Page 9 - Hancock County Tourism ~ 2025

The depot hosted famed L&N passenger trains like the Pan- American, Humming Bird, and Gulf Wind, later joined by the Southern Railway’s Crescent and Piedmont Limited. It carried troops during World War II, hosted carrier pigeon training on its grounds, and served as a lifeline for local commuters throughout the 1950s and 60s. Community memories recall club cars filled with card games and cocktail hours, ice-cold water at the station’s fountain, and fathers timing their evening pickups by the sound of a distant train whistle.
The golden age of passenger rail faded with the rise of highways and air travel. By 1970, regular service ended. Amtrak’s Sunset Limited returned briefly in the 1990s, but service was halted again in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Yet the story didn’t end there. Purchased by the City in 1991 and restored with the help of a $1 million grant, the depot was reborn. It reopened in 1993 as a venue for public events and today houses the Hancock County Tourism Office, Visitor Center & Mardi Gras Museum, and the beloved Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum. Its cultural legacy even reached Hollywood as the backdrop of the 1966 film “This Property is Condemned,” starring Robert Redford and Natalie Wood.
Through more than a century of storms, shifting transportation tides, and community change, the Bay St. Louis Depot remains
a symbol of resilience, heritage, and connection. For locals and visitors alike, it is a place where history boards the train and never truly departs.
Excitingly, Amtrak service is returning in summer 2025. The new Mardi Gras line will connect New Orleans to Mobile with
two trains running in each direction daily—totaling four passenger stops every day at the Bay St. Louis Depot. A
new chapter in this historic station’s legacy is just around the bend.
www.playonthebay.org
hancock county guide 9
Before restoration Circa 1991
Circa 1950
Circa 1960
Mardi Gras Museum inside the L&N Depot
Bay St. Louis Museum inside the L&N Depot