Pass Postcards Pass Bathhouses

History 101 Glimpse of Pass Christian by Dan EllisPass Christian, in spite of its nationwide popularity, has remained a small community on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, reaching 6500 residents only in most recent years. Having an entrenched heritage since 1699, Pass Christian processed through changes of the guard and national banners from French, to English, to Spanish, to an Independent Republic, and then to the American flag. Pass Christian had emerged as a small fishing and commercial harbor and became a main trading center on the Mississippi Sound. Because of its proximity to New Orleans, the first Lighthouses in Mississippi were built as sister towers at Cat Island and Pass Christian in 1831, when it became the first mainland lighthouse in Mississippi. Because of the healthy ozone quality of the area and blending scents of salt breezes and piney woods, plantation owners, investment bankers, and brokers from New Orleans and upper Mississippi, established dual residences at the Pass. Tourists followed in their path bringing about the first Coast hospice of grandeur the Pass Christian Hotel. This was where, in 1849, southern yachting was born as sailing competitors celebrated the first boating Regatta and started the second yacht club in the United States. The Yacht Club became a Mecca for sailing enthusiasts. Voyages at sunset, or by moonlight along the magnificent coastline, or to the nearbyislands, or for the thrill of renewed regattas, have created a constant parade of billowing sails throughout the years.