PASS CHRISTIAN

city, Harrison county, southeastern Mississippi, U.S., just west-southwest of Gulfport, on the Mississippi Sound. It is named for the nearby deepwater channel known as Christian's Pass linking the Gulf of Mexico with Lake Pontchartrain, supposedly navigated in 1699 by Christian L'Adnier, a member of the crew of the French explorer Pierre Le Moyne, sieur d'Iberville. Originally settled by the French and Spanish, it became a trading centre with the opening of the Mississippi Territory. A U.S. garrison was stationed there in 1811, and the misnamed Battle of Pass Christian, fought (1814) during the War of 1812 nearby in the Saint Louis bay, was the last naval engagement (a British victory) to take place in continental U.S. waters against a foreign foe. The first yacht club on the Gulf coast was organized at Pass Christian in 1849, and the town (inc. 1848) became a popular resort for plantation owners. Later, the railroads brought an influx of winter visitors from the North among whom were presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Harry S. Truman. A sand beach 28 mi (45 km) long extends from Pass Christian through Gulfport to Biloxi. The town remains as a year-round resort with some fishing interests. Pop. (1990) 5,557.