Page 164 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2023

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story by Holly Harrison and Shannon Stage photos courtesy of the La Pointe-Krebs House
Hidden along a marshy bank on a slight rise overlooking the Pascagoula River is an architectural gem offering unique
insights into the history of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The La Pointe-Krebs House is the oldest scientifically documented home in Mississippi and the Mississippi Valley stretching from the Rockies to the Appalachians.
Built in 1757, the home perched on an idyllic spot on the east side of the river, is a stunning example of construction that has withstood the challenges of living in the coastal South. It might
be wise for us to take notes on how techniques in the 18th century might serve us well in the 21st.
Joseph Simon dit La Pointe was a French Canadian who migrated to
our Southern shores around 1700
with exploring brothers d’Iberville and Bienville. By 1715, the French Crown had granted La Pointe a land claim
on the eastern side of the Pascagoula River encompassing much of what is Pascagoula today. Perhaps his prior time on Dauphin Island played a role in LaPointe establishing a home further away from the shore and upriver but in
a beautiful spot with important water connections. Lesson number one: some distance from shoreline weather can be a good thing.
Originally just a two-room dwelling, the home was expanded by LaPointe’s son-in-law Hugo Ernestus Renet Krebs, a German immigrant that most likely arrived in the area via Ship Island. An innovator and craftsman, Krebs utilized
164 | October 2023
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