Editing Pass Christian, Mississippi (section)

== History ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2013}}

=== Pre-European history ===
The exact date when Native Americans first arrived in the Gulf Coast area is not known, but artifacts have been found suggesting that humans have inhabited the area for many thousands of years.

[[Indian mounds]] can be found throughout the Gulf coast region of southern Mississippi, but many have been destroyed by artifact hunters, farmers, developers, and flooding. A 1768 English map shows one large mound existed on the shore near to Market Street. Others existed at Bayou Portage and the Shelly Plantation on the shore north of the [[Bay of St. Louis]] near [[DeLisle, Mississippi|DeLisle]]. The mounds and middens in the area containing arrowheads, pottery, and human skeletons were pilfered by amateur archaeologists over the years and many of the items recovered are in private collections. At the border of Pass Christian and Long Beach near where White Harbor Road meets [[U.S. Route 90]] there once existed an Indian village, whose inhabitants were referred to by locals as "The Pitcher Point Indians".  The approximate location of the Indian Village is just a few hundred yards east of White Harbor Road. There are no ruins at this location but the beach in this area has produced many arrowheads and pottery sherds over the years.

=== French explorers ===
Pass Christian was discovered by [[French-Canadian]] explorers in 1699, shortly after the first French colony was established in Biloxi. In June 1699, while sounding the channel at the Pass Christian peninsula, the French named that channel Passe aux Huîtres for the many oysters they found there. 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 (Mississippi)|Cat Island]] beginning in 1746.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://city.passchristian.net/early_history.htm|title=Early History|website=city.passchristian.net}}</ref>

===The Widow Asmard===
In 1781 all of Pass Christian peninsula was owned by Julia de la Brosse (Widow Asmard). Upon her death in 1799, Widow Asmard deeded 800 [[arpent]]s – the entire downtown Pass Christian – to Charles Asmar, a free person of color,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://library.uncg.edu/slavery/petitions/pDetailsNew.aspx?pID=139213&s=2 |title=Details for in Petition ASMAR, Charles ([Charlo&#93;)11086001 - Race and Slavery Petitions Project |website=Library.uncg.edu |access-date=2017-05-02}}</ref> who upon his death left the property to his heirs. Pass Christian was officially chartered as a town in 1848.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.passchristian.net/pass_time_line.htm |title=Pass Time Line |website=History.passchristian.net |access-date=2017-05-02}}</ref>

=== Antebellum Period ===
The town was a famous resort prior to the [[American Civil War]]. It was a favorite location for the beach and summer homes of the wealthy of [[New Orleans]], who built a row of historic mansions along the shoreline, where Scenic Drive was one of the country's notable historic districts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MDAH HRI District Profile{{!}}Scenic Drive |url=https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/Public/district.aspx?view=facts&id=66 |access-date=2023-05-14 |website=www.apps.mdah.ms.gov}}</ref> The [[Southern Yacht Club]], established in 1849, was the first yacht club in the South and the second in the United States, and was originally located in Pass Christian before moving to New Orleans in 1857.<ref>{{cite book |title=History of the Southern Yacht Club |last=Scheib |first=Flora K. |year=1986 |publisher=Pelican Publishing |isbn= 9781455605866|page=3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DkgKFyStCYIC&pg=PA3 }}</ref> The first sailing regatta on the Gulf Coast was sailed in the Mississippi Sound on July 21, 1849, and organized by the Pass Christian Regatta Club<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11378262/pass_christian_regatta_club/|title=Pass Christian Regatta Club|date=July 25, 1849|newspaper=The Times-Picayune|page=1}}</ref> with twelve boats participating.<ref>{{citation|title=The First Regatta: Gulf Coast Sailboat Racing in the Beginning|author=Counce, Oliver J.|date=February 1991|newspaper=Mid-Gulf Sailing Magazine}}</ref>

=== Hurricanes and disaster management ===

==== Hurricane Camille ====
Pass Christian was in the path of two of the most intense hurricanes ever to hit the United States—[[Hurricane Camille]] on August 17, 1969, and [[Hurricane Katrina]] on August 29, 2005. Each hurricane caused the near total destruction of the city.

