DR. H.B. POWELL'S SANITARIUM-THE BAYOU INN: (1906-1994)

LOCATION

Dr. Powell's Sanitarium (later Bayou Inn and Bayou Chateau)) was located on the south bank of Fort Bayou at Washington Avenue in Lot 9, Block 52 of the Culmseig Map (1854).  It was in proximity to a free flowing spring which provided mineral water to its patrons.

BUILDING

The original structure was probably the old Antonio Franco home place which may have consisted of a one to one and a half story, pier supported, wood framed structure of approximately 2400 square feet.  In 1909, Dr. Powell constructed a two story, 2660 square-foot connecting addition north of the old house.  Their were two galleries (east and west facing) totaling 750 square feet in area.

HISTORY

In 1874, Antonio Franco (1834-1891), a Portuguese immigrant, and his wife, Genevieve "Jane" Rodriguez (1844-1915), daughter of Spanish immigrant, Juan Antonio Rodrigues, settled in the NE/4 of the SW/4 of Section 19, T7S-R8W.  Here on the south bank of Fort Bayou, Franco ran a ferry across the bayou linking the people of Ocean Springs with their brethren to the north.  He also operated a saloon on Washington Avenue which later became George Arndt's Paragon Saloon.  The Francos reared a family consisting of: Charlotte F. Cochran (1864-1939), John J. Franco (1859-1935), Lillie F. Geiger (1863-1905), Joanna F. Ruppel (1865-1903), Thomas Franco (1869-1951+), Francis Aristede Franco (1871-1935), Eugenia Franco (1875-1950), Anthony Franco (1878-1939+), and Walter Edward Franco (1883-1939+).

Antonio and Jane Franco acquired their homestead at Fort Bayou and Washington Avenue with real estate purchases from George A. Cox and James D. Parker from 1874 to 1890.  The Daniel Goss Store and Moeling House may have been located on these tracts in the 1850s.  Frederick F. Moeling was the first Postmaster at Ocean Springs serving in this capacity from 1854-1856.  There is a strong possibility the post office was located on Fort Bayou at this time.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 11, pp. 27-30 and p. 152)

In 1896, Emma A. Rudd Powell (1860-1932), a native of Pennsylvania or New York State, and the wife of Canadian physician, Dr. Henry Bradford Powell (1867-1949), bought property from the Heirs of Antonio Franco establishing a position on the bayou.  By February 1906, Jane Franco had also sold her land to Emma Rudd Powell.  There is a high degree of certitude that Emma A. Rudd Powell was the widow of Karl E. Rudd (1855-1890).  Mr. Rudd's father, Orson Rudd (1837-1870+), was the proprietor of a dry goods store at Cassopolis, Cass County, Michigan.  The corporal remains of Karl E. Rudd were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou at Ocean Springs.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 31, pp. 298-299 and 1870 and 1880 Cass County, Michigan Federal Census M593_668, p. 76 and T9_575, p. 1, ED 78)

Dr. H.B. Powell

In 1906, at this lovely three acre site overlooking historic Fort Bayou, Powell established a sanitarium utilizing the curative powers of the Indian Springs just west of his lodge.  The Pascagoula Democrat-Star of November 24, 1905 (Ocean Springs Locals) related the following:

There is no longer any impedimenta in the way of Dr. Henry Bradford Powell building a sanitarium which has long been projected.  This is a movement in the right direction as an institution of this kind will supply a long felt want.  Our exceedingly healthy climate and the accessibility of our Coast to Chicago and a large belt of surrounding country renders this place a suitable site, while the eminence of Dr. Powell at the head will be an unlimited source of confidence to its patrons.

Mrs. Powell, probably the widow of Curtis Rudd of Chicago, had discovered Ocean Springs in the late 1880s as she owned real estate along Ward Avenue (Alto Park Block 3) and possibly the front beach.  She had met Dr. Powell at Chicago where he practiced medicine.  Powell was a native of Whitby, Ontario, and a graduate of Pickering College and the University of Toronto.  He had done post-graduate work in surgery at Berlin and Vienna. 

