06/01/2026
🌀 Today marks the first day of Hurricane Season.
For those of us on the Gulf Coast, hurricane preparation is a familiar part of life. We stock supplies, watch forecasts, and hope the storms stay offshore.
But imagine facing a major hurricane in 1740.
No weather forecasts.
No radar.
No evacuation routes.
Just wind, water, and whatever shelter you could find.
In the fall of 1740, two powerful hurricanes struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
After the first storm, Mobile commander Beauchamp reported:
"The wind was so furious that, if it had continued for forty-eight hours, as all hurricanes generally do, we should have been inundated."
Fortunately, the storm lasted only twelve hours, but the damage was severe.
🌊 Half of Dauphin Island was reportedly washed away.
🐄 More than 300 head of cattle drowned on Dauphin Island, with additional losses along the coast and at Pascagoula.
💥 A four-pound cannon near the guardhouse on Dauphin Island was lifted and moved eighteen feet by the force of the storm.
The colony's food supply suffered as well. A storehouse containing flour and provisions for the garrison was blown away, forcing soldiers to search the shoreline for barrels that had washed into the water.
Then, just as the coast began to recover, another hurricane arrived on September 18.
Historian Charles Gayarré later wrote that the second storm "destroyed the rest of our resources," bringing heavy rains and flooding rivers throughout the region.
For the families living at Pascagoula, Mobile, and along the Gulf Coast, hurricane season wasn't simply an inconvenience, it threatened homes, livestock, food supplies, transportation, and survival itself.
Nearly 300 years later, the Gulf Coast still watches the tropics each summer. The technology has changed, but the respect we have for these storms remains much the same.
🌀 As hurricane season begins, it's worth remembering the resilience of those who weathered these storms long before modern forecasting and emergency preparedness.
🏠 The La Pointe-Krebs House has stood through generations of Gulf Coast storms and still stands today.
🕰 Open Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
🕰 Sunday, Noon–5 p.m.
