Mississippi

A dark brooding sky greeted the morning, and the birds that lived in the majestic, moss-draped oaks that usually saluted the day were quiet as though they sensed that something ominous was about to happen. Occasionally breezes stirred the blossoms of the magnolia trees growing on the boggy shore of the Biloxi Peninsula of Mississippi, but were unable to relieve the hot, humid weather. Gradually the breezes gave way to high winds coming off the Gulf of Mexico, and the waves that usually caressed the shore at the foot of the lighthouse began to increase in size.

A series of low off-shore islands off the Mississippi Coast form Mississippi Sound, a fairly well protected waterway. This sound experienced a large increase in coastal trading after the Civil War. In addition to a rapid growth of waterborne commerce, the area became increasingly popular with the fishing fleet. The increase in vessel traffic by the 1870s triggered the Lighthouse Service to establish more aids to navigation. In 1872 the Service successfully petitioned Congress for $22,000 to construct a lighthouse on Horn Island.