The Powells appear to have visited Ocean Springs often in the 1890s probably wintering here like many others from the Midwest.  The Pascagoula Democrat-Star of February 3, 1899 announced "Dr. H.B. Powell and Mrs. Powell all of Chicago are domiciled at their seaside home, Three Oaks".  They owned a home at Chicago where Mrs. Powell's mother, Caroline Phillips, resided.  She also had a sister, Mrs. H.W. Toby, of Enderlin, North Dakota.  The Powells were still residents of Chicago in 1900 as a local journal reported that "Dr. and Mrs. H.B. Powell after a delightful sojourn at their beautiful home here returned to their Chicago home". 

In February 1901, H.B. Powell permanently located at Ocean Springs.  He set up his surgical and medical practice with dispensary in the Masonic Building.  He also entered into a lease agreement with F.J. Lundy (1863-1912) for the Ocean Springs Hotel the same year.

Dr. Powell and F.J. Lundy must have become good friends.  The Powells had met Mignon Courson (1878-1957), a charming and talented, Iowan born violinist, in Chicago.  They invited her to Ocean Springs.  Here she met the widower, Lundy who had lost his wife, Vera Poitevent (1874-1897), in 1897.  Mobile born, Lundy was a very successful merchant, and the father of a daughter, Virginia May (b. 1893).    F.J. Lundy married Mignon Courson in 1901.  They had a daughter, Margaret, who born in 1903.  After Lundy's death, Mignon Lundy moved to London.  She settled at Townshend, Vermont where she died in 1957.

The summer of 1904 saw Dr. Powell travelling and study ing in Europe.  He visited London, Heidelberg, and Berlin.  At Berlin, Powell spent weeks at the hospitals and University observing the latest surgical techniques.  Upon his return in the fall, he intended to manage the Ocean Springs Hotel. 

It can be established with some degree of certitude that the Powells were permanently settled at Ocean Springs in 1905, as Dr. Powell was issued a license to practice medicine on November 17, 1905 in Jackson County.  By 1906, Dr. Powell was driving the first automobile in Ocean Springs on the shell roads of town.  He must have created much ex-citement as he motored from his residence at "Three Oaks" on the beach to his sanitarium at Fort Bayou..

In January 1909, Powell's sanitarium was doing well with patients coming from all over the Midwest and east.  This flurry of prosperity encouraged the Powells to build a two-story addition on the north side of the old structure of approximately 2600 square feet.  A modern heating plant, and other conveniences to please his patients were installed at this time.  The firm of Burr & Bradford were the contractors.  Upon completion of Dr. Powell's work, they built the First Baptist Church at Porter and Bellande.  By August, the grounds were landscaped with green hedges and tropical foliage flanking the walks and driveways.  The spa was frequented daily by hundreds to imbibe the salubrious mineral waters.  They claimed the springs benefited them.

When the new Ocean Springs State Bank building was opened in early 1910, Dr. Powell maintained an office on the second floor.  About this time, he became interested in establishing a golf club at Ocean Springs.  Arrangement were made to layout a seven hole course on Captain Antoine Bellande's tract (formerly Ames) where the ball park was once located.  By July 1910, a four hole course was operating on the ball ground.

In addition to his professional services as a doctor and sanitarium proprietor, Powell was active in civic and social functions.  When the Ocean Springs Civic Federation and the L&N Railroad constructed Marshall Park in 1911, the work was supervised by a commission composed of J.H. Behrens, Theo Bechtel, and Dr. Powell.

The Bayou Inn

About 1913, Dr. Powell changed his mode of operation.  He closed down the sanitarium and opened a hostelry which he called the Bayou Inn.  It catered to guests and tourists from the Midwest especially the Chicago area.  In the winter of 1914, business was so good at the Bayou Inn that the management leased one of the Westbrook cottages south of the inn to accommodate the overflow of visitors.(The Ocean Springs News, February 21, 1914, p. 5)

Fruit grower

Developed the “Orangelo” at Ocean Springs.(see The Ocean Springs News, March 25, 1915, p. 1)

Golfer 

Dr. Powell maintained his avid interest in golf, and with A.E. Lee and George E. Arndt, he organized the Ocean Springs Country Club in April 1914.  The country club and golf links were located on sixty five acres of land leased from the Rose Farm north of Ocean Springs.  By May of 1914, Dr. Powell who was the president of the Ocean Springs Country Club saw the course enlarged from five to nine holes.  The course was in good condition as Mrs. D.V. Purington had donated a horse lawn mower to the club.  The putting greens were kept oiled to insure a solid surface.  Members aspired for eighteen holes by the end of the year. 

