Pass Christian, Mississippi

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Pass Christian, Mississippi
Location of Pass Christian, Mississippi
Coordinates: 30°19′28″N 89°14′50″W / 30.32444, -89.24722
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Harrison
Area
- Total	15.3 sq mi (39.6 km²)
- Land	8.4 sq mi (21.8 km²)
- Water	6.9 sq mi (17.8 km²)
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	6,579
- Density	781.2/sq mi (301.6/km²)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	39571
Area code(s)	228
FIPS code	28-55400
GNIS feature ID	0675482

Pass Christian^[1] is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, along the Gulf of Mexico. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,579 at the 2000 census.

[edit] Geography

Pass Christian is located at 30°19′28″N, 89°14′50″W (30.324463, -89.247214)^[2]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.3 square miles (39.6 km²), of which, 8.4 square miles (21.8 km²) of it is land and 6.9 square miles (17.8 km²) of it (44.97%) is water.

Pass Christian, Mississippi (map center) is east of Bay St. Louis, along the Gulf of Mexico.

[edit] History

Pass Christian was named for a nearby deepwater pass, which in turn was named for Nicholas Christian L'Adnier who lived on nearby Cat Island beginning in 1746. (Another nearby pass, Pass Marianne, was named for L'Adnier's wife Marianne Paquet.)[1]

The town was a famous resort prior to the American Civil War and the site where the first yacht club of the South (and second in the US) was established in 1849. The town was a favorite location for the beach and summer homes of the wealthy of New Orleans. The row of historic mansions along the town's shoreline, especially Scenic Drive, was one of the country's notable historic districts. Tarpon Hole, offshore of Pass Christian in the Mississippi Sound, was the location where a world record Black Sea Bass was caught by Captain John T. McDonald. Captain McDonald operated The Schooner "Queen of the Fleet"

The fishing vessel was noted for its nearly spotless racing record throughout the 1890s and early 1900s until being replaced by larger, faster schooners built for the Biloxi fisheries during World War I. The two-masted 42-foot vessel was purchased in 1895 by Mrs. Bidwell, later given to John McDonald, and years later, was lost at sea on October 16, 1923 during a storm. John T. McDonald had been a city alderman in 1888, and served as mayor for three 2-year terms from 1890 to 1895, and served another term in 1903.

Pass Christian was in the path of two of the most intense hurricanes ever to hit the United States--Hurricane Camille in 1969 and Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. Both hurricanes caused the near total destruction of the city.

[edit] Hurricane Katrina

On August 29, 2005, Pass Christian was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Of the approximately 8,000 homes in Pass Christian, all but 500 were damaged or destroyed. In spite of the fact that the beachfront Scenic Drive follows the crest of a small bluff, affording it some elevation, most of the historic mansions along the road were severely damaged, and many also were destroyed.

Hurricane Katrina damaged over 40 Mississippi libraries, totally destroying the Pass Christian Public Library, and requiring a complete rebuild.^[3] Thirteen members of the city's police department, Chief John Dubuisson, Asst Chief Thomas Ruspoli, Sgts Josh Mcconnell and Michael Lally, Officers Zenas Cappie, Greg Daniels, Tony Piazza, Barry Smith, Clark Diehl, Reserve Officers Craig Necaise and Thomas Hawkins, Dispatcher Gloria Sanders and Municipal Court Officer Rebecca Ruspoli retreated to the Public Library after Police station became unsafe and water from the Gulf of Mexico began to pour in. The library was immediatly north of City Hall across a small parking lot but was at a lower elevation. When the water crested the elevation of City Hall, the police cars in the parking lot began to float and were carried around the parking lot by the current. One car struck the South side doors causing them to implode and the Gulf of Mexico driven by Katrina's powerful winds rushed in the building. With no way to fight against the current we were trapped inside a concrete box that was rapidly filling with water. Knowing that we had to escape we resorted to attempting to shoot the glass out of the North side of the building. But this attempt was unsuccessful. The laminated glass proved impervious to the .45 caliber rounds of our police issue handguns. The force of the water entering the building after the southern wall was destroyed by the car was far too strong to swim against. The only way out, was with the current.