There’s something sacred about a place that’s weathered centuries and still stands tall. On the quiet edge of Pascagoula Bay, the LaPointe-Krebs House does just that. It’s not flashy or ornate—but it doesn’t need to be. Its age, its bones, and the stories baked into its tabby walls make it one of the most remarkable buildings not only in Mississippi but across the American South.
Built in 1757, during the French Colonial period, the LaPointe-Krebs House is the oldest scientifically dated structure in the state—and likely the oldest home between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains. It’s the kind of place that forces you to pause, listen, and lean in.
But age alone isn’t what makes it special.
The home’s original center and eastern rooms were constructed from tabby, a rare, concrete-like mixture of quicklime, sand, ash, water, and oyster shells. It’s humble, even primitive by today’s standards—but ingenious. This material was packed into forms and poured layer by layer, forming the 12-inch-thick walls that still hold strong today. Timber was placed within the walls—not to hold them up, but to serve as anchor points for windows, doors, and to guard against erosion at the corners. It’s the only known example of this construction method on the Gulf Coast—or anywhere else in the former Colony of New France.
As the decades rolled on, the house grew with its people. Around 1790, a western room was added using the Poteaux-sur-sole method—“posts on a sill”—with walls filled in by bousillage, a blend of Spanish moss and Mississippi soil, hand-packed like loaves of bread into timber-framed walls. It was a way of building that relied more on resourcefulness than riches.
The floors were tabby, too. The roof was built from hand-hewn timbers, pit-sawn by craftsmen long forgotten, but their work still cradles the home today. What started as two rooms and one fireplace eventually became four rooms, two little “cabinets,” and porches wrapped in stories, wind, and the salty breath of the Gulf.
You can still see where the cabinets once stood on the northeast and southwest corners, evidence preserved through careful restoration. Every beam, every board tells a story—not just of the family who lived here, but of a region, a people, and a coastline constantly reshaped by time and tide.
Thanks to the LaPointe-Krebs Foundation and the City of Pascagoula, this house is more than a museum—it’s a living heirloom. A symbol of strength. A rare and beautiful reminder that some things are built to last.
Whether you’re a history buff, architecture lover, or a proud local, this coastal treasure invites you to step inside and feel the past beneath your feet.