Dr. Powell appears to have been on his golf game as he won a handicap tournament at the course on Christmas Day of 1914.  He was reelected president of the Ocean Springs Country Club in July 1915.  The year 1915 saw the Powells investing in more acreage in the Ocean Springs area.  Dr. Powell bought five acres of land north of Fort Bayou from H.D. Money at the Rose Farm east of the Ocean Springs Country Club.  In September, Mrs. Powell purchased a small tract from the Builder's Supply Company to the west of the Bayou Inn from B.F. Joachim.  In June 1915, Dr. Powell moved his medical office to the Farmers & Merchants Bank Building.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 41, p. 544. and 46, p. 505)

By January 1917, the Bayou Inn Cup was established at the Ocean Springs Country Club.  Druggist, John Whittle, won the match play contest held over several weekends of links play.  The trophy cup was displayed at his drug store in the Catchot Building on Washington Avenue. 

In March 1917, the Powells sold "Three Oaks" and moved to "Hillside", the Calogne Cottage at 204 Washington Avenue.  By the summer they were renting the McVay home (now Conamore) on Lovers Lane.

In 1917, Dr. Powell hired H.G. Ganson to manage the Bayou Inn.  Ganson spent that summer at Pointe-aux-Pins, Michigan to take care of his hotel interest there.  He was expected back at Ocean Springs in October since Dr. Powell would enlist in the US Army on October 2, 1917 for World War I.  H.G. Ganson left Ocean Springs for Johnson City, Tennessee in February 1918, where he would manage a hotel there.

During the early stages of the Great War, Powell was stationed at Camp Shelby with the 139th Field Artillery.  He saw active duty in France as the war was ending.  Powell was with the Army of Occupation in Trier, Germany where he performed surgical work.  Dr. Henry Bradford Powell returned from his military exploits on October 31, 1919 attaining the rank of Captain although he was often referred to as Major Powell.  Mrs. L.D. Davenport, the sister of nationally known baseball writer, Charlie Dryden (1869-1931), was in charge of the Bayou Inn during Captain Powell's absence.  When Dr. Powell got back into civilian life at Ocean Springs, his medical office was located at the Bayou Inn.

“Magnolia Route”

In an effort to promote tourism from the Chicago area to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Dr. Powell formed Mississippi Coast to Chicago, Highway, Inc. known locally as the "Magnolia Route".  In October 1923, he and Claude Engbarth led a motorcade from Ocean Springs to Chicago over the proposed new north and south highway.  The pilgrims met with appreciation at stops along the route.  At Chicago, they received a police motorcycle escort, met and dined with ranking city officials.(The Jackson County Times, October 6, 1923, p. 5)

In September 1925, he departed Ocean Springs for Chicago to personally inspect the route which he felt was the most direct course from the Windy City.  It had stops at the Shiloh Park Hotel in Tennessee, northern Indiana, and Chicago.  On the trip he drove from Ocean Springs to Meridian in only five hours.(The Jackson County Times, September 19, 1925, p. 1)

1927 Fire

Like most hotel and inns at Ocean Springs, a fire was expected at any time due to the nature of the wood construction.  Fortunately in April 1927, the Bayou Inn escaped with only minor damage when a fire was discovered on the roof.  The fire company extinguished the blaze very quickly.  Mrs. Powell visited her mother in Chicago during the hot month of July. 

The Powells also had a farm north of Fontainebleau.  In February 1928, the Dixie Oil Company of Shreveport, Louisiana was doing seismic, oil exploration work on this parcel east of Ocean Springs.

By 1929, Mrs. Powell's mother had moved to Lawton, Michigan where they visited with her in August.  Later they drove to Toronto to call on friends there. 

