English Toponyms

            The clusters of English toponyms correlates strongly with density of the road network.  At 61% of the total street names we would expect the density of English names to vary directly with the density of the road network.  Therefore, the hinterlands, and undeveloped areas of the city have a low density of these names.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Map 3.  Density of English street names.

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French Toponyms

            The clustering of French toponyms is clearly visible in Map 4.  The cluster in the lower right corner is downtown Biloxi and is where we would expect high density.  Two high density clusters were found on the north side of Biloxi's peninsula.  Two more hot spots were found on the north side of the bay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Map 4.  Density of French street names.

 

 

 

German Toponyms

            The German toponyms are clustered in downtown Biloxi and strongly correlate with the French toponyms.  The hot spots on the peninsula match those of the French toponym map -- only to a lesser degree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Map 5.  Density of German street names.

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Discussion

            In the 1830's the residents of New Orleans were the first tourists of Biloxi (Husley, 1998).  Their culture, both French and German, left an indelible mark on the topogeny.  What began as tourism grew into owning land and summer homes, and ultimately a permanent home.  Biloxi was a summer reprieve for many families from New Orleans.  New Orleanians would seek refuge from "the seasonal onslaughts of yellow fever" and the heat of the city in the cool breezes of Biloxi (Husley, 1998).  In addition to French residents, New Orleans was home to a German immigrant population known as the German Coast (Kalina, 2015).  Rodenburg Avenue was named after John Henry Rodenburg, a German Immigrant from New Orleans ("Streets and roads").  Keller Avenue was also named after a New Orleanian of German descent ("Streets and roads"). 

            The predominant practice of assigning toponyms in Biloxi was naming for city fathers and early pioneering individuals.  Iberville Drive after the French Governor Sieur d'Iberville -- who first settled the area in 1699.  Caillavet Street after Raymond Caillavet, a street commissioner in 1883 ("Streets and roads"). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Figure 2.  Detail of plat map of Biloxi Peninsula from 1822.  Source: Danforth, 2014.

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Conclusion

            Biloxi began its modern life as a French Colony and the clustering of French toponyms in downtown Biloxi exemplifies the lasting effect of a dominant culture.  The French arpent land divisions are visible in the road network of downtown Biloxi.  The long narrow plats run north-south from the Mississippi Sound to the back bay.  The plat map of 1822 demonstrates how the land lots were shaped.  Over 300 years later, their impact is still visible on the landscape.

            The diffusion of New Orleanians to Biloxi had a greater impact on the landscape than that of the original French Colonial occupation from 1699 to 1763.  The 1822 plat map shows how little Biloxi had developed during colonial times.  The French toponyms didn't occur until after the colonial period.

            The cluster of French toponyms in downtown Biloxi represent a 19th century influence -- whereas the clusters west and north of downtown are a more recent development.  Here it appears that a romantic notion of superior class and culture of New Orleans has been assigned to neighborhoods and street names by 21st century property developers.  Driving in these areas one only finds homes built in the last few decades.  While they are of a coastal creole style architecture (Kalina, 2015) they are not historic structures.

            The predominant cultural impact on the topogeny of Biloxi has been that of the English.  The majority, 61%, of the street names are of English descent.  This isn't surprising given that of the 318 years Biloxi has existed, 223 years were as an English Colony or Anglo-American.  The density map demonstrates how ubiquitous English toponyms are in the landscape of Biloxi street names.  As the density map shows, the only areas without English toponyms are rural areas without roads.

            The street directory for Biloxi contains a rich and diverse story of the life of the city.  These toponyms are sign posts of the past.  They represent a cultural identity.  They preserve the importance of not only the person the street was named, but also of those imparting the names.  By naming the places and including them on the map they are made official and permanent.