What Remains. Gulf Shore Baptist Assembly. 

What Remains.
Gulf Shore Baptist Assembly at Henderson Point on Bay St Louis in Pass Christian, Mississippi.
Gone But Not Forgotten
Post Hurricane Camille 1969
Post Hurricane Katrina 2005
Mississippi Baptists bought the property at auction from the government in 1958 and named it "Gulfshore Baptist Assembly". Summer camps, retreats, training workshops for laity and clergy were held at Gulfshore until Hurricane Katrina leveled the conference facilities that were built following Hurricane Camille in 1969.
Gulfshore’s Henderson Point site on the Gulf Coast has a rich history. Admiral Pierre le Moyne d’Iberville landed on the shores of the area in 1699, and legend has it that Christian L’Adnier, dispatched by d’Iberville to explore the waters around what is now called Cat Island, found the pass and the point was named Pass Christian in his honor.
In the two decades before World War II, Henderson Point was home to the Inn-by-the-Sea hotel. The U. S. government bought the land from the hotel owners and converted it into a Merchant Marine Cadet Basic School in 1939-40. The cadet school was discontinued about 1947 and Mississippi Baptists purchased the property at auction from the government in 1958.
Gulfshore was struck by Hurricane Betsy in September 1965. All buildings nearest the beach were flooded with five to six feet of water and the camp sustained substantial damage.
In August 1969, Gulfshore was destroyed by Hurricane Camille and rebuilt in the early 1970s with hurricane-resistant features that met their greatest test with Hurricane Katrina. Resistance turned out to be futile against Katrina’s wind and storm surge along the East End of the Mississippi Sound.
Mississippi Baptist’s do not plan to rebuild at Henderson Point. The Gulfshore land was for sale when I shot this video in 2018. Prior sales of the Gulfshore land left about 30 acres remaining for sale.
This “little postage stamp of Earth” meant much to so many. For this, we are grateful.