The Powells lost the Bayou Inn during the depression.  Creditors foreclosed and trustee, Charles E. Clark, conveyed it to Emma M. Logan and Lena M. Wigton for $5425 on April 25, 1932.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 65, pp. 102-105)

After Emma Powell died in 1932, Dr. Powell married Mildred Franco Theriot Petrie (1896-1969).  Mrs. Mildred Powell purchased land and a house known as the "Gillespie Place" on Government Street in 1947.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 96, p. 358)

After a long life filled with human and military service, entrepreneurial exploits, and social and civic duties, Dr. Henry Bradford Powell died on Government Street in May 1949.  He was buried in the National Cemetery at Biloxi.  Mrs. Powell lived until December 1969.  She died at Miami while residing with her son, Numa F. Theriot (1914-2002).  Mildred Powell is interred at the Evergreen Cemetery at Ocean Springs.

Logan tenure

Mrs. Logan apparently maintained the Bayou Inn as a residence as her daughter, Mrs. George Kalmbach of Shreveport, Louisiana would visit her on occasions.  When these visits were reported in the Jackson County Times, her property was referred to as their Fort Bayou estate or Mrs. Logan's place, the former Bayou Inn.  Adrian, daughter, of Mrs. Kalmbach.

In September 1943, Emma Logan, the owner of the Bayou Inn, conveyed it to Cornelia Bolton Reagan for $15,000.  Mrs. Reagan held it for only a short time as she sold the estate to Dorothy and Roland Collins.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 83, pp. 526-527 and Bk. 468-471)

Collins’ ownership

Under the Collins management, in 1944, the name of the old hostelry was changed to Bayou Chateau.  It was advertised in The Jackson County Times at this time as:

By 1946, the Collins sold to Ethel Rhodes Scott Shafer who opened a convalescent home.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 97, pp. 127-129)

Mrs Shafer advertised in The Gulf Coast Times in July 1951:

Obviously all was not well at the Shafer establishment for in August 1947, Mr. Shafer, a retired lawyer from Memphis. Attempted to take his own life by firing three bullets into his stomach.

Ethel Shafer sold the Bayou Chateau to Mrs. Clendinen B. Smith on June 15, 1953.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 133, pp. 154-155) 

Smith’s Le Moyne Lodge

Clendenin Baird Smith (1903-1985) was the spouse of George Kinnebrew Smith III (1901-1969).  She was born in Columbus, Mississippi, the daughter of Dr. Thomas C. Baird and Elvira Terrell Baird.  Clendenin spent some of her childhood in the Mississippi Delta country at Baird, Sunflower County.  She was educated in Columbus, Mississippi at MSCW.  George K. Smith III, the son of Faison Heathman Smith and Jessie Gooch Smith, was also a native of Sunflower County, as he was born at Indianola, the county seat.  George K. Smith III made his livelihood as a cotton broker in the Delta.  He was a director of the Greenwood Cotton Exchange.  Clendenin and George were the parents of three sons: Catchings Baird Smith (b. 1924), Dr. George Faison Smith (b. 1927), and Richard Clendenin Smith (b. 1928).(The Ocean Springs Record, September 11, 1969, p. 4 and August 1, 1985, p. 3, and Catchings B. Smith, January 25, 2005)

Catchings B. Smith

Catchings “Catch” Baird Smith (b. 1925) was born at Greenville, Mississippi.  Circa 1935, he came to Ocean Springs in his to live with Dr. William Richards and family on East Beach.  Catch Smith had asthma and his parents thought that a change in environment from the Mississippi Delta to the Mexican Gulf would improve his health.  Dr. Williams was a retired physician from Columbus, Mississippi.  His son, William Coolidge Richards (1910-2004), grew up in Ocean Springs and became an internationally known artist working in the postmodernist style.  He made his home in New York and in Italy.  Walter “Bob” I. Anderson (1903-1965) was acquainted with William C. Richards and would visit him at his father’s home near the old Tuttle place on East Beach.  In 1957, W.C. Richards had an exhibit at the Municipal Art Gallery in Jackson, which was lauded as “the best one-man show in the History of the Mississippi Art Association.”(Black, 1998, pp. 300-301 and Catchings B. Smith, January 25, 2005)

Catch Smith graduated from Tulane University at New Orleans with a business degree and made a career with Merrill Lynch in the brokerage business at Jackson.  He retired as a vice president with that firm.(Catchings B. Smith, January 25, 2005)

