Old Spanish Fort (Pascagoula, Mississippi)
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Old Spanish Fort | |
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Main facade in 2006 | |
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| Location |
200 Fort Street Pascagoula, Mississippi |
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| Coordinates | 30°22′49″N 88°33′29″W / 30.38028°N 88.55806°WCoordinates: 30°22′49″N 88°33′29″W / 30.38028°N 88.55806°W |
| Built | circa 1721 |
| Architectural style | French Colonial |
| NRHP Reference # | 71000452 |
| USMS # | 059-PAS-0001-NR-ML |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 1971 |
| Designated USMS | January 5, 1984[1] |
Old Spanish Fort, also known as Old French Fort and LaPointe-Krebs House, was constructed circa 1730 on the shore of Lake Catahoula (Krebs Lake) near what is now Pascagoula, Mississippi, by French Canadian Joseph Simon de la Pointe.[2] The La Pointe-Krebs House is often described as the oldest building in the Mississippi River Valley.[3] The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1984. Old Spanish Fort is owned by the city of Pascagoula and serves as a museum.
Description
.jpg) Exterior walls were constructed with oyster-shell concrete |
Old Spanish Fort was not really a fort. Instead, it was a one-story, three-room structure that measured 37 feet (11.3 meters) in width and 62.25 feet (18.97 meters) in length.[4] Framing walls were 18 inches (45.7 centimeters) thick,[5] constructed of cypress (probably bald cypress) and cedar (probably Atlantic white cedar), and filled with oyster-shell concrete in the oldest construction or with bousillage of clay and Spanish moss in a later addition.
Three sides of the structure were bounded by a porch, supported by square wooden posts that were joined by plank rails. The gable roof was covered with wooden shingles. Two fireplace chimneys were composed of stucco-covered brick. The original structure had one large room with two smaller rooms. Flooring was oyster-shell concrete covered with boards at a height of 18 inches (45.7 centimeters).[4]
History
In 1721, Joseph Simon de la Pointe, an Admiral in Bienville's fleet, was granted land by the French to build a residence in Pascagoula.[4] The present structure was part of a complex of buildings.
Hugo Ernestus Krebs, of German descent, acquired the property through marriage to de la Pointe's daughter, Marie Josephe. During Krebs' ownership, the property was maintained as a plantation with slaves and produced commodities such as rice and cotton.[6] Krebs also created a roller cotton gin more than two decades before the invention of Eli Whitney[7]
The name Old Spanish Fort was derived during Spanish control of the Mississippi Territory in the late 1700s, when the structure served as a fortified home of Don Enrique Ginarest, an officer in the Spanish Army, who married the granddaughter of Joseph de la Pointe.[8]
The structure was owned and occupied by descendants of Hugo Krebs until 1914.[4] At present day, Old Spanish Fort serves as a museum for the City of Pascagoula, but has been closed since 2005 because of damage from Hurricane Katrina.[3]
References
- ↑ "Mississippi Landmarks". Retrieved 2014-04-16.
- ↑ Fort de la Point Retrieved 2012-09-13
- 1 2 LaPointe-Krebs House and Cotton Gin Retrieved 2012-09-08
- 1 2 3 4 National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form--Old Spanish Fort Retrieved 2012-09-08
- ↑ Old Spanish Fort Retrieved 2012-09-13
- ↑ Old French Fort, Pascagoula, Jackson County, MS Retrieved 2012-09-08
- ↑ Romans, Bernard (1775). A Concise Natural History of East and West Florida. ISBN 0817308768.
- ↑ Historical American Buildings Survey Old French Fort, Pascagoula, MS Retrieved 2012-09-08
External links
Media related to Old Spanish Fort (Pascagoula, Mississippi) at Wikimedia Commons
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