Page 86 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2019

D'IBERVILLE
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster photos courtesy of The City of D’Iberville
The community of D’Iberville has always had a somewhat distinct identity from that of its neighbor across the bay, Biloxi. For many years, the settlers on the north shore were disconnected by the natural barrier of the bay itself. It wasn’t until 1901 that a pedestrian bridge connected the two communities, followed by the Biloxi-North Biloxi Bridge in 1927.
After fighting incorporation by the city of Biloxi up through 1979, the community of D’Iberville was granted its own incorporation in 1988, making it the Gulf Coast’s eleventh city. At its birth, the
city was 4.8 square miles with a population of about 6,500.
Harrison County Supervisor Bobby Eleuterius attended the commissioning ceremony and is recorded as saying, “You are part of
the beginning and you will set the path for the future.”
At the city’s first council meeting, the 1987-88 budget was approved in the amount of $136,955 and a discussion began about whether D’Iberville should be spelled with a lowercase d or an uppercase D (the uppercase D won out).
In 2004, the city annexed approximately 2.5 square miles north of its boundary and annexed an additional 3.5 square miles north of the previously annexed boundary in 2010. Current city boundaries include 10.8 square miles with all municipal services being provided by the City of D’Iberville. “We’ve come a long way since then, and now have our own public works and police department,” said Mayor Rusty Quave,” We’ve grown a lot and will continue to do so.”
City of D’Iberville 228.392.7966 diberville.ms.us
86 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • January 2019
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SPOTLIGHT
The City of D’Iberville’s seal contains an image of a cross and boulder. The image is a reference to an actual cross and boulder that once stood on the bank of the Back Bay. The story goes that a settler from the days of Spanish-held Gulf Coast, Emanuel Sanchez, erected a large wooden cross near a chapel that he built for his wife. When the wooden cross deteriorated, a small iron cross took its place.
The land was rumored to be the spot where Pierre LeMoyne, Sieur d’Iberville, first landed to explore the North Bay area. In 1920,
the Daughters of the American Revolution donated a boulder
to commemorate the supposed landing site of d’Iberville. Thus the cross and boulder became connected and the image of the two has become an icon of cultural identity for the community of D’Iberville.
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