George F. Smith

Dr. George Faison Smith (b. 1927) was born at Indianola.  He began his medical practice in Ocean Springs with Dr. James Waddell in July 1958.  Before he began his journey into medicine, George F. Smith joined the U.S. Navy where he studied radar.  His fine education had commenced at the Virginia Military Institute.  In June 1950, he graduated with a biology degree from Sewanee College.  Dr. Smith did post-graduate studies also in biology at Ole Miss before entering the University of Mississippi Medical School.  He completed his medical education at the Tulane Medical School.  Prior to joining Dr. Waddell at 822 Porter, Dr. Smith had interned at Charity Hospital in New Orleans and been a resident at the Huey P. Long Charity Hospital in Pineville, Louisiana.(The Ocean Springs News, July 24, 1958, p. 1)

Circa 1963, Dr. George F. Smith left his general practice at Ocean Springs and returned to medical school where he studied pathology.  He has recently retired from the Veterans Administration Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi.(Catchings B. Smith, January 25, 2005)

Richard C. Smith

Richard Clendenin Smith (b. 1928) was born at Greenville, Mississippi.  He studied Spanish at Sewanee College and graduated with his brother, George, in June 1950.  In Ocean Springs, Richard worked as bartender at his mother’s hostelry, the Le Moyne Lodge, and at Gulf Hills.  He eventually settled at San Antonio, Texas and found permanent employment with the Veterans Administration there.(The Daily Herald, June 13, 1950, p. 9 and Dr. George F. Smith, January 31, 2005)

Glengarriff

            The George Kinnebrew Smith III family’s first living experience at Ocean Springs commenced in 1937, when they rented Glengariff, the Front Beach estate home of Captain Francis O'Neill (1849-1936).  Captain O’ Neill was the retired General Superintendent of the Chicago Police and a renowned collector and authority on Irish music.  Anna Rogers O’Neill (1849-1934), his widow, was their absentee landlady.  Their initial living experience at Ocean Springs was so positive that Clendenin Baird Smith (1903-1985) and spouse, George Kinnebrew Smith III (1901-1969), decided that after their children completed their high school education to leave Greenwood in the Mississippi Delta to relocate to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.(Dr. George F. Smith, January 31, 2005)

Country living

            In December 1947, Mrs. Clendenin B. Smith acquired for $1000, forty acres with improvements, situated in then rural east Ocean Springs.  The legal description of the Smith acquisition was the NE/4 of the SW/4 of Section 28, T7S-R8W.  Ernest S. Cole and Violet Fordice Cole, were the vendors.  In addition to a furnished, small house, the sale included all farm implements and tools stored in the barn or garage and two horses and all other livestock.  At this time, the dirt road to the Smith place from Government Street, U.S. Highway 90 was unnamed.  It is now Hanley Road, and A.P. “Fred” Moran (1897-1967) was asked by Mrs. Smith to have it graveled.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 98, 412-413)

Le Moyne Lodge

In June 1953, Ethel Rhodes Scott Shafer (1894-1985), the spouse of Arthur Byron Shafer (1871-1947), who had opened a convalescent home, the Bayou Chateau Convalescent Home, in March 1950, in Dr. Henry Bradford Powell’s old Bayou Inn, sold it to Clendenin B. Smith (1903-1985).  Under the supervision of Mrs. Smith and Frances Costa, who co-managed the old hostelry, the Bayou Chateau buildings were remodeled and the name changed to the Le Moyne Lodge.  Mrs. Maggie McCusker managed the dining room, called "Harbor", which overlooked Fort Bayou.  The building was painted a pink pastel.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 133, pp. 154-155, The Gulf Coast Times, March 3, 1950, p. 1 and ) 

The name, Le Moyne Lodge, was probably chosen, as it was the family name of Iberville (1661-1706) and Bienville (1680-1768), the French Canadian brothers from Montreal, who established Fort Maurepas (1699-1702) at present day Ocean Springs, in April 1699.  The fourteen refurbished rooms were named for the Confederate States who ceded from the Union in 1861.  Mrs. C.B. Smith also instituted the “Julep Room”, which remains today.

