Pascagoula MS Mississippi
Frequently Asked Questions
On the Pascagoula River, at the edge of a town of about 20,000 where life turns on the river, the bayou and the sea. Only river and coastal vessels working the Gulf call here.
Yes, for downtown: brick storefronts, cafés, antique shops and murals are a few minutes' walk. La Pointe-Krebs House and the Audubon centre, however, need a short ride.
La Pointe-Krebs House and its museum, the Round Island Lighthouse at the entrance to the riverfront district, then a wander downtown. Nature lovers can add the Pascagoula River Audubon Center and its marsh boardwalks.
The Pascagoula River, so nicknamed because on certain calm nights it is said to hum a low melody, a sound from nowhere that generations of residents swear they have heard. The legend hangs over the whole town that bears its name.
The oldest standing structure in all of Mississippi, built around 1757. Its walls combine crushed shell, lime and sand in the tabby technique, a rare survival of that method on the Gulf. The small adjoining museum covers three centuries of French, Spanish and American occupation.
Built in 1859 on an islet offshore and battered by hurricanes for a century and a half, it was eventually dismantled, moved to the mainland and rebuilt stone by stone at the entrance to the riverfront district, where it has shone again since 2015. Its stocky brick silhouette has become the town's emblem.
From a distance, yes. The cranes of this yard, among the largest in the United States, assemble warships whose grey hulls are visible from the point park. The yard itself is closed to the public.
A nature centre upstream of town, with trails and boardwalks opening onto one of the last great free-flowing rivers in the country, never dammed. It is the best spot of the call for watching marsh birds.
The US dollar. Cards work in shops and restaurants, but keep some cash: a local passport gives access to most of the area's small museums for a token amount.
Spring and autumn. Gulf summers are hot, humid and stormy, and hurricane season runs June through November, a reality the Round Island Lighthouse story illustrates perfectly. Winter stays mild and suits walking well.
