Everyone knows the Pascagoula River is a great place for birding and recreation and offers a great backdrop for photography, but the river also offers an exceptional history lesson filled with artifacts of those who utilized the river before.
This month, the Moss Point Fine Art Gallery is featuring the exhibit “The Pascagoula River: A Treasure Trove of History” filled with art and artifacts that tell a fascinating story.
The exhibit is built around the donation of a large charcoal, graphite and pastel depiction of the John Delmas House that was donated by Guy Stricklin. This home adorned the channel leading to the Mississippi Sound for more than 100 years. Sticklin said this piece of art was created in 2018 as part of a show at Pearl River Glass in Jackson.
“The show was about the place I grew up; a landscape I can’t get over no matter how long I’m away from it,” Stricklin said. “The same way I can’t stop enjoying Jimmy Buffet and sailboats, and storms over the water.”
This art pieces for the show were created from photos taken in 2011 in preparation for his Masters of Fine Arts thesis at Mississippi College. Using this large charcoal piece as the anchor, the exhibit features other art and artifacts that help tell the history of the river. Artifacts on display include bottles and decoys found along the river, saws and steel hooks used during the lumber boom on loan from Pete Floyd along with photographs donated by Dr. Wayne Adkison.
This exhibit is an extension of the permanent exhibit in the Trolley Ticket booth that houses wooden decoys that were created at Pascagoula Animal Trap Company, historic photographs, information from Joe Bosco’s book “Pascagoula Decoys” and a trolley token found and donated by local treasure hunter Ben Griffin. At low tide, parts of the trolley bridge crossing Rhodes Bayou are still visible, and one piece of this bridge sits alongside Dixie’s Perch.
The exhibit is open during regular business hours, Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday, February 20, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission to the exhibit and the Center has been waived, but donations are welcome.
For the health and safety of all individuals, please practice social distancing by staying 6 feet apart when visiting PRAC. Groups of people should be limited to 10. Masks are encouraged outside and required inside. Guests who have any symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19 are asked to visit at another time.
For more information, please call the center at (228) 475-0825 or visit the website at https://pascagoula.audubon.org.