Lennie Thurman and Mattie Brooks Thurman (1902-1978), husband and wife, were an integral part of Mrs. Smith operations at Le Moyne Lodge.  Mattie cooked and Lennie was the yardman and “jack of all trades”.  Willie, another local, kept bar in the Julep Room.(George F. Smith, January 31, 2005)   

In June 1958, the Smiths leased their Le Moyne Lodge to H.O. French of Starkville, Mississippi.  Mr. French was a graduate of the Mississippi A. & M. Hotel Management Course.  He was associated with Doug Walton and Jim Welsh who managed the Henry Clay Hotel at West Point and the Stark Hotel at Starkville.(The Ocean Springs News, July 3, 1958, p. 1)

Sunset

In December 1958, Mrs. Smith sold her country acreage in the NE/4 of the SW/4 of Section 28, T7S-R8W, with improvements to Elwood and Marie O. Ross for $31,500.  The sale to the Ross family included a farm tractor and all farm tools.  The Magnolia Park Estates Subdivision now exists on land which was a part of the Smith-Ross farm.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 179, pp. 509-510)      

            After leaving the pastoral serenity of east Ocean Springs, the Smith family rented a house on the east side of Sunset, formerly Cemetery Road, and the entrance into the Evergreen Cemetery.  

Weed Cottage-Washington Avenue

            Dr. George F. Smith (b. 1927), the son of Clendenin and George K. Smith III and now a retired pathologist from the Veterans Administration Hospital at Jackson, practiced medicine at Ocean Springs for about five years.  In the summer of 1958, he worked with Dr. James Waddell at present day 822 Porter.  Dr. Smith began his own practice on the NE/C of Washington Avenue and Iberville Drive, when in October 1958 he acquired the former home of Mayor Frederick M. Weed (1850-1926), a native of Hinesburg, Vermont, from Martha O’Brien Minnemeyer (1883-1968).(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 181, p. 583)

The Weeds came to Ocean Springs in 1877.  Fred Weed had found employment with the L&N Railroad, and he was sent here as the railroad and express agent by that organization.  He and spouse, Alice A. Lyon (1853-1928), a native of St. Albans, Vermont, settled on the northeast corner of Washington Avenue and Iberville Drive on Lot 12-Block 20 (Cox Map) with improvements that they purchased for $300 in November 1879, from Robert A. VanCleave (1840-1908), Special Commissioner of the JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court.  The parcel had formerly been the domicile of Barney Thomas (1807-1878) and Roxy Ann Best Thomas (b. 1816), both natives of Anson, North Carolina.  Mr. Thomas and family had relocated to Ocean Springs from Jasper County, Mississippi.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 5, p. 91-92 and The History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 367)

By October 1880, F.M. Weed had acquired the remainder of the land on Iberville west of the Medical Springs Lot, now Marble Springs Park, to the east line of the old Barney Thomas place.  His four land purchases here between late 1879 and late 1880 amounted to about three acres more or less.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 5, pp. 91-95)

It is very likely that the old Barney Thomas place burned or was demolished because at present day 1007 Iberville, the Weeds circa 1900, built a five-bay Queen Anne cottage featuring a full-width undercut gallery, box columns, brackets, a shingled gable, and an etched glass trasom.

(Berggren, 1986, p. 1)

Dr. George F. Smith

Dr. George F. Smith divided the Weed house into a medical office and an apartment where he lived.  In January 1963, he sold this property to his mother.  She had the F.M. Weed home moved about 75 feet to the east on the same lot, but had it rotated to face south, i.e. Iberville Drive.  In April 1968, Clendenin B. Smith sold a lot on the NE/C of Washington and Iberville with about 150 feet on Washington to Dr. Frank G. Garbin and Joe Thomas Garbin.  When Mrs. Smith decided to leave Ocean Springs for Jackson, she vended her home on Iberville to E.J. Boney and spouse in September 1969.(Dr. George F. Smith, January 31, 2005, JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 234, p. 133, JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 330, p. 604 and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 363, p. 504)

Selling the lodge

On July 9, 1960, after seven years of operating the Le Moyne Lodge, Mrs. Clendenin B. Smith and George K. Smith III sold their investment on Fort Bayou to David Earl Mattina (1907-1989) and his wife, Ola H. Mattina (1918-1985), for $68,000. Included in the sale were all furniture, fixtures, and personal property.  In the conveyance, the following sections of the real estate were given: Dixie Room, Virginia Bedroom, Kentucky Bedroom, Georgia Bedroom, Maryland Bedroom, Louisiana Bedroom, Alabama Bedroom, Florida Bedroom, and Julep Room.  The North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas Cottages were also listed.  The Mattinas continued to use the name Le Moyne Lodge.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 200, p. 58-61)

