Old Spanish Fort

Old Spanish Fort, also known as Old French Fort and LaPointe-Krebs House, was built on the shore of Lake Catahoula near what is now Pascagoula, Mississippi, by French Canadian Joseph Simon de la Pointe. Construction of the house dates back to 1757, based on dendrochronology examination of structural timbers, making it the state's oldest surviving building, the state's only French Colonial structure still in existence, and the oldest scientifically-confirmed standing structure in the Mississippi River Valley. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1984. The La Pointe - Krebs House is operated and maintained by the La Pointe - Krebs Foundation and serves as a museum.DescriptionThe "Old Spanish Fort" was not really a fort. Instead, it was a one-story, three-room structure that measured 37 feet (11.3 meters) in width and 62.25 feet (18.97 meters) in length. Framing walls were 18 inches (45.7 centimeters) thick. The building is constructed of longleaf pine framing, with walls of oyster-shell concrete in the oldest construction and with bousillage of clay and Spanish moss in the western and most recent addition. Dendrochronology dates the center tabby room to 1757 and the east tabby addition to 1762; and while no samples could be determined in the western bousillage addition, construction techniques and tool marks date the addition to 1820.