Old Spanish Fort (Pascagoula, Mississippi)

Old Spanish Fort
Mississippi Landmark
Old Spanish Fort in 2012
Location 200 Fort Street
Pascagoula, Mississippi
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 1721 on the shore of Lake Catahoula (Krebs Lake) near what is now Pascagoula, Mississippi, by French Canadian Joseph Simon de la Pointe.[2] Old Spanish Fort 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

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.

Exterior walls were constructed with oyster-shell concrete

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 commissioned by the French to build a fort in Pascagoula.[4] The present structure was part of a complex of buildings.

Baron Hugo Ernestus Krebs, of German descent, acquired the property through marriage to de la Pointe's daughter. During Krebs' ownership, the property was maintained as a plantation with slaves and produced commodities such as rice and cotton.[6]

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.[7]

The structure was owned and occupied by descendants of Baron 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

  1. ↑ "Mississippi Landmarks". Retrieved 2014-04-16.
  2. ↑ Fort de la Point Retrieved 2012-09-13
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 LaPointe-Krebs House and Cotton Gin Retrieved 2012-09-08
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form--Old Spanish Fort Retrieved 2012-09-08
  5. ↑ Old Spanish Fort Retrieved 2012-09-13
  6. ↑ Old French Fort, Pascagoula, Jackson County, MS Retrieved 2012-09-08
  7. ↑ Historical American Buildings Survey Old French Fort, Pascagoula, MS Retrieved 2012-09-08

External links