David Earl Mattina

David Earl Mattina was a native of Biloxi, and an outstanding football and baseball player at Biloxi High School in the late 1920s.  He won an athletic scholarship to Spring Hill College at Mobile.  Mattina also owned the Globe News Stand on Howard Avenue at Biloxi in the late 1950s and 1960s.  At Ocean Springs, he operated the Fort Bayou property as the LeMoyne Lodge.

After the Mattinas sold the LeMoyne Lodge to Dr. William A. King, an orthodontist and Natchez native, residing at New Orleans on May 10, 1968, the Kings refurbished the interior of the building, and opened as the Bayou Chateau in December 1968.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 332, p. 163) 

Their scheme was to present their property as a cultural complex.  The Kings advertised:

Several rooms were utilized to exhibit handicrafts and hand-blown glass.  One room was reserved for art instruction by LaVigne Long of Gulf Hills.

An amphitheater was planned on the grounds west of the main structure amid the live oaks.  Outdoor concerts and musicals were planned for this erection.

The basement area once occupied by Trilby's Restaurant, operated by Trilby G. Steimer (1896-1960), and the Julep Room were refurbished to present a brick-walled English tavern ambience.  This tavern known as King William's Cellar featured colorful red and black chairs with gold crests on their backs.  A fireplace completed the tavern atmosphere. 

King William's Cellar opened on February 1, 1969 with internationally acclaimed opera singer, Lillian Rappolo, and "2-90" Durham, the World's Greatest ragtime pianist, as the  featured entertainment.  Rapollo came direct from the Persian Room of New York's Plaza Hotel.

By 1972, King William's Cellar had develop a fine reputation for its beef fondue, roast prime rib, fish fondue, rolled cabbage, and hickory smoked ribs.  Other unique features at this time were the autograph wall extending the length of the east side of the Cellar, the "Enchanted Tunnel" which connected the Cellar to the first floor dining area, and the one hundred-year-old Steinway grand piano.  Two small buildings, the 1911 Marshall Park Bandstand and an old carriage house, graced the property.

After the death of Dr. King, his widow, Julliette Thompson King, also a Magnolia State native who was reared near McComb, sold the Bayou Chateau to Roman B. Garriga on August 16, 1979.  Garriga began a refurbishment program, but never opened the old inn.  He conveyed it to Carl Lizana on July 1, 1981.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 657, p. 524 and Bk. 711, p. 297)

After a renovation, Lizana opened a restaurant called, AUNT JENNY'S CATFISH RESTAURANT, in October 1981.  The eatery which specializes in fried catfish is capitalizing on Mississippi's growing catfish farming industry.  In early March 1989, Lizana donated the old bandstand to HOSA who moved it to Marshall Park and restored it under the supervision of architect, Bruce Tolar.

The present establishment appears to be a financial success.

REFERENCES:

Ray L. Bellande, "Lundy Family", (unpublished essay), October 1992.

Biloxi, Mississippi City Directory (1961), Volume 6, (Mullin-Kille of Texas: Chillicothe, Ohio), p. 57.

Regina Hines Ellison, Ocean Springs 1892 , 2nd Edition, (Lewis Printing Services: Pascagoula - 1991), pp. 93-94.

Harriet White Frank, Burial Records: Biloxi National Cemetery, "H.B. Powell", (White: Biloxi - 1992).

Jerome Lepre, Catholic Church Records Diocese of Biloxi, Mississippi (1843-1900), "Franco", (Catholic Dioceses of Biloxi: Biloxi -1991), p. 123.

The History of Jackson County, Mississippi, "Henry Bradford Powell", (Jackson County Genealogical Society: Pascagoula-1989), p. 320.

Mississippi Coast History and Genealogical Society, "Postmasters", Volume 13, No. 1, (June 1977), pp. 22-23.

WPA For Mississippi Historical Data-Jackson County, Addenda, (State Wide Historical Project, 1936-1937), p. 25.

