 Cue St Bay St. Louis MS 39520 228-467-4090 E-mail: history@datasync.com. Historical Society in Old Town location with very large photo display, historic and tour information. Open Mon-Fri from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. No admission charged. 126 West Scenic Dr Pass Christian MS 39571 228-452-9399 1-800-452-9399 FAX: 228-452-9321 E-mail: Overlooking historic Pass Christian Yacht Harbor, this registered antebellum Bed Breakfast is the only remaining 19th century hotel still in operation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. No admission charged. Open for tours Mon-Thu from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm. 125 East Scenic Dr Pass Christian MS 39571 228-452-0333 1-800-217-2588 E-mail: 1885 Eastlake Victorian home is on the National Historic Register. Home was restored in 1995 and is now operated as a Bed Breakfast. Period antiques and art by local artists. Open from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. No admission charged. La Pointe - Krebs House. 4602 Fort Dr Pascagoula MS 39567 228-769-1505 This house has withstood the elements since the early 18th century, and is probably the oldest standing structure in the Mississippi Valley. Artifacts and antiques are on display in the adjacent Old Spanish Fort Museum. Open Mon-Sat 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Sun 12:00 noon to 4:30 pm. Closed on Monday and major holidays. Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Museum. Located next to the Ocean Springs Civic Center 3730 Bienville Blvd. (Hwy 90) Ocean Springs, MS Built in 1996 this beautiful Memorial is a tribute to the men and women that served in the Vietnam War. Open year round. No admission fee. P O Box 508 Biloxi MS 39530 228-435-6308 FAX: 228-435-6246 E-mail: Saved from neglect by the ladies of Biloxi's Garden Clubs, the Old Brick House is reputedly one of the oldest structures in the City of Biloxi. Closed until further notice for restoration. 622 Bayview Ave. Tullis-Toledano Manor. Built in 1856 on Biloxi's East Beach for Christoval and Matilde Toledano. Today it is one of the Mississippi Gulf Coast's most unique examples of antebellum architecture. Located at 360 Beach Blvd. Admission charged. Group tours welcome. Open Mon-Sat 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Red Creek Inn, Vineyard Racing Stable. 7416 Red Creek Rd Long Beach MS 39560 228-452-3080 1-800-729-9670 FAX: 228-452-3080 E-mail: info@redcreekinn.com. Circa 1899, three-story raised French cottage with 64' front porch. Free admission to tour this country inn and 11.5 acres of ancient live oaks and fragrant magnolias. Thoroughbred racing stable and vineyard under development. 1.5 miles south of Long Beach I-10 exit #28. Open for tours 10:00 am to dusk daily. Group tours welcome.

The Two Loves Suite is on the first floor of the Summer House, adjacent to the Main House. In addition to the king bed and picture window view of the beach, this suite has a sleeper sofa, mini fridge, garden-style whirlpool tub in the bathroom, and a large double-head shower stall.

The Old Trees Suite is right above the Two Loves Suite in the Summer House. The sitting room has a sleeper sofa, the bedroom has an antique rice-style king bed and a mini fridge, and there is a whirlpool tub in the bathroom. The large private balcony is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the beach view.

Mark Roussel for Newsweek. What Cant Be Replaced: We have lost the fragile balance of past and present. The heart of New Orleanswhat makes New Orleans New Orleanssurvived Katrina. Biloxi's history has shattered. There's simply no going back. The Dantzler House, the Brielmaier House, the Tullis-Toledano Manor: the list of vanished treasures goes on. The entire Point Cadet area on the city's east end, the historic center of Biloxi's famous fishing industry, has disappeared. When I was growing up, catching your own seafood was a favorite pastime. I still remember visiting the man who made our trawls in his dusty shop on the Point. Now that shop, along with the wooden cottages that were built by boatmen and factory workers, are pulverized. Something more than the buildings themselves has vanished in the storm. We have lost the fragile balance of past and present, the rich mix of Old South, black community and Cajun, Yugoslavand, more recently, Vietnameseshrimpers that made Biloxi so much more than an antebellum postcard. Without our past, how will we find our future? In the early decades of the 20th century, when my father was growing up on the Gulf Coast, Biloxi was a favored resort of Midwesterners intent on escaping the Northern winters. The winding road along the waterthe precursor to Highway 90was a ribbon of oyster shells, overhung with oaks. My father took the streetcar that ran down Howard Avenue and along the beach to school each morning. His uncle had been the first boy to graduate from Biloxi's new Central High School in 1900. Years later, many of the grace notes remained in my own childhood. Each Christmas we'd drive along the beach to admire the finely decorated old homes, their tree lights sparkling through the cut-glass doors. Out in the gulf, at the end of a long pier, rose the three-story Biloxi Yacht Club, where we all went to see the sailboat races. With its rocking chairs and breezy porches, it was a throwback to earlier times.

The Father Ryan House Bed and Breakfast Inn is a National Historic Landmark located in Biloxi, Mississippi. Built in 1841, it is one of the oldest remaining structures on the Gulf Coast and the one time home of Father Abram Ryan, Poet Laureate of the Confederacy. Situated on the beautiful white sand beach of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the House and grounds have been painstakingly restored and furnished according to that period. Each room and suite has its own unique character and charm. You may choose to enjoy the spectacular view from the Jefferson Room and pamper yourself with a whirlpool bath or relax in the stately elegance and romance of the Father Ryan Rooms which are furnished with exquisitely hand crafted beds and antiques dating back to the early 1800's. Out of the Rubble... Condos and Slots? We will never re-create the Biloxi I loved as a child, but we must try to build something just as unique. By Annalyn Swan Newsweek. Oct. 3, 2005 issue - I walk toward the beach, past the centuries-old oak that has overhung my family's cemetery lot for generations. Half is still standingthe other half, broken away. Ahead of me is one of my favorite historic houses in Biloxi, the Father Ryan House, named after former resident Abram Ryan, the so-called poet-priest of the Confederacy. Hurricane Katrina has reduced it to rubble. As far as I can see, nothing remains but the twisted shells of the stately, pillared houses that date back a century or more. We survivors of 1969's Hurricane Camillewith winds of more than 200 miles per hourthought we'd never see such devastation again. This is worse. Tour FRH