[[Hurricane Camille]] destroyed the Richelieu Apartments killing eight people who had chosen to ride the storm out. Early Sunday, August 17, the storm was southeast of New Orleans by 200 miles. A Hurricane Warning was then announced for the entire Mississippi Coast. Evacuation was advised but some of the occupants of the Richelieu apartments allegedly ignored the warning. The fictional hurricane party depicted in ''Hurricane'', a 74-minute TV movie featuring some notable stars, includes original footage of Camille.

==== Hurricane Katrina ====
{{see also|Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi}}
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 were completely destroyed, including the superbly restored Greek Revival mansion "Union Quarters" described in the National Register of Historic Places as having been built in 1855. A cast-iron fence fronted the property, enclosing a Magnolia Historical Marker which was dedicated in 1960. It read, "Union officers were temporarily quartered here during the invasion of Pass Christian."

Hurricane Katrina totally destroyed the local public library. It was rebuilt.<ref>"Hurricane Katrina Related Damages to Public Libraries in Mississippi" (September 2005), Mississippi Library Commission, web:[http://www.ala.org/ala/cro/katrina/MSPL_Katrina_Damage.pdf ALA-Katrina]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031143618/http://www.ala.org/ala/cro/katrina/MSPL_Katrina_Damage.pdf |date=October 31, 2007 }}</ref> Thirteen members of the city's police department retreated to the library after the police station became unsafe and water from the Gulf of Mexico began to pour in.

The library was immediately 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 into the building.  With no way to fight against the current they were trapped inside a concrete box that was rapidly filling with water. Knowing that they had to escape they attempted to shoot the glass out of the north side of the building. This was unsuccessful, as the bullets ricocheted off the glass. The [[laminated glass]] proved impervious to the .45 caliber rounds of the 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. Police Chief John Dubbisson swam to the rear doors that had to be opened where he successfully touched the push bar. He then grabbed a railing before the storm surge could carry him off. All that were inside the library made it outside and rode out the rest of the storm on the roof.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cbn.com/700club/features/amazing/passchristian021406.aspx | title=A Daring Escape from Katrina's Flood Waters | publisher=[[Christian Broadcasting Network]] | work=[[The 700 Club]] | access-date=October 23, 2014 | author=David Kithcart}}</ref><ref name="MSNBC">{{cite web | url=http://dailynightly.msnbc.com/2005/11/shootout_at_pas.html | title=Shootout at Pass Christian | publisher=[[MSNBC]] | work=The Daily Nightly | date=2005-11-03 | access-date=2014-10-23 | author=Savidge, Martin | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022165219/http://dailynightly.msnbc.com/2005/11/shootout_at_pas.html | archive-date=2014-10-22 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[storm surge]] from Hurricane Katrina that hit Pass Christian was estimated at 8.5&nbsp;m (27.8&nbsp;ft),<ref name="KatrinaTCR">{{cite web| last=Knabb| first=Richard D|author2=Rhome, Jamie R. |author3=Brown, Daniel P | url={{NHC TCR url|id=AL122005_Katrina}}| format=PDF| title=Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina: 23–30 August 2005| publisher=[[National Hurricane Center]]| date=2005-12-20| access-date=2008-10-11}}</ref> which is the US record high,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/surge_us_records.asp |title=U.S. storm surge records &#124; Weather Underground |website=Wunderground.com |access-date=2017-05-02}}</ref> leveling Pass Christian up to half a mile inland from the shore; estimation of highest storm surges was complicated because high-water markers were also destroyed. [[U.S. Route 90|Highway 90]] along the beach was damaged, and the bridge over the Bay of St. Louis was thrown completely apart, not being reopened until a new bridge was partially completed in May 2007. (Connection was temporarily replaced by a [[ferry]] service.) [[Sewage]] contamination rendered the local water supply unusable, as some samples tested positive for more than 250 bacteria and parasites. By late September 2005, access was restricted south of the railroad tracks (about four blocks inland) without proper credentials, as crews continued to search for victims and clear debris. By early 2007, although rebuilding was underway in much of the city, a large portion of empty, deserted homes and other structures remain. Many residents were still living in [[FEMA trailer]]s, and out-of-state volunteers were still needed for the rebuilding effort.