Physicians License Book 1, Jackson County Circuit Court, Jackson County, Mississippi, p. 95.

Down South, "Bayou Chateau", Volume 22, No. 2 (March-April 1972), pp. 4, 5, and 21.

Journals

The Daily Herald, "State Football Champions to Cast Eye on Pigskin", August 23, 1927, p. 9, cc. 4-5.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs”, December 22, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Dr. H.B. Powell Obit”, May 30, 1949, p. 7, c. 3.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs Graduates”, June 13, 1950.

The Daily Herald, "Landmark Gets Facelift and New Name", October 21, 1981.

The Daily Herald, “Mineral springs made Ocean Springs famous”, November 29, 1974.

The Daily Herald,  “David Earl Mattina Obit”, January 27, 1989, p. A-4.

The Gulf Coast Times, "Le Moyne Lodge Will Open This Weekend", September 3, 1953, p. 1.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, November 25, 1916.

The Jackson County Times, "Golfers to play for Bayou Inn Cup", January 26, 1917, p. 1.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, February 3, 1917.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, February 24, 1917.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, March 31, 1917.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, May 26, 1917.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, February 23, 1918.

The Jackson County Times,, “Local News Items”, February 1, 1919.

The Jackson County Times,, “Local News Items”, April 19, 1919.

The Jackson County Times, “, Local News Items”, November 8, 1919.

The Jackson County Times,, “Local News Items”, November 22, 1919.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, October 6, 1923.

The Jackson County Times, "Major Powell Tours Magnolia Route", September 19, 1925, p. 1

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, September 26, 1925.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, April 23, 1927.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, July 16, 1927.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, January 28, 1928.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, September 23, 1936.

The Jackson County Times, “Bayou Chateau Advertisement”, October 28, 1944, p. 4.

The Jackson County Times,"Shafer Attempts Suicide", August 2, 1947, p. 1.

The Ocean Springs News, January 23, 1909, p. 5.

The Ocean Springs News, February 13, 1909, p. 1.

The Ocean Springs News, August 28, 1909, p. 5.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", October 9, 1909.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", November 6, 1909.

 The Ocean Springs News, January 22, 1910, p. 5.

The Ocean Springs News, June 17, 1911.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", February 21, 1914.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", April 4, 1914.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", May 2, 1914.

The Ocean Springs News, "$600 Available: Country Club Extends Links", May 13, 1914, p. 1.

The Ocean Springs News, "Powell Wins Trophy", December 31, 1914, p. 1.

The Ocean Springs News, "Ocean Springs Has a Great Future, Says Manager of Chicago Association Commission", March 4, 1915, p.1.

The Ocean Springs News, “New Citrus Fruit, Originated in Ocean Springs, Promises Well”, March 25, 1915.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", June 3, 1915.

The Ocean Springs News The Ocean Springs News , "Country Club Elects Officers", July 15, 1915, p. 1.

The Ocean Springs News, "LeMoyne Lodge Is Leased; To Open Thursday, July 3", July 3, 1958, p. 1

The Ocean Springs Record, "Bayou Chateau Plans of Dr. and Mrs. King", December 5, 1968, p. 9.

The Ocean Springs Record, "Advertisement for King William's Cellar", January 30, 1969, p. 3.

The Ocean Springs Record,  "King William's Cellar Holds Gala Opening", February 6, 1969, p. 1.

The Ocean Springs Record, "Moving Day", March 9, 1989, p. 1.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, February 3, 1899.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, May 4, 1900.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, November 30, 1900.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, February 15, 1901.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, November 24, 1905.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, April 6, 1906.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, April 13, 1906.

The Progress, “Local News Items”, May 28, 1904.

Maps

Sanborn Map Company (New York), "Ocean Springs, Mississippi", (1909)-Sheet 1.

Photographs:

Courtesy of Katherine Hamilton-Smith, Curator Special Collections, at the Curt Teich Postcard Archives, Wauconda, Illinois.

US Census-Jackson County, Mississippi (1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920).

Personal Communication:

J.K. Lemon - December 1992.

Carl Lizana - June 1993.

Catchings Baird Smith, Jackson, Mississippi-Febraury 2005.

George Faison Smith, Jackson, Mississippi-February 2005.

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