Biloxi's Early School Days

This article originally written by Paige Gutierrez with the title "Neighborhood School Days: Howard II". Paige is a local Biloxi writer for BNews Monthly, the monthly newsletter of the City of Biloxi. Photographs courtesy of the LHG Image Collection / Local History & Genealogy Department / Harrison County Library System unless otherwise specified.

The First Howard II School, 1902

On November 27, 1902, a crowd then believed to be the largest ever assembled in Biloxi gathered on East Howard Avenue near Maple Street. The occasion was the laying of the cornerstone by the Grand Lodge of Masons of Mississippi for the new Howard II school on Point Cadet. The Daily Herald reported that “A big barbecue was held. There was a large quantity of beef, bread, butter, pickles, etc., served to the crowd on that day. It was estimated that at least 5,000 attended.”

For the next 27 years, this two-story school building served the children and families of rapidly growing Point Cadet, a neighborhood of seafood factory workers, fishermen, canneries, and related marine businesses. The many newcomers who arrived during that time included people from Croatia, known then as Slavonians, and from French-speaking parts of south Louisiana, joining families from many other diverse backgrounds, contributing to the seacoast cultural mix of Biloxi, more typical of New Orleans rather than of noncoastal Mississippi.

PHOTO — The first Howard II school building on Point Cadet opened in 1902. Photo from Biloxi Library Local History and Genealogy Collection.

The Second Howard II School, 1929

By the late 1920s the school was so overcrowded that a second “Howard II” was built. On January 17, 1929, The Daily Herald reported “Biloxians in general and residents of the Point Cadet section in particular may be proud of their new three-story $83,000 schoolhouse, which compares favorably with any of its size in the country, being equipped with all new features for facilitating school teaching and for the comfort and convenience of teachers and pupils.” Over the door was carved the name “Harry T. Howard,” benefactor. Officials envisioned a long life for the new school, stating that “when Biloxi builds, she builds permanently.”

PHOTO — The second Howard II school, dedicated in January 1929, was designed by Biloxi’s premiere architect Carl Matthes and built by local contractors Collins Brothers. Photo from MDAH Randazzo Collection.

School as Neighborhood Community Center

The first Howard II lacked an auditorium for assemblies and performances. The second Howard II had a state-of-the art auditorium with theatre seats, a 27-foot stage with concealed footlights, a projection booth, plush curtains, and a baby grand piano. Most importantly, it was large enough to hold community events in an era when elementary school buildings served as neighborhood community centers. With a student body of 362, the auditorium had 450 seats downstairs and 100 seats in the balcony.

Beginning in the late 1970s and 1980s Vietnamese families joined others on Point Cadet working in the seafood industry. By the early 1990s over 50 percent of the students at Howard II were Vietnamese. Howard II welcomed these newcomers. The school published a Vietnamese language newsletter for parents and provided classes in English as a second language. Staff encouraged cross-cultural understanding through hosting festive traditions at school such as the Tet New Year dragon dance and local Gulf Coast Mardi Gras customs. As for earlier generations of Point Cadet residents, Howard II served as a community center for the neighborhood. Teachers of the time described it as “a happy school.”

The 76-year-old historic building was no longer serving as the neighborhood school when it was destroyed by fire in the early hours of July 5, 2005.

PHOTO — Students at Howard II react to Tet New Year’s dragon at school, 1998. Photo by David Purdy, The Sun Herald.

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