Bay Saint Louis is located in Hancock County, in southeastern Mississippi, U.S. It lies along the Mississippi Sound (an embayment of the Gulf of Mexico) at the entrance to St. Louis Bay (named in 1699 for King Louis IX of France), 58 miles (93 km) northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. The site was part of a 1789 Spanish land grant to Thomas Shields. The village soon became a resort for wealthy planters and, later, for tourists who arrived after the New Orleans, Mobile and Chattanooga Railroad was completed in 1872.
The town was incorporated as Shieldsborough in 1818 and as the city of Bay Saint Louis in 1875. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the bay was the scene of the naval engagement against the British known as the Battle of Bay.
In the late 20th century, casino gambling fueled the growth of the city, significantly increasing tourism’s importance to the local economy. Bay Saint Louis, along with most of Hancock county, sustained severe storm damage in 2005 from Hurricane Katrina; The neighboring city of Waveland was suffered catastrophic destruction. The John C. Stennis Space Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is about 15 miles west of the city. The City of Bay St. Louis is a vibrant community with many family oriented art, dining and entertainment venues.