Shared History - October 2015 - The Shoofly Magazine

Shared History - October 2015

10/1/2015

BSL's Historic Tour Goes Mobile!

The popular Walking/Biking tour of historic Bay St. Louis has been updated and is now available for free all over Old Town. And it's now available in a mobile version, so it's even easier to use and share!
- story and photos by Ellis Anderson

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The Bay St. Louis Walking and Biking Tour is proof in print that history doesn’t have to be boring.

Often called Hancock Tourism’s most popular handout, the free twelve-page brochure leads visitors – and locals – along an easy one and a half mile route through Old Town, with 24 special points of interest. A new digital version even lets people take the tour with smart phones in hand.

With photographs and descriptions written with the help of colorful local historian Charles Gray (“history is lies agreed upon”), the brochure gives factual, but fun information about the town’s past. For instance, the tour includes the legend that in the early 1800s, Bay St. Louis was actually in the running to be named Mississippi’s state capital.

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Readers will also find out that builder of the Masonic Temple building on Main Street created a local uproar by installing the city’s first street lights. Touting the city’s brush with stardom, the brochure leads visitors through the depot district, where they’ll be strolling visitors in the steps of Robert Redford and Natalie Wood.

The trail winds through the Old Town arts district and the depot district, ending up at the Hancock County Historical Society. Along the way, strollers and bikers will find plenty of places to take breaks for refreshment, meals and shopping. The entire route offers striking scenic photo ops at every turn.

The tour also includes several important historic buildings "Off the Beaten Path." Just a few blocks off the official tour route, St. Rose de Lima Church, 100 Men Hall, Our Lady of the Gulf Church and the Angel Tree are other star destinations. Information about the beach and the bridge biking walking paths is listed on the back cover, giving bikers and hikers plenty of options when spending the day in the Bay.

“One reason people love it so much is that the tour is completely customizable,” says Jane Byrne, with the Hancock Tourism Bureau. “They might go to the Old City Hall [one of the tour’s highlights] and end up having lunch at the restaurant in the building. Or they might start in the Depot District, and spend time in the Alice Moseley Museum.”

Byrne explains that the brochure has been a favorite souvenir item for years. Often, she meets people who bring it back on return visits and pick up the tour where they left off. They also pass the brochure along to friends and family members who are considering visits to the Bay.

The tour ends at the home of the Hancock County Historical Society, in the heart of Old Town.

The brochure was first produced in 2008 by an unofficial coalition of community groups and local businesses, and Hancock County Tourism is now producing updates and reprints. The brochures are given out at the I-10 Welcome Center, the Visitors’ Welcome Center at the Depot (another of the tour’s highlights) and at various merchant and restaurant locations throughout Old Town.

In October, the third print edition will be available. A new digital version is available too, making the tour easy to take along on tablets and smart-phones. The digital tour is currently available in the Cleaver’s Resource section on the “Maps and Tours” page. It’s also available on the Old Town Bay St. Louis website, courtesy of the Old Town Merchants Association. Look for it soon on additional civic websites (if you’d like to “host” the tour on your organization or business website, contact Hancock Tourism at 228.467.2275).

Locals are encouraged to share the links with friends and business associates by email or on Facebook. Jane Byrne points out that locals enjoy the tour at least as much as visitors.

“Even people who grew up here in town learn things when they take the tour,” says Byrne. “And it’s a fun thing for them to share with kids and grandchildren.”

The Historic Tour Map

Golf Carts are also a fun way to explore the Historic Tour. Four- and six-passenger golf carts and bicycles can be rented at Court Street, right around the corner from the official start of the tour! Call 228.363.1290 for